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I’m looking to put a small routed track in my basement. I would like a road course. I can probably extend if neede. Who has a design?

Bruce

How big of a 'table' can you go buddy?

edit. Oops, misinterpreted that one I guess

14x6?
My suggestion would be no more than 3 lanes to get the most of the space. Is that ok?

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This was later changed to more of a paperclip, it was 16' x 5'.

Food for thought, three lanes if 1/32 is the goal, two lanes if you want to run 1/24. My D124 C7R needs 7" of swing room, I routed my slots 4-1/4" apart too.

My plan was 3 lanes. I’m hoping I could use lane 1 and 3 for 1/24 cars.

For my 1/32 tracks I have 2" inside gutter, 3 1/2" lane spacing, and 5 1/2" outside gutter. For 3 lanes and being able to run 1/24 scale cars in lanes 1 & 3 the inside and outside gutters (borders) will need to be a little bigger, probably 3" and 7". That gives you a total track width of 17". If the inside edge of a turn has a 7 inch radius (hairpin turn) lane 1 radius = 10", lane 2 radius = 13 1/2", lane 3 radius = 17", and outside edge of the turn (fence/wall) would have 24" radius. You could go a little tighter for 1 or 2 turns, but would want most turns to not be as tight, with an inner radius of 10" or more. A 12" radius turn (inside edge) would have a 29" outside edge radius, close to half the width of your table.

This will all work out fine with planning, which is why I recommend graph paper and pencil, as if you were laying out a kitchen or bathroom. I'm such a nerd for this type of stuff I'll gladly help with some designs if you have ideas about what you want regarding emphasis and balance. What would be some most important features - long straight, sweeping turn, hairpin turn, etc.? Will one or more sides be against a wall where you can't get at the track easily? If so, it's best to put the straight(s) there and put esses and a hairpin turn within easy reach.

Once you post an initial design idea you'll get feedback with hints and suggestions.

Well....War Eagle River is a little larger, but certainly provides some inspiration in terms of shape and flow with elevation....there are several other folks too....

Bruce,

4" lane spacing will work for 1/32nd and 1/24th, you won't need to only run the inside and outside lanes when you run 1/24th scale cars. Carrara track has 4" lane spacing as does the original American tracks from the 60's and my track.

I have 6" gutters on the outside of the turns and 3" gutters on the inside of the turns and they work pretty good but if you are going to make a real tight turn you might want to leave 3 1/2" gutters on the inside for 1/24th scale cars.

How old are the racers that will mostly use the track. I find that simple designs work best for most even adults that do not get to race much. I found that a simple ovel or tri-oval or a track with not many turn keeps all racing instead of chasing their cars. Also a wood track has no magnetic down force which makes it a little hard for those that do not get race much.

We all race weekly so their skills are good. An oval or tri-oval is far too boring. We would need a road course. I was hoping to see pics posted of similar tracks for ideas. ;)

This end of this track is nice - long straight leading into sweeping turn and then some bendy bits. The far end would need to be cut off but the circuit could be tied together neatly.

Here's an HO design that would seem to be faster.

It would be tight to fit a 3 lane 1/32 - 1/24 track in this space, but with a routed track it could be done and include some elevation changes.

This could be stretched out to be 14' long, and would have room for a pit area in the right side triangle.

You could have a lot of fun with varying radius turns routed on this design, and also incorporate elevation changes.

Lastly, think about what you want it to look like when done so it feels like racing on a real track.

interesting, thanks for posting.