I recently built a HO track for my nephews and have run into some issues. The track itself is a Tomy AFX 4 lane combination of the Intl' and 4 way split. All was well when it was on the floor, but last weekend I constructed a table on a 3/4 sheet of plywood covered in outdoor carpeting. I nailed the track down with #18 5/8" tacks but now it is crazy bumpy. HELP! Was I wrong to use the outdoor carpeting? Are the tacks wrong? Is this "just what it is" now?

Before nailing down Tomy track, you have to remove the little 'spped bump' nubs on the center connectors. Tomy track can get finnicky when putting it together in a layout. And those little nubs don't line up right, thus you get bumps.

Also, check the 'z' rails at the joint to see if they are raised. If they are, gently push them down so they are even or slightly below the straight rail they mesh with.

every brand of track has its issues.simple ways to remedy any problems however.as long as your carpet is stretched out tight on the table that shouldn't be a problem.the track joints always require extra attention.some prefer to countersink the nail holes and use screws as it is easier to adjust the track.go to greg brauns site hoslotcarracing.com
and you can find all the building advice you should ever need.

Try removing all the tacks along a stretch of track which includes straight and curved pieces. If the cars run OK there, the problem (or at least one problem) is the tacks.

The tires may be hitting the tack heads themselves. Or, you may be driving the tacks too tight, pushing the center of the track section into the carpet, and forcing the ends upward to peak at the joints.

Some people use a drill to countersink the nail holes, so the nail-heads sit flush with the track surface. Another possible solution is to put a splut of silicone caulk on the bottom of each track piece. Make any adjustments while the silicone is still wet, then drive the nails loosely to hold the track in place. After the caulk has set, pull the nails, and let the silicone hold the track down. Because of the restricted air space, the silicone may take longer than usual to set.

If you're worried about messing up the carpet (in case you change track locations), you could probably drive wide-head tacks through a 1" square of paper and into the carpet and table. Create a spacing gauge, and drive the tacks until their heads are just below the lower surface of the track. Put a dab of caulk on each nailhead. Then lay the track on top of it and allow it to set. The paper protects the carpet from drips. When you change track location, just pry up the track and pull the tacks. (I must admit I've never done this, so give it a small-scale test before committing to it.)

Good luck.:wave:

Some people use a drill to countersink the nail holes, so the nail-heads sit flush with the track surface.

My first thought was the bumps were probably at the track joints as others have commented on. If the OP confirms this, we can provide additional details on the nub removal.

If the bumps are at the actual tacks, I did the countersink method you mention (and then used screws instead of nails). But..... on a second track, I used the soldering iron trick to sink the nail heads, and was very happy with the results!

After hammering in the nail, you touch a hot soldering iron to the nail head briefly. The head will heat up, melt the plastic just a tad, and the track raises just a little bit to leave the nail head flush.

Then again, with the carpet under the track, I think it would be difficult to get a consistent track height, so if you stick with the carpet underneath, countersinking screws would allow you some adjustment.

In the been there done that category...ANY time I have laid track over carpet, astroturf, or foam; be it slot cars or trains, it was a horror.

Track has to be massaged down onto the substrate with care. Ya cant just bang it down like you are nailing up sideing. If it must be secured, one must fit and adjust each piece carefully. This INCLUDES but is not limited to removing nibs and nubbins, filing rail joints, shimming one or both sides of a sectional track joint, working out kinks or doinks in the slot AND most importantly proceeding methodically around your track with care.

Even so one might still have to revisit an area on occassion as the effects of humidity and temperature may produce undesirealbe effects....not unlike a real road when ya think about it.

Search and read the plethora of EXCELLENT track builds and tutorials here at HT. You wont be disappointed! :wave:

My Tomy track is setup on an outdoor carpet with a felt-like texture. It was nice a quiet until it was screwed down and then got noticably louder, but not bad. I purchased some border material and quickly discovered that getting the border exactly the same level as the track was going to be a problem given the compressable base.

I'm fooling with different layouts again and considering inlaying the track in the "carpet" and then inlaying the borders when I decide to fasten it down again.

Then there's having a 4x8 sheet of light grey Sintra PVC routed on a CNC machine, routing the rail slots manually and dealing with railing it. No screwing with borders, carpet, track joints...etc.

The problem is at the joints a lot of the time. What exactly do I remove? I think the biggest mistake thus far is using the open loop/astro turf sorta carpet instead of the felt type. Second will have to be the method I nailed it down. I started at one end and just kept on nailing until I was done. I think I have to pull all of the nails, possibly cut off the "nubs", and drive the track to find a position it likes. I like the glueing it down method, but I'll be sure to drive the crap outta it first. Let me know what the brain trust thinks! Thanks for all of the insight!

Hi, My track is on a 4x8 1/2" plywood table. It is held together with the new TOMY track clips That way the track kind of floats on the table so no buckling up when it gets hot or cold as can happen when nailed down. Also No cutting of the little nubs that everyone is talking about. If track moves to much on table with faster magnet cars a couple pieces of two sided tape does the trick. I added a couple pictures of my track.

I tried to mount an old lock and joiner track with screws. The track had nice countersunk holes in it already. It turned out to be a nightmare. The best solution was not any screws laying loose on bare plywood. I still would have to tweak the joints everytime I used the track. I have had good luck with the Tomy track. It is mounted on top of a masonite base and I attached the track to the masonite by dobs of silicone caulk. I didn't use much caulk, just enough to hold the track down. It has worked great for a couple of years now. I think the silicone allows the track to expand and contract with temperature changes. I am getting ready to take up the track, so it will be interesting to see how hard it will be to cut through the silicone dobs and get the track up without damage.

I've run quite a bit w/o fastening the track down and the turns need constant re-alignment as they "un-nest" from each other. Many of the peices do not lay flat on thier own. Mostly the 15 straights and some of the curves. I used #2 flat head screws and Have not had any trouble with the track bowing or kinking. My basment is finished and the temp and humididty is fairly constant. Pulling up the felt carpet will probably make it much easier to screw down and border....

Maybe I'll pull the track and lay another 4x8 sheet of something over the carpet and screw the track and borders to that. I do like the look and feel of the rug and the cars probably prefer it over a painted wood surface when they leave the track. I'm waiting on 4 track sections to try another layout for a few months before I consider screwing things down again.

The un-nesting problum will be gone with the TOMY track clips. Track joints stay Tight. You use two clips per track joint. Go to the TOMY web site which is http://afxracing.com/ I believe. Look for track accessories. then scroll down looking for track clips.

another way to avoid bumpy phenomenon is to carrefully tune the contact blades on your cars : it helps me a lot on my tyco track ;)