Who invented Scalextric? Was it the first electric race car set? trends now
QUESTION Who invented Scalextric? Was it the first electric race car set?
In 1912, New York toymaker Lionel Co. launched the first electric slot car racing set, featuring heavy tinplate cars, miniature drivers and a two-lane track. About 1,200 sets were produced by 1916.
Lionel had pioneered electric locomotive toys, producing its first train, the Electric Express, back in 1900.
There is evidence of electric track cars that predate the Lionel version, though these were not true slot cars, i.e. powered miniature cars guided by a groove or slot in the track.
These were connected to a raised rail and had only a single track.
A 1904 German catalogue for Marklin toys featured photographs of this system and there was a 1908 version by the French manufacturer Brianne. Unfortunately, neither of these models survive.
Scalextric was invented by Bertram 'Fred' Francis, a British engineer
Scalextric was invented by Bertram 'Fred' Francis, a British engineer. Francis had established Minimodels Ltd in 1947. In 1952, Minimodels introduced two tinplate model toy ranges featuring clever clockwork mechanisms, one called Startex and one called Scalex.
Francis realised that hobbyists were fitting small electric motors to their tinplate models and racing them on railed electric tracks similar to those used by model railways of the period.
He set about replacing the clockwork motor in the Scalex range of cars with a small electric motor and, crucially, added a rotary guide under the car, which ran into a slot track made of moulded rubber. This enabled the cars to travel at exciting speeds.
The first car produced by Scalextric was the Maserati 250F, made famous by Juan Manuel Fangio driving one in his legendary final win at the 1957 German Grand Prix. This was followed by a Ferrari 375 and Austin Healey 100/6.
The new Scalextric cars were officially launched at the 1957 Harrogate International Toy Fair and were an immediate success.
Jonathan Wylie, Chatteris, Cambridgeshire.
QUESTION What was the Shah of Iran's 'Great Civilisation'?
The Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's Great Civilisation was a proposed series of reforms aimed at modernising Iran and transforming it rapidly into an industrialised and Westernised nation. The reforms included public health services, guaranteed housing,
