# 4 lane or 2 lane layout...help



## Phishead (Sep 19, 2008)

Ok its getting close to time to start working on this layout.
I just dont know if I should go with a 4 lane...more racers, shorter track length.
Or 2 lane, much bigger track length in the same space.

As of now its just my son and I who will be useing the layout, cant get the wife into it no matter how hard I try.

The original plan was to use the Scenic 55 from Gregs site, but on that same 5x9 I could get a huge 2 lane road corse. Either one will be built with the idea of lots of scenic work, still cant get the rail-road bug out of me 

Any thoughts...anyone have a 2 lane and wish they went 4 or vise-versa.

Thanks all, 
Jasen


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## ScottD961 (Jan 31, 2008)

I don't know if this helps you or not but I was going to go two lane. Then both of my daughters spent almost an entire weekend racing sooooo We needed another lane . No three laner tracks out there so I went the four lane route. It's also nice to have the extra lanes when you have friends over because as soon as they see it they will want to try it out. I guess it really depends on your space linitations and how many people will see it and then want to try it out.


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## RiderZ (Feb 19, 2007)

*!!!*

I started out with a decent sized 2-lane layout.It soon became a 4-lane layout as a couple of friends became interested.I say go for four lanes!!!:thumbsup:


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## 1976Cordoba (Sep 20, 2000)

Phishead said:


> . . . As of now its just my son and I who will be useing the layout . . .


Invite some of his friends and build it as a four lane.:thumbsup:


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

I built a 4x16 table when we bought this house 5 years ago and put a big 2-lane on it. now my 4-year-old and 6-year-old are fighting me for track time, so I'm planning to redo it as a 4-lane. a great place to go for layout ideas is hoslotcarracing.com --click the Layouts link on the left. i'm actually planning on using the Route 66 layout from there, but I want to try an overpass/elevation and some landscaping, so I'm modifying the lower left corner of that layout to look like a mirror image of the lower right corner of the Random Lake 48 layout a little further up the page...

--rick


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## rudykizuty (Aug 16, 2007)

The words "as of now" jumped right off the screen.......I would ask, what do you expect down the road?...........and suggest building accordingly.


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## Phishead (Sep 19, 2008)

Good point.


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## Jim Norton (Jun 29, 2007)

*4*

Go four lanes. Having 4 racers is so much more fun especially if they are experienced. Two lanes only offers you one opponent. Four lanes offer 3 which makes all the difference and increased fun.

A 4 lane looks more like a real race track as well.

Jim Norton
Huntsville, Alabama


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## munsonator008 (Jan 12, 2005)

4 lanes for sure you will regret the 2 lane


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

*Give this some thought!!*

If you have that railroad bug, let me show you what I'm doing.. I also have been bitten by it!!! About the same time last year when I decided to finally give the little one the train sets he had gotten for Xmas three years earlier, I also received a box of Tjet track from my brother in law. As I was perusing the dirty pages of Feepay, I ran across a MM railroad crossing. The wheels in my head started turning backwards to the summer I turned 13. I had been slotting for a couple years at this point, and was over a friends house who had one of those RR crossings. We had a blast that day, dodging the train and all!!! I had planned on selling the Tjet stuff and planned on buying an Int'l speedway set until I saw that! That's when the 2 lane/ 4lane dilemma hit me. This is the solution I came up with at first...












This gave a couple of advantages..First of all, it being a 4 lane let me run 4 cars with the train. I did and still do use a train transformer for each lane, to eliminate power surges when a car comes off the track, and so I can easily change direction. This allows 4 lane racing through the "streets", and allows two way traffic when I'm solo driving. This concept grew into a more massive project, my aptly named "mother of all railroad crossings".. Inspired by the "you did what???" section of Tubtrack's web site. This is a homemade 4 lane 2 train crossing I created as the plans for my next table changed...












