Something completely different....

[Kevinpreston3]

Did I have Switch and Go....

No, missed that one as a kid. In fact, I never even heard of it until I started collecting and got re-interested in toys in the late 80s early 90s.

I would be willing to bet that they stopped production on it to make way for Hot Wheels in 1967. I had to collect a few sets just to figure out what they are. Most people think they are air powered, but as you know, the switches run on air but they are battery powered.

The vehicles run along thin tubing in any configurtion you like. I once strung a spool of phone cord all over my kitchen and dining room and the ran on it fine. There are a number of sets. In fact, on the left hand side of the one picture there is an upside down box containing a Military Set.

I have 2 GT sets, Battle Set, Construction Site, Super Loaded Dump Truck set and a number of loose parts. Alot of fun, but like trains and race sets, takes some patience to get it set up right to run correctly. To your point on engineering, yes, they put alot into it, and some of the features run like clockwork...all from switches and flippers.

As an example, there is a dump truck section of track that if you go one way over it, it is just normal. If you cross it the other way, a tab on the side of the road flips the truck into reverse, it backs up into a small path, then another upright forces the truck to dump the marbles, which all file neatly out into a hopper. The the truck switches into forward and goes on its merry way. Ingenious!

You control what route you want it to take by squeezing plastic accordion type units which pressurize the track and move all the switches....so you move to an alternate route.

Alot of fun in a box.

 

[petek]

Had em all.. Motorific, Switch'n Go and another set similar to Motorific and I can't remember the name of it. The difference was that it had beaded plastic chain in the slot, like in a car wash or the SF cable cars that pulled the cars around. It didn't work very well and I returned it. I wasn't too enamored with my Switch'n Go either but I did like the Motoriffic best. I think my set was the Indy 500. Oh and the Trik Trak that was a very early one I had. No I wasn't a spoiled child except at Christmas we usually got what we pestered for.

 

[Kevinpreston3]

Pete, I think

The beaded chain raceway was the Matchbox Motorway. Tell me if this rings a bell.

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[petek]

Yup, that's it Kevin. Are you going for it?

 

[Kevinpreston3]

No feel free Pete

...if you want to bid on it.

Eventually I will add one to The Collection. Believe it or not, a few years ago I won on Ebay a box, never opened, of the adhesive and little posts you stuck on the bottom of a Matchbox for this set. The interesting thing is by this method you could "race" any Matchbox!

 

[petek]

I'm not planning on bidding Kevin. Don't need to become addicted to something else LOL. In trying to remember why I never kept it I think it was because the plastic conveyor chain kept popping out of the slots or binding, enough to take the fun out of it. A good idea that never worked properly in my case anyways and was a disappointment because I wanted it all set up on the ping pong table with my electric trains. Trains have always been my biggest toy fascination, though I never kept up with them I still love watching/playing with electric train sets. When I'm wealthy and retired LOL I'd love to have a G scale set running around the yard.