your first, basic Masonite slider, sand the narrow edges into a
45-60-degree angle so they’ll slide and not bump and stop when
hauled around the layout. Draw a center-line down the back
(smooth) side of the Masonite slider. Measure in three scale feet
from both long ends, and mark.
You’ve now established where the roofing nails will be epoxied.
Roofing nails are especially friendly for this job because of their
great, big, flat heads. Measure the distance between the nails’
points to make sure you’re on the mark, it should be a scale 12
feet. Then leave the epoxied nails alone for 24 hours so your
five-minute epoxy cures to full strength.
TRACK CLEANING CAR |
9
5. Whether you’re
drilling with a hand
drill or drill press, a
little cutting oil, while
not necessary, is ex-
tremely helpful. The
3/16” drill bit allows
the nails a little slop,
which is good; we
don’t want our sled
binding. And calipers
are always good for
getting true measure-
ments and starting
holes, although not in
steel.
TRACK CLEANING CAR |
10
Assembly
Pop off the car’s body. Unscrew the trucks, and turn the chas-
sis over on its back. Measure or use your compass to find the
centerline, and either scratch a mark or just use the compass to
establish a 12-scale foot distance on the centerline. Chuck-up
your 3/16” drill bit and drill away. The holes will be a little larger
than the diameter of the roofing nails because we don’t want
the nails binding, we want them “floating” in their holes.
As a finishing touch before final assembly, I spray the slider
tops, nails, and sides – the parts that show – with the same
brown camouflage paint I use to spray paint my track. The
rough side, bottom, should remain au natural. Raw and rough,
it’s got work to do.
Only after the epoxied nails have fully cured and reached their
maximum strength, slide the nails through the holes in the
bottom of your car. To hold this rig in place we do not need
threaded stock, screws, nuts, bolts or any other over-the-top
builder stuff. We only need starlock washers, which sell for
about a dime each at places like Ace Hardware.
Push the starlock washers on over the nails, pop the body back
on, and screw on the trucks and, voila, you now have a fully
operational track-cleaning slider car or sled car. If you pick the
car up, the slider stays attached. On the track, it will glide gen-
tly, gobbling up filth.
However – and this is a major however – you must have smooth
track. No minefields, booby-traps or actuating wires from
Tortoise switch machines. If an actuating wire stands taller than
the height of the rail, get out your trusty Dremel with a carbide
