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Celebrating our two-lane highways of yesteryear…And the joys of driving them today!

Latest Doings At America On Wheels


Dave Reese
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As many of you know, I am active as a volunteer at this transportation museum in Allentown PA. Recently, after proposing a "Slot Car Weekend" at the museum to the Exhibits and Collection committee, I was invited to join the committee.

 

I went to an HO slot car race at a local slot car show earlier this month. I have been working with the promoter to have the slot car racing weekend at America On Wheels, and we have now set the dates so that we will have a sanctioned HO race on Saturday, July 16 and an open track with possible IROC type racing on Sunday July 17. There will be vendors both days.

 

I made the video of the event I attended to share with the exhibits committee of the museum to let them get an idea of what we will have at the museum.

 

The museum has drag racing cars of the Northeast as our current show (yes, sadly the British cars have left). You can see some photos including the recently arrived dragsters here. They will be leaving in early June to make way for a tribute to the first 100 years of Chevrolet.

 

Hopefully some of you will be able to visit the museum this summer in your travels. Please let me know in advance if you are coming so that I can try to join you for a personal tour of the ever-changing displays.

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That's a very nicely done video. It looks like you've mastered another medium. I have a tiny bit of slot car experience from my late teens (high school and barely beyond) but nothing even close to this.

 

I really enjoyed the soundtrack, too. I'd forgotten how stirring the horns were at the beginning of Dead Man's Curve. The glory and glamour of street racing is projected from each note. Of course, the tone changes after the crash. A combination of trumpets, harmonies, harp, squealing tires, and breaking glass that is a true classic. Funk #49 is also a classic but without the trumpets or, as best I can tell, a harp. There was also, as you no doubt know, a Funk #48 but it seems the preceding 47 funks have been lost to the world.

 

I'm always looking to include AoW in a trip and someday I'll get it done.

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Dave,

 

The slot cars look like fun! And I agree with Denny that you have obviously mastered another medium!

 

Thanks for the heads up! I hope my travels will take me to Pennsylvania one of these days!

 

I have a question. I recently rented a small storefront on a local main street to "celebrate" the old roads that passed down main street years ago. In this case it was the Pacific Highway (later US99) the National Parks Highway, and the National Park to Park Highway. It is just a fun project, and I thought I might add some animation to attract attension

 

I visited a local model train club layout and came away wondering if there was anything comparable in model cars. Slot cars are interesting, but they seem to be about racing, whereas I want something slow like the trains, but using automobiles. Any ideas?

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

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Dave,

 

New slot cars are basically all too fast. The original Aurora cars were designed to be part of train layouts in the late fifties/early sixties, but the Thunderjet that replaced the original "vibrator" motor was recognition that more people were racing the cars than using them as parts of their HO train layouts. A few years after the Thunderjets came out, Aurora converted some to O-gauge as Super Model Motoring, and Gilbert used the same chassis for their James Bond sets. I used some of these for my

But these are hard to find in good condition with good running chassis although the track can be found at slot car shows and on eBay. Minatur Wunderland in Hamburg Germany has great road recreations, but the set ups they use are all basically custom made.

 

What scale will you be using for your display? That could determine what could be used in your venture.

 

Good luck with what sounds like a wonderful project.

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Dave,

 

New slot cars are basically all too fast. The original Aurora cars were designed to be part of train layouts in the late fifties/early sixties, but the Thunderjet that replaced the original "vibrator" motor was recognition that more people were racing the cars than using them as parts of their HO train layouts. A few years after the Thunderjets came out, Aurora converted some to O-gauge as Super Model Motoring, and Gilbert used the same chassis for their James Bond sets. I used some of these for my

But these are hard to find in good condition with good running chassis although the track can be found at slot car shows and on eBay. Minatur Wunderland in Hamburg Germany has great road recreations, but the set ups they use are all basically custom made.

 

What scale will you be using for your display? That could determine what could be used in your venture.

 

Good luck with what sounds like a wonderful project.

 

 

Dave,

 

Thanks for the lead to your absolutely terrific, wonderful, Christmas layout video. I can't imagine why someone doesn't still make those sets.

 

I really don't know what I want. This little project is just me messing around. The town of Tenino has a real main street, and actually has a real hardware store, coffee shop, candy shop, barber shop, drug store, tavern, insurance company and the like on main street. I thought it would be fun to make them more aware of their main street heritage on well known vintage highways. It is strictly a non profit, in fact a non revenue, project that is coming out of my pocket.

 

How long it lasts depends on how long my interest lasts, and that depends in part on how much positive attention it generates. The historical society has taken note, but I would reasonably expect that. If I have an objective it might be to get the town to post the symbols of the highways on their lamp posts.

 

I thought it might be fun to put a small animated display (maybe 4 feet by 3 feet) in the front window, but I don't want to spend a fortune (a couple to a few hundred, max) and I know models can run into a lot of money. Maybe what I should do is scout Ebay now that I know that something exists.

 

Thanks for the help, and I would value your expertise if I take the animation thing further.

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

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Just a mention of another museum in the area (okay...near the Philly Airport), that I visited yesterday. It is not a transportation museum like AOW, but it is an automotive museum of mostly sports cars and historic race cars. The Simeone museum could use heat and better lighting, but the diorama displays are very cool, and the collection is amazing. Here are some of my photos from my visit...

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Great pictures of some beautiful cars. I'd never heard of the Simeone Museum but it has now become yet another incentive for visiting your neighborhood. I stopped by their website and it says they currently have a Jaguar XKE display going on for the car's 50th anniversary. That's hard to believe; Seems like it appeared only yesterday and it still looks like tomorrow.

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I went to an HO slot car race at a local slot car show earlier this month. I have been working with the promoter to have the slot car racing weekend at America On Wheels, and we have now set the dates so that we will have a sanctioned HO race on Saturday, July 16 and an open track with possible IROC type racing on Sunday July 17. There will be vendors both days.

 

That is great news, Dave! That should be a wonderful weekend at AOW. Not sure I'll be able to attend, but I'll be there in spirit.

 

 

I thought it might be fun to put a small animated display (maybe 4 feet by 3 feet) in the front window, but I don't want to spend a fortune (a couple to a few hundred, max) and I know models can run into a lot of money. Maybe what I should do is scout Ebay now that I know that something exists.

 

Dave,

 

Yes, models can run into a lot of money. But, along with eBay, check CraigsList and such. You can (sometimes) find a great deal!

 

I have this layout of my HO scale train...

http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/collection/Cort_TrainRoom_JPG.html'>http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/collection/Cort_TrainRoom_JPG.html

 

...but not everything is HO scale. Some cars are HotWheels/MatchBox variety ... and some buildings ... well, I'm not sure what scale they are exactly.

 

The reason for the "not to scaleness" of my train set up ... is because of the limited HO scale cars/trucks available. At least, it had been limited; I haven't bought anything new for the train table in YEARS, so maybe a better selection of HO scale cars/trucks now exists, but when I was buying, it was rather limited.

 

 

I enjoyed this display at the museum in Victorville CA:

https://picasaweb.google.com/knightfan26917/RT66TRIPDAY12#5431231058098383634

 

 

 

Cort | 37.m.IL.pigValve.pacemaker | 5 Monte Carlos + 1 Caprice Classic | * meet_04.16.11_Dwight.IL *

MCs.CC + CHD.models.HO.legos.RadioShows + RoadTrips.us66 = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"Every hands a winner & every hands a loser" __ Kenny Rogers __ 'The Gambler'

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