Dick,

I have several of these M track curved turnouts on my layout. Unfortunately the ones that are aged and worn, there is not a whole lot one can do. The parts that wear are plastic and they wear down with age. I need a picture here but I am talking about the pointed piece that outside wheel hits after passing over the moving part of turn out when train is being directed to "turn out" onto tighter radius track. There is an inner rail on turnout (that is about an inch long). I think it serves to guide the inboard side of inside wheel flanges in the right direction of turnout so outside wheels don't bang into the plastic point I describe earlier. What I have done to help is bend it toward inside of turn so as to guide the wheel into turnout better. Man, this is hard to explain in words! Hope it makes some sense.

With regard to disruption in power to pick up shoe or ski, I find not all loks have this problem. Ones that do, I slightly bend center of ski upward relative to ends so as to put a very slight arch into it. This allows ends of ski to make contact with center studs better as it passes over high points in turnout minimizing chance for discontinuity. The trick is to only bend ski enough so that lok passes over turnouts. This is what I do. Some may have a different view as to whether this is a good idea or not. I do it because I find it works.

Stew.

Thank you Stew and Perz for you responses. I have also noted that the plastic guard rails are higher above the outer conducting metal ground rails and considerably higher than the tops of the studs that carry the hot side of the circuit. As the lok's slider goes over these, the slider may not be low enough to make contact with the studs that it is approaching. This would account for the possible benefit for changeing the shape of the slider to be lower as it approaches the metal studs in order to make good contact.

Does this make sense to you? Dick