Example: At a switch where an outside rail doesn't quite meet properly and the height is different creating a bump going into the switch.
Shims inside?
Flattening the higher rail?
John
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How much of a height difference is there?
Is the bump causing the train to derail?
I see this as well. A little annoying but hasn't caused me any derailments, yet.
@SteveH posted:How much of a height difference is there?
Is the bump causing the train to derail?
One switch outer rail is around 1/16th higher. The center rail around a mm.
No. It's just an annoying bump. There is also a space on the outer rails. Derailment might be a problem with certain wheelbases.
John
Is the end of the rail raised up out of the plastic notches? Twisting or bending from disassembly can move or spread the rails sometimes. I have older O36 that doesn't snap together very well, also. Have you tried just pushing the high side down?
Like @John H said, sometimes the rail, if not seated properly against the roadbed inside the plastic ribs, and if the rail tabs underneath the roadbed aren't bent flush to the bottom of the roadbed with the rails seated properly, can cause this. If so, partially straightening the tabs, fully seating the rails in the roadbed grooves and while applying downward pressure on the rail, re-flattening the tabs can help.
If the rails are already fully seated against the roadbed, using a pair of pliers to crimp the sides of the low rail around the mating pin will raise up the center of the rail, making the top rail geometry rounder and less flat on top, resulting in a better height match to the higher opposing rail.
In most cases however, the amount of height discrepancy you've mentioned hasn't caused problems for me, it just heightens the clickety-clack 
.
As far as the visible gaps, other than the appearance, these should be fine, IMO.
@John H posted:Is the end of the rail raised up out of the plastic notches? Twisting or bending from disassembly can move or spread the rails sometimes. I have older O36 that doesn't snap together very well, also. Have you tried just pushing the high side down?
From the side under a magnifier it looks like the outer rail with the long pin in the 048 Switch divergent curve is up at an angle, but it doesn't move up and down when I try.
Also the ground tab looks mangled to me.
John
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I would just file or grind the top of the pin level. Won't hurt a thing. Hard to tell for sure, but it does look like the rail is pulled up slightly.
I’ll check mine later. I think both of my O48 switches have the same issue here with the slightly raised rail coming out of the curve.
OK,
Thanks. I started bending up tabs to see if I can reform the ground clip and maybe do something with the rail.
John
@Craftech You might try using a pair of channel lock pliers and a block of wood (like 1/2"plywood 4" square) under the end of the roadbed to bend the end of the rail back down a bit like so:
Also I'm unsure if you saw my second reply above, regarding matching the lower rail height to the higher one, via slightly crimping the sides of the rail.
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Problem fixed. Loosened some of the tabs holding the raised rail. Removed the ground clip. Straightened out the mangled ground clip. Squeezed the sides of the ground rail inward while using slip joint pliers to reseat the rail in the roadbed. While holding it, rebent the tabs over the ground clip. Center rail was only a little high so it was really easy to unbend, hold, and re-bend the tabs.
Just saw your last post now Steve. I got the gist from your first post. Thanks.
Rails line up perfectly. Quality control issue. Also on that same switch, one of the remote switch controller screw terminals (green one) had a cracked plastic area above the holding nut making it difficult to make good contact. On the control lever end the insulated area was not attached to the entry hole. The four thin wires were hanging out making them vulnerable to breakage. Annoying.
No more bumps. Thanks everyone.
John
I've had the same issue with the cracked screw terminal housings on a few of the switches I bought new last year. I called Lionel Customer Service and they sent me new replacements for free.
@SteveH posted:I've had the same issue with the cracked screw terminal housings on a few of the switches I bought new last year. I called Lionel Customer Service and they sent me new replacements for free.
Didn't know they were available. Thanks.
John
