The Roedale Club History
The Roedale Club story began when Slot Car Racing was really starting to take off in a big way and was fast becoming popular as a hobby and sport during the early 1960’s. We certainly don’t claim to be the first Club to start up in the UK, but we are one of the very few to have survived intact since those early days.
In 1965, our Club founder Reg Church, who was a life-long model maker, was introduced to Scalextric racing and promptly went out and bought a large quantity of Scalextric track and cars for himself, and this formed the basis of a small family oriented Scalextric Racing Club.
Very soon, the dining room floor at Reg’s home was quite literally covered in track, and other family members and friends were spending more and more time developing their skills and modifying standard Scalextric cars – not necessarily to go faster, but to make them handle better in the pre-magnatraction days! Other makes of cars were discovered and scratch built cars soon began appearing on the track.
The family group then found out from the brand new ‘Model Cars’ magazine that you could actually build your own wooden track and that there were many clubs around the country that raced cars very seriously. As the cars that were being developed were already becoming totally unsuitable for racing on Scalextric track, the decision was taken to build a proper wooden track, and plans were drawn up.
Reg was lucky enough to have a workshop at the rear of his business premises and a track was built on a large baseboard with just over 61 feet of 3 lane track on it.
Today, the choice of 3 lanes might seem strange but then, in the beginning, the group had the barest knowledge of any rules and, as there was a core of four of them with no intention at that time of forming a proper club, three could race while the other did the timing. Simple logic really, although made with no foresight of what was to come.
No sooner was this track up and running than the group were inundated with friends wanting to take part in this brand new sport, so a proper Club was formed. Naming this Club proved to be a problem, as it was about to be called simply Brighton Model Car Racing Club when someone found out that there was already a club of that name operating in the town! This turned out to be a very small track in a basement just off the seafront, so the Club was named after the district of Brighton they were in – Roedale Model Car Racing Club. Ironically, shortly afterwards the ‘original’ Brighton club was to fold and their remaining members joined the new Roedale Club. Within a very short while, ‘(Brighton)’ was added to our title but the name Roedale remains to this day as a proud reminder of our origins and heritage.
The three lane track proved a great asset in getting many people interested, but things moved on very fast indeed and literally within weeks it was found that there were more clubs in the area – at Southwick, Worthing, Crawley and Eastbourne, and that the Rules of the newly formed Electric Car Racing Association (ECRA) stated that club tracks should have at least 4 lanes. The decision was taken to build a brand new 4 lane track and convert the workshop into a proper clubroom.
Amazingly, in the space of less than a year the fledgling Club had gone from a Scalextric track to a 3 lane wooden track, and now to a brand new permanent 4 lane track in its own clubroom.
The new 4 lane track was fairly typical of tracks in the 1960’s, having more than its fair share of ups and downs, including a switchback style back straight, which was built by Reg himself and soon got christened ‘Reg’s Hump’. The main straight was just over 14 feet long and was considered to be quite lengthy after the old 3 lane track. This track had a lap length of just over 67 feet and was eventually formally opened in 1966 with much ceremony and publicity, and a half page article (with photos) in the local paper, The Evening Argus.
This was the hey-day of the Sport with many new kits and cars appearing on the market and most members were scratch-building cars. The Club quickly became one of the most prominent and successful of the 20 or so similar Clubs which existed in Sussex at that time, and indeed one of the most successful on the South Coast.
Looking back, it always seemed as though that first 4 lane track was in use for many, many years when in actual fact it lasted less than seven years, with its last race on 2nd January 1973.
By late 1972, the old track was suffering from severe wear and tear and was already becoming slightly dated, with the cars getting much quicker and unable to cope with the bumps caused by the hardboard track surface warping across the supporting battens. The decision was taken to build a new track to replace it.
The final design that was agreed on was for a track that was rather similar to the old one but much flatter, was a bit longer at 72 feet, and had a lovely banked turn onto the main straight. The final result was a super smooth track, probably the best-built club track anywhere in the country at that time, and it fulfilled all its promises of being much quicker, but still very much a ‘drivers’ track.
The first race night on this new track took place on Thursday 6th February 1973.
This second 4 lane track then survived for a full 26 years until the Club was forced to move out due to the property eventually being sold four years after the passing on of our founder, landlord and patron, Reg Church, in 1995.
Early in 1999, the Club knew that their days at Roedale Road were numbered and that new premises must be found if the Club was to survive.
