Enderby EYE

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It's fast ...and it's FUN!

Enderby Slot Car Club opens its doors

by EYE staff - February 2008

Model car racing has come a long way since the heady days of the 1960's when a basic Scalextric set was the 'must-have' Christmas or birthday present. Since emerging at the annual Harrogate Toy Fair some 50 years ago, 'slot cars' are enjoyed the world over and are well established as a British institution amongst children and adults alike.

These days, the model racing cars can lap a typical 30 meter club track in around 5 seconds, during which the 'driver' has to brake and negotiate around several corners. Faster cars are capable of 60mph on straight sections of the track ...and that's actual speed - not scale speed!

Not surprising then, when the Enderby Slot Car Club invited me to attend one of their evening sessions, I jumped at the opportunity to re-engage with my (distant) youth and get a taste of just how racing model cars has retained its appeal.

Andy Smith is the driving force behind the Enderby Slot Car Club which meets regularly on Monday evenings at the Enderby Cricket Club premises on Mill Lane in Enderby. It's a relatively new venue for the club and Andy is very grateful to the Cricket Club for allowing use of their accommodation.

When I arrived, Andy, together with partner Claire and a few willing helpers, were assembling the track for that evening's session. Some clubs elsewhere in the country enjoy the luxury of a 'permanent' track but many, like Enderby, have to assemble a number of separate sections to form a complete circuit for each session. Fortunately, with a number of helpers the job of assembling the sections and connecting the power supply can take as little as fifteen minutes.

Fitting a key nineteen-feet long section of the track which includes a bridge, completing
the 'figure of eight' circuit.

In fact, friends and family enjoying this inclusive activity together is at the heart of the Enderby Slot Car Club. As Andy explains:

"We believe as a club that slot racing should be fun through competing in a friendly club atmosphere.

"There are some clubs where the emphasis is on competition and very often the pure fun of the hobby gets drowned under the individuals' passion to win."

Enderby is also home to the Leicester Slot Car Club who hold their meetings in the Scout Hut on Blaby Road in Enderby. Andy himself used to attend this club but made a decision to branch out and form the Enderby Club when he felt that the purely competitive ethos was excluding young people and families.

"It's an exciting hobby for all family members - of whatever age or gender", says Andy, "...there is competition, of course, but it's friendly and non too serious. Some clubs do have members who go on to win major national and international championships. Whilst that is good, it's not the primary reason for the Enderby Slot Car Club."

Club members watch on from the sidelines as cars negotiate a bend

Once the four-lane track is assembled and 'powered up', everyone is eager to get on with the business of racing the cars.

Club members don't normally race expensive cars. Members race using cheap, simple cars. Getting started shouldn't cost much more than £50.00 for a car and around the same again for a controller and ancillary equipment.

Most weeks they race Scalextric Falcons to BSCRA (British Slot Car Racing Association) regulations and race hardbodied SCALEX type cars. Cars are available at the club, but members can bring their own cars along and have a go!

There are two sizes of car regularly raced. The 1/32 scale cars are about 15cm long by 6.4 cm wide. The 1/24 cars are about 19cm long by 8 cm wide. All models resemble full size racing cars and racing is divided between classes for Grand Prix, Sports/GT and Saloon cars. Both 1/32 and 1/24 cars can run on the same track.

Section of track (inset) showing the groove or 'slot' with current-carrying braid either side.

There is a T shaped guide at the front of the car which fits in a slot cut in the track surface. Tracks are usually built with the slot cut in either MDF board or chipboard. A coating of 'goop' oil (tyre traction additive) is needed to make sponge tyres work (grip) properly.

On track...

The 'Puremont 8' track currently used by the club was bought from Swindon by Andy and after a few weeks of 'tweaking' it was ready for active service at the Enderby club.

The whole system operates on a low voltage in the order of 12v DC. Current is fed via a 'drivers' control trigger to the braids on either side of the slot which is picked up by corresponding braids on the model cars.

The whole experience is family friendly and safe - and the club encourages members of all ages, although Andy prefers that under 14's should be accompanied by an adult.

The model car's 'controller' device looks very much like a cross between a joy-stick and a snub nosed pistol! Drivers/racers use the control to propel the cars around the track - a simple operation - but easy to see how technique and experience will ultimately decide the winners and losers.

At a recent meeting, a Nokia camera phone was attached to one of the models as it raced around the track. This novel idea sparked a lot of interst on various blogs and enthusiast websites when it was uploaded to U-Tube. There is a link to the video here on the 'EYE' and also on the club's own website at www.enderbyslotcarclub.co.uk. Rather amusingly, AOL video carried the clip with the title "Using a mobile phone while driving"!

During my visit I was allowed to have a go and was pleasantly surprised when my vehicle at least stayed on the track rather than becoming airborne on the corners.

The club's weekly race fee is £4 for adults and £2 for minors. So typically a family of our could enjoy a night of slot car racing for amazingly just £12.

Slot Car Racing hobbyists maintain and tweak their cars - and there are club members with suficient expertise to advise on the various aspects of maintenance.

For anyone who wishes, there is a full calendar of events, competitions and challenges up and down the country, right throughout the year - but for the majority who simply want to participate locally in an interesting and fun pastime, the Enderby Slot Car Club is a valuable local asset.

More information:

Enderby Slot Car Club:
Contact andynclare2000@yahoo.co.uk

website: www.enderbyslotcarclub.co.uk

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