Tiny model cars - how do they stay on the road?

June 17, 2020 9:47 PM

I have a question for diorama fans and experts. I was at a recently opened attraction yesterday that had scale-model dioramas of cities, and there were tiny cars running along the tiny streets, which I had never seen before. Is this an old technology that I never noticed, or something new? How does it work?
posted by Umami Dearest to Technology (5 answers total)

Magnets under the road on a system of chains and pulleys, probably.
posted by kindall at 9:56 PM on June 17, 2020

Best answer: Possibly the Faller Car System which is, I believe, a wire & magnet kind of thing.
posted by niicholas at 9:58 PM on June 17, 2020 [2 favorites]

Best answer: E.g., systems like Magnorail.

Demo video.
posted by zamboni at 9:59 PM on June 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

Best answer: a wire & magnet kind of thing

Faller Car System:

After switching on the motor voltage from the included rechargeable battery, cars drive independently without any external power supply. The flexibly attached front axle features a forward facing steering part for specific steering, with a small but very effective permanent magnet at the tip. It responds to a speciality contact wire (steel wire) embedded in the road, keeping the vehicle in its track.

posted by zamboni at 10:10 PM on June 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks - both of those two systems look like they'd do the job.
posted by Umami Dearest at 10:20 PM on June 17, 2020