Members scoured Brighton and the surrounding area in an attempt to find a new home but commercial rents were quite unaffordable and benefactors were in very short supply. In desperation, Brighton Council was approached and despite promises of help from the Council Leader himself, the Club was simply passed on to their Property Department who were only able to offer properties at full market value – way beyond what the Club could reasonably afford. Due credit must go to the staff in the Property Department who did point out several possibilities outside of their own sphere of reference, and also to the Land Registry (not normally known for their generosity) who gave us ownership details on a number of empty properties without charge.
Many potentially suitable buildings were found – ranging from lock-up garages, derelict church halls, railway arches, small industrial units, shops, basements and sheds. Those, which we could afford, all had various problems of either poor access or lack of basic facilities such as a toilet - and even lacked an electricity supply in some cases.
One of the very first buildings to come to light was in fact the one we were to move into in Coldean. Our first reaction was that it was too small, as we had been looking for somewhere twice the size. We also hoped that we would be able to find somewhere bigger soon and our stay would only be a temporary one! Apart from the small size, the biggest drawback was the lack of a toilet. However, the urgent need for a clubroom out-weighed that little problem until such times that we could install one!
The last race night at Roedale Road took place on Thursday November 4th 1999 and during the following few days all the control gear and anything else that could be removed, was removed. As the track had never been intended to be dismantled, it was sadly left to its fate – and to the woodworm that had already begun to devour it!
At the beginning of September 1999, we took possession of our new home in Coldean. When it came to deciding on the design of the track itself, we were faced with the same old problem that we have always lived with, namely a small room. The new clubroom was a shade bigger than the old one but nowhere near big enough for us to build a sensible ‘island’ type track. Many designs were thought of, but eventually we decided on one that was based on the very successful shape of our last track. The latest BSCRA regulations for new tracks meant that we needed to have wider lane centres – 100mm (4 inch) instead of the old 3 inch centres, and by making larger radius turns, the new design gave us a track that promised to be much quicker.
The result was a super smooth track measuring almost exactly 80 feet in length, or 24.30 metres in metric numbers.
After over 4 months without a track, the first Club Night on this brand new track - dubbed the ‘Millennium’ track, was on Thursday 2nd March 2000.
So, here we are in Coldean with one of the most successful Slot Car Racing Clubs around. We may be in small premises with a smallish track but we have some of the best racing to be found anywhere, with a great atmosphere, every week of the year – and well worth a visit!
In 1965, our Club founder Reg Church, who was a life-long model maker, was introduced to Scalextric racing and promptly went out and bought a large quantity of Scalextric track and cars for himself, and this formed the basis of a small family oriented Scalextric Racing Club.
Very soon, the dining room floor at Reg’s home was quite literally covered in track, and other family members and friends were spending more and more time developing their skills and modifying standard Scalextric cars – not necessarily to go faster, but to make them handle better in the pre-magnatraction days! Other makes of cars were discovered and scratch built cars soon began appearing on the track.
The family group then found out from the brand new ‘Model Cars’ magazine that you could actually build your own wooden track and that there were many clubs around the country that raced cars very seriously. As the cars that were being developed were already becoming totally unsuitable for racing on Scalextric track, the decision was taken to build a proper wooden track, and plans were drawn up.
Reg was lucky enough to have a workshop at the rear of his business premises and a track was built on a large baseboard with just over 61 feet of 3 lane track on it.
Today, the choice of 3 lanes might seem strange but then, in the beginning, the group had the barest knowledge of any rules and, as there was a core of four of them with no intention at that time of forming a proper club, three could race while the other did the timing. Simple logic really, although made with no foresight of what was to come.
No sooner was this track up and running than the group were inundated with friends wanting to take part in this brand new sport, so a proper Club was formed. Naming this Club proved to be a problem, as it was about to be called simply Brighton Model Car Racing Club when someone found out that there was already a club of that name operating in the town! This turned out to be a very small track in a basement just off the seafront, so the Club was named after the district of Brighton they were in – Roedale Model Car Racing Club. Ironically, shortly afterwards the ‘original’ Brighton club was to fold and their remaining members joined the new Roedale Club. Within a very short while, ‘(Brighton)’ was added to our title but the name Roedale remains to this day as a proud reminder of our origins and heritage.
The three lane track proved a great asset in getting many people interested, but things moved on very fast indeed and literally within weeks it was found that there were more clubs in the area – at Southwick, Worthing, Crawley and Eastbourne, and that the Rules of the newly formed Electric Car Racing Association (ECRA) stated that club tracks should have at least 4 lanes. The decision was taken to build a brand new 4 lane track and convert the workshop into a proper clubroom.
