1) - Until recently, the most common rail I used was .012" x .080" in size.  This was the rail I used in all the Fray tracks and in fact, every track from 1997 up until about 2005.  I've since replaced this rail with slightly wider rail (.014" x .075"), so it'll be easier on pick-up shoes and have very close to the same amount of magnetic grip as the earlier rail.  I recommend choosing this rail if all you ever run are T-jets (or other non-magnetic attraction cars).   It's less costly and T-jets have no need it for the additional material in the taller rail .

2) -   Instead of being "flat" this rail (wire) is round.  Early on in my routing days, I tried using a 1/16" diameter round wire to fill the rail slot.   It worked fine for T-jets, but offered WAY too much grip for magnet cars.  Recently, I've found a wire that is coated with color coded plastic casing.  The metal wire inside is only .044" in diameter.  The test track I've built shows this new wire to have slightly more magnetic grip than my standard rail (.014" x .075"), but not near as much as the 1/16" (.0625") diameter wire.
  The round wire is really easy to install, but after installation, you have to go around and sand or scrape off the top layer of the coating.  The cool part about this wire is there won't be a recess next to it like the flat rail has.  Sometimes you can accidentally marshal a cars pin into that recess and it sticks for a moment, slowing your marshaling time.  Also the more rounded nature of the wire will be easier on tires and pick-up shoes.

3) - The newest rail I now have is being used to accommodate magnet car racers.   They want a "spec" rail.  So I duplicated Tomy rail (.015" x .109").  I'd say this rail has 20-25% more grip than my smaller rail.  It's is more difficult and time consuming to install this rail over the smaller rail.   So with the added expense of the larger rail, the extra layer of "lock wire" it will require and the extra labor involved, choosing the "tall rail" will increase the price, but I think most magnet car racers will find it worth it.

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- Bob Marketos (of www.HOWorld.net fame)
has commissioned me to build 2 different kit tracks.
Click here to see the new www.HOWorld.net International T-jet track
Click here to see the new www.HOWorld.net International Fray track

- Do you own or know somebody that owns an old Aurora "Tub" track?
I sell roadway sections that drop right into an "ole' Tubbie".
They can be hand routed for 4 lanes, or CNC routed for 5 or 6 lanes.
Heck, even if you don't own the "Tub", this would make a nice track
on a regular table!  Click here to see that layout

NEW!  I'm starting to incorporate a method of connecting the track sections together.  I call them "dogbones".  They are small dogbone shaped pieces that span the roadway joints.  They help prevent the roadway sections from pulling apart and help to align the slots.  They're great for circuits that are designed to be torn down from time to time.
  I can only utilize this "system" with CNC routed tracks, so if you are interested in this, the cost of a track will go up some due
to the shop fee.
Click here to see a diagram of the dogbone set up

NEW!  ZIP-ZAP MAGNET TRACKS
  The demand has become too great.  Racers from all over are asking me to build them tracks
that are more suited to cater to the "high-end", high downforce magnet cars.
Click here to learn more about these tracks.

Click here to see CAD designs

Email me with any questions at: trackinquiry@aol.com

Click here to go back to my Home Page

FAQ's

How deep do you make your pin slot?
-In the past I was only able to route it to about .150", but recently I found a bit that will plunge deeper.  So now it's at about .175".  To compare: Tyco, T-jet and Life-Like track are about .128" and Tomy and A/FX are at about  .190".
  Most every HO slot car will run on my tracks (except old Matchbox cars that utilized a different rail spacing).  The only
time you might run into a problem would be if you used an extra long aftermarket (BSRT, Wizzard, etc.) pin.
These pins are designed for the deep slot in A/FX, Tomy track, but if you use their standard length "pro" guide pin
on my tracks, there won't be a problem.

How high do you set your rail height to?
- On "HO" tracks, I try really hard to keep it as close to .012" as possible.  Recently I made a new jig and bought a new router that allows me to keep it between .009"-.015".  To compare, most of the major manufacturers (Tomy, Tyco, etc.) are lucky if they keep it between .007" - .020".

What if I want to build the table?
- That's no problem, I can sell you just the pre-railed track sections, without the table.

What is the track surface made of and can I choose any color?
- It's cut from large sheets of expanded foam PVC plastic.   The surface is a lot like standard (Tomy, Tyco, etc.) track with just a very fine texture to it.   Yes, the sheets come in many colors but I recommend gray.

  I think some other manufacturers of routed tracks use solid PVC, I use expanded foam PVC.  Solid PVC has a glossy smooth finish, which offers good traction for silicone tires, but I don't like the glare that it can cause.  Also too much tire grip can cause the cars to tip over, instead of hanging the back-end out.  Also most of my customers prefer the fact that the plastic I use "looks" more like real roadway.

Can you laminate a track with a Formica like material?
- I could, but I don't recommend it.  It would increase the cost, make the roadway less flexible and I don't think the added tire traction is necessarily a good thing.  The additional tire grip will have a tendency to roll the car over instead of allowing it to get sideways.  Also, if a glossy surface is chosen, it could cause too much glare.

I like the detailed scenery.  Do you do that too?
- Yes I can (at an additional expense).

Are there any limitations to the circuit design I want?
- No, not really.  Let your mind free to design any conceivable layout you like.  I can probably duplicate it.

Once I get my track, how long will it take me to set it up?
- If you buy the ready-to-run, track & table from me, it won't take long at all.  Say, if your track was built on 2 tables, it will only take about 15 minutes before you're set up and racing.

What about  "magnetic" grip?
How will the different rails feel compared to standard track and other routed brands?
- My old "normal" sized rail used to be .012" x .080".   I've replaced that size with .014" x .075".
FYI: Tomy track uses .015" x .105" size rail.
  I prefer the new smaller rail (over "Tomy" sized rail) because it still offers plenty of grip but not so much as to take away the challenge of driving.  Magnet cars will have tendency to fishtail more with the shorter rail.  Which is fun to drive and cool to watch too.
  One of my tracks, The Katz-Spa-Ring, is a 171' long home track with as much as 22" of elevation changes!
View pics of it here: http://www.bradstracks.com/Pics_of_tracks/Katz-Spa-Ring.htm
  The Katz-Spa-Ring has the smaller (.012" x .080") rail.  A stock Tomy Super G+ with solid silicone tires can lap that track in approximately 7 seconds.  That's an average speed of 16.5 mph.  Over hill and dale mind you!
  I had a friend try an Unlimited car (with 6 magnets in it!) and he lapped the K-S-R in 5.33 seconds!  That's an average of almost 23 mph!  A good Fray-style T-jet time is about 16 seconds (7.28 mph avg.).
- Driving on the round wire tracks is nice and smooth too.  There is a slight bit more magnetic grip.  The advantage here was the ease in which the wire is to install and how the tires seem to be able to "roll" over the wire (when fishtailing) more easily.
- The large rail most definitely has more grip.  Turns that required you to feather the throttle with the smaller rail, now become flat-out.  Lap times drop dramatically, and the cars ZIP around the track.
Click here to learn more about the larger railed tracks.

I'd like my track to be CNC routed.   Can you do that?
  Yes I can.  I have very good CAD-CAM software to create the layout design.  Then I have a local shop
do the CNC work.  I don't have them do the rails slots because the CNC machines can't be as accurate
as they need to be to hold the tolerances needed.  So, I have a routing set up that does the rail slots by hand.