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Lane changers, lap counters, and high banks, oh my (1976, + 1912 slot cars, + 60's)
(media.piefed.ca)
Frankly, I could have fun with that as a full grown adult in 2026!
Ad above was a Tyco set. The first commercial slot cars were sold by Lionel in 1912,
In the 50's and 60's, slot car racing arcades were popular, where people would go to race or watch others race. They still exist today of course, just not in the same popularity and prominence as then.
Vintage track. Also, a greater than average number of ceiling tetrahedrons.
Group of 1960's ladies having a blast,
8-way track,
Absolutely - that was the biggest attraction - building the track. The stackers went up to 3 stories, so you could build real under and overpasses. We'd add cardboard boxes for tunnels.
There were also custom lane changes. There were certain straight sections that had the groves cross in an X, and would make the car flip to the other lane. Of course, if you hit that section with both cars racing neck and neck, you'd get amazing crashes, sometimes hard enough to snap the plastic top cover off the car.
That was another fun thing - racing with top off. The tops of the cars came off with a snap, and we'd often pretend we were doing crash derby with the stripped down cars smashing into each other. You could actually see the electric motor spin, and put your finger on it while it ran... although you ran a risk of getting pinched and losing some skin.
The cars stuck amazingly well to the track with the tops off too!
The little cars would go so fast it was crazy. Add the top and it changed the whole aerodynamics (obviously). It was really surprising to me at the time how much it mattered.
That's true - they seemed to crash a lot less when they were stripped down.