As I was continuing my track planning, I bought some JL/AW flamethrowers and was very disappointed at their lighting performance so set about creating my own style of lighted vehicles. Here are a couple links from Youtube, showing #1. some of my lighted slots, and 2. my 9 year old running 3 slots and 1 train together. In the second video I have the crossing semi automated, with the curve tracks and crossing wired seperately from the rest of the track. My plans are to fully automate it in the near future. I'm still needing some parts for the automated crossing gates. Since they also control the reed switches that fully automate the crossing, I'm stuck where I am right now. I would recommend turning the volume off if techno or heavy metal bother you!!!











Cecil B de Mille I'm not when it comes to shooting video, but you get the basic gist of what I'm doing. If it wasn't for the kids, the track plans would have been layed out different, with two separate four lanes disappearing under the table and 2 4lane 1 track crossings. I am trying to scenic the table now, and only able to do so much at a time. The table is half plaster clothed now, but I'm running out of the cloth... 

Good luck with your decision making!! Let me know if you have any questions, and check out my LED 101 class, where I show how I light these cars!!!


Joe


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## ScottD961 (Jan 31, 2008)

Slotcarman I think you could use Pearl's help with the planning and building there! She has millions of ideas !


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

I know Scott, but I don't think her hubby would let her take the trip!! :lol: She does awesome work though!!!! I need so much stuff to finish and the money tree is bare!!! I knew I shoulda built a fence around it!!!


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## Phishead (Sep 19, 2008)

I like the combo track you have going on. I remember the old sets that combined the two together but it was always out fo the price range to even think of asking for christmas.

I had about 6 years into my N scale layout and it was tough letting everything go to jump into this hobby. Down the road I want to get back into it and move up into HO scale.

I just know once this track gets going I will end up spending more on the landscapeing then I did for the track, but thats the fun of these hobbies.


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## T-Jet Racer (Nov 16, 2006)

Hey Joe, nice job on the rr crossing track, and the led cars look awesome!


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## ScottD961 (Jan 31, 2008)

Yeah Slotter the track looks great so far, keep it up. I Already asked Pearl about helping me with my layout , LOL LIke you said Hubby probably not crazy about the idea But hey who could blame him right ? !


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

That's cool, slot car video with strip club music.


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

AfxToo said:


> That's cool, slot car video with strip club music.


OK, I'll admit the music stinks, but I really didn't put too much thinking into the music selection...For some reason my camera was really sensitive to the slotcar and train noise, and seemed to multiply it X10! At the time, I was new to youtube and once you pick a song to play with a video, you can't change it, without redownloading it. 

With my kid running 3 cars and 1 train by himself I really wanted to download flirting with disaster to play with the video, but I was a bit concerned about not having permission to use it. It wouldn't have mattered anyway because the 4 minute video I downloaded mysteriously got cut to about 1 minute (again). At the time I didn't consider my core audience was going to be in the 45-55 age group, or I would have chosen something better suited to our age group. But if you heard what was being recorded, between my occasional cussing, the TM in the next room with the TV turned up to drown out the slotcar/train noise and my cussing, plus the slotcar/train noise itself, I think you'd choose the stripper music!!! :tongue: Besides, The strip club music lets your mind wander...:jest:


Joe


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

SLCM,
great looking set up especially with the reverse track track setup on a four laner. The lighted cars just make it better! Great videos. :thumbsup::thumbsup: rr


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## Tycoarm (Jan 7, 2006)

If room permits go four lanes, you will never look back wishing you went two instead. If you can try adding a foot or two on the side you'll be suprised what a five or six foot vs. a four foot table can get you as far as creativity.

I’ve got a four lane HO set up and recently took down the 1/32 stuff. I then set up a two laner & trains, it lasted less than a day. I took it all down and threw the 1/32 back up to only take it down once again.



















Slotcarman, your four lane road & rail looks awesome!
I think I’m going to try another race & train layout but not anytime soon I just fired up my four laner since last winter and I was quite surprised that all the lanes were still in good racing form without the normal rail cleaning ritual.


