# Uneven rail height on Tomy track



## towerofmeat (Nov 14, 2008)

I need some help. I have a new Tomy SI set, and a large lot of older Tyco track. I got the Tomy because of the track options. I noticed several track sections where my older Tycopro 2 and magnatraction cars hung up unless I was running fairly tall tires. This was not a problem with the G+ screamers, but after a sleepover with my 10 year old son's friends running the big magnet cars, I noticed odd wear on the wipers.

I checked, and quite a bit of the Tomy track rails were substantially higher on one side of a lane than the other, causing the chassis to bottom out and hang with the older/slower cars. The 15" straights also tend to form a hump in the middle. I tried applying "cold" pressure to the rail with no joy. The "normal" rail height also seem higher on the Tomy than the Tyco.

Is there a way to heat the high rail and sink it back into the track? I was thinking pressing with a soldering iron, or heating gently with some other source to flatten the track in hopes of re-setting the rail.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

David


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## twolff (May 11, 2007)

Heating it sounds like a bad idea.

I've noticed similar issues with my Tomy track. I fixed the 15'" hump tracks when I screwed the track down. The rail heights can be evened up a bit by honing down the high spots. I've heard of others gluing shims to a stiff abrasive to do this. The shims should be about the desired rail height. It takes time and can get messy.

I also pulled about 6 sections of track and replaced them with sections that had better rails. My Magnatractions run the lower than any of my other cars and they would hang on high rails and on bumpy sections. Some of the rails were also a bit wavy both up and down and side to side. Those sections got binned too.


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## towerofmeat (Nov 14, 2008)

I read in another thread about grinding the rails down. Swapping out is an option now, but eventually I'll need most of it, so ...sounds like a job for super-dremmel!


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

I've heard of people using a block of wood and a hammer to get the rails to sit better. Lay the track piece on a perfectly flat surface (like a table saw), place a block of wood over the track piece, and gently strike the wood with a hammer. The important thing is to distribute the force evenly across the rails when you whack them so the entire rail gets an even shove. If you do get it to sit better, I'd then recommend using epoxy or super glue underneath the track piece where the rails are exposed to lock them down. The last thing you want to do is to create bumps or dips in the rail. Using a Dremel or heating selected spots on the rail would be a recipe for creating dips. I've been lucky with Tomy track, it's been universally decent for me. 

Yes, Tomy track has higher rails and a deeper slot than Tyco/Mattel track.

Odd wiper wear is usually the result of improperly adjusted shoes or shoe springs. The contact patch on the shoe must sit flat on the rail. The shoe tension should usually be the same for both shoes. Almost all new cars right out of the package need to have their shoes adjusted in some way.


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## Dyno Dom (May 26, 2007)

I used "adjustment tools" for rail height problems w/ Tomy track pcs. secured
in place. A local machine shop made a rectangular block of magnesium. It
measured 4x8 in. by 1/2 in. thick & weighed 1.5 lbs. I used a large rubber mallet & corners of block were useful in tighter places like joint areas.


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