Amazingly, in the space of less than a year the fledgling Club had gone from a Scalextric track to a 3 lane wooden track, and now to a brand new permanent 4 lane track in its own clubroom.
The new 4 lane track was fairly typical of tracks in the 1960’s, having more than its fair share of ups and downs, including a switchback style back straight, which was built by Reg himself and soon got christened ‘Reg’s Hump’. The main straight was just over 14 feet long and was considered to be quite lengthy after the old 3 lane track. This track had a lap length of just over 67 feet and was eventually formally opened in 1966 with much ceremony and publicity, and a half page article (with photos) in the local paper, The Evening Argus.
This was the hey-day of the Sport with many new kits and cars appearing on the market and most members were scratch-building cars. The Club quickly became one of the most prominent and successful of the 20 or so similar Clubs which existed in Sussex at that time, and indeed one of the most successful on the South Coast.
Looking back, it always seemed as though that first 4 lane track was in use for many, many years when in actual fact it lasted less than seven years, with its last race on 2nd January 1973.
By late 1972, the old track was suffering from severe wear and tear and was already becoming slightly dated, with the cars getting much quicker and unable to cope with the bumps caused by the hardboard track surface warping across the supporting battens. The decision was taken to build a new track to replace it.
The final design that was agreed on was for a track that was rather similar to the old one but much flatter, was a bit longer at 72 feet, and had a lovely banked turn onto the main straight. The final result was a super smooth track, probably the best-built club track anywhere in the country at that time, and it fulfilled all its promises of being much quicker, but still very much a ‘drivers’ track.
The first race night on this new track took place on Thursday 6th February 1973.
This second 4 lane track then survived for a full 26 years until the Club was forced to move out due to the property eventually being sold four years after the passing on of our founder, landlord and patron, Reg Church, in 1995.
Early in 1999, the Club knew that their days at Roedale Road were numbered and that new premises must be found if the Club was to survive.
Members scoured Brighton and the surrounding area in an attempt to find a new home but commercial rents were quite unaffordable and benefactors were in very short supply. In desperation, Brighton Council was approached and despite promises of help from the Council Leader himself, the Club was simply passed on to their Property Department who were only able to offer properties at full market value – way beyond what the Club could reasonably afford. Due credit must go to the staff in the Property Department who did point out several possibilities outside of their own sphere of reference, and also to the Land Registry (not normally known for their generosity) who gave us ownership details on a number of empty properties without charge.
Many potentially suitable buildings were found – ranging from lock-up garages, derelict church halls, railway arches, small industrial units, shops, basements and sheds. Those, which we could afford, all had various problems of either poor access or lack of basic facilities such as a toilet - and even lacked an electricity supply in some cases.
One of the very first buildings to come to light was in fact the one we were to move into in Coldean. Our first reaction was that it was too small, as we had been looking for somewhere twice the size. We also hoped that we would be able to find somewhere bigger soon and our stay would only be a temporary one! Apart from the small size, the biggest drawback was the lack of a toilet. However, the urgent need for a clubroom out-weighed that little problem until such times that we could install one!
The last race night at Roedale Road took place on Thursday November 4th 1999 and during the following few days all the control gear and anything else that could be removed, was removed. As the track had never been intended to be dismantled, it was sadly left to its fate – and to the woodworm that had already begun to devour it!
At the beginning of September 1999, we took possession of our new home in Coldean. When it came to deciding on the design of the track itself, we were faced with the same old problem that we have always lived with, namely a small room. The new clubroom was a shade bigger than the old one but nowhere near big enough for us to build a sensible ‘island’ type track. Many designs were thought of, but eventually we decided on one that was based on the very successful shape of our last track. The latest BSCRA regulations for new tracks meant that we needed to have wider lane centres – 100mm (4 inch) instead of the old 3 inch centres, and by making larger radius turns, the new design gave us a track that promised to be much quicker.
The result was a super smooth track measuring almost exactly 80 feet in length, or 24.30 metres in metric numbers.
After over 4 months without a track, the first Club Night on this brand new track - dubbed the ‘Millennium’ track, was on Thursday 2nd March 2000.
So, here we are in Coldean with one of the most successful Slot Car Racing Clubs around. We may be in small premises with a smallish track but we have some of the best racing to be found anywhere, with a great atmosphere, every week of the year – and well worth a visit!