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

*Thank yous!!!*

Thanks for the kind words on my table. I doubt it will ever get finished in the landscaping dept. but it does work out good for it's purpose. Using the 4 train transformers makes it so easy to switch directions on each lane. But the magic for me after the kids go to sleep will be using the cars as rolling scenery and let it do its thing while I sit back and watch. I still haven't gotten around to fully automating it. Tomorrow is another day though. Not getting the street lights in has been a setback. I found a 6 volt transformer that can handle 30 lights, but the shop wants as much for the shipping as the transformer. It sure was nice of the TM to give up the dining room for this project. Around here the basements are all stone block and a concrete floor was an afterthought. Mine would make a better dungeon. And the 5' high ceiling is a total killer. The worst part above all though, is the fact that we're renting, and sooner or later it all has to come apart..


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## Phishead (Sep 19, 2008)

Ok decided on my layout, which oddly is the first one that caught my eye to begin with...

Basically the Scenic 55 with some 18" curves on the fast outer sweeper.

I like the idea of the overpass, which gives me plenty of room to landscape.

Overall size is roughly 5x9, might make the table a tad bigger 6" or so.










Hopefully I can start on the table in the next week or so. Planning on 2x4 bracework with 1/2 MDF and 1/2 Homostat. Upper elevations will be done with either MDF or thinking about useing Foam insulation to handle the inclines and elevation changes.

Overall goal is filled, sanded and painted track. And of course some scenery for the cars to smash into 

Only 40 peices of track short to get it going for test runs before I start the layout.


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

I recommend setting up the layout and testing it out before you commit to filling and painting and all that kind of stuff that will render the track completely unusable for future layouts. The reason I bring this up is that many of the layouts that yield fairly long running lengths in a small area do so by using a lot of 6" radius turns. Some people, myself included, find these turns tedious and annoying for casual running on a home track. Yeah, in a race situation where finely honed driving skills are the order of the day is one thing, pulling a car out of the trees for the 683rd time on the same corner gets a bit old. In any case, whenever you build a layout, run on it before committing to anything that will keep you from changing your mind forever. 

I'm not a fan of filling and painting sectional track either. If you are going to go to all that bother, order a Max or Wiz track and save yourself the many hours of tedium and mess and end up with something that's much, much better all teh way around. 

I've rarely seen an HO track that required 2x4 lumber to keep it off the floor. The name of the game in table design is stiffness, not weight. One-by lumber (1x3 or 1x4) is more than good enough for a table that size.


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## Tycoarm (Jan 7, 2006)

Your layout choice looks good. I used luan board with blocks of wood under my track for the elevations. It's inexpensive while being very easy to cut and bends quite easily.

Keep in mind if you going to use track borders you want to give yourself a little room around the curve areas so the sections aren't directly next to each other. I'm not a big fan of layouts where areas of the track are right next to each other.

I couldn't find any good in progress pic's of my HO layout but here's an elevated area of my 1/32 track.








Modified with borders









But then again you have to do whats right for your situation.


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## BRPHO (Aug 1, 2006)

Hey Jasen!

I want to come race on your new proposed track!

Next box I send for a swap will have me in it so I can come and race with you! HA HA HA!!!!

Can't wait to see pics of it completed!

Thanks again for all the swaps!

I appreciate it!

Wayne :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## twolff (May 11, 2007)

Yes, run the snot out of it before you fasten it down. I ran different layouts for over two years before screwing one down. A month or two later making a change to one of the curves. It added a couple of 6" curves, but immeasureably improved the flow through that section of the course.


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## Phishead (Sep 19, 2008)

The track will be tested for awhile before I lay anything down permantly. As for the 6" radius curves I dont mind having 2 hairpens with them, forces the driver to really pay attention and my son and I both have some mod cars with neos that laugh at those 6" turns anyway. As for the rest of the track its all 9,12,15,18" curves.

As for painting and filling the track, I enjoy doing that kind of stuff. This is a hobby...I plan on spending many hours of tedium and mess, to me its all part of the enjoyment. Sure I could order a pre finished track, but thats not the point of building my own. 

Anyway, thats for the input on this.

Jasen


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