I am a model train nut, and have been since I was 10. I have Z, N, HO, (American and German), S, 027, G and 1 gauges. I was never into slot cars.
When I was 14, our local toy and train store (Edna and Jerry's) on 18th Street near Castro in San Francisco, removed the great Lionel and American Flyer layout they had, and replaced it with a huge slot car track. Fathers and sons would spend Saturday afternoons lined up enjoying racing each other. My dad deserted the family in 1950 when I was 8, and although I truly missed my trains at Edna and Jerry's, it made me feel good to see fathers and sons together.
Tom