Dec 2016 I purchased a case of Menards 0 42 curves. About half of the pieces had to be tightened to make a good connection plus the rails were not all tight to the ties and some of the track had excessive flex in it. After a couple of months of use I started to have stopping problems on the curves with the Menards track. Found the insulators over crimped or such as center track was contacting the ties in places. I took the rails loose and added 2 layers of grey electrical tape. problem solved. This past Dec I was making some layout changes and needed 4 pieces of 0 42 curve. Simplest solution was to pick up the 4 pieces at Menards. I started to paw thru the track and trial assemble to find usable pieces. What a surprise !!!! Every piece I tried was tight, no flex in the track when I twisted it a bit. They fit as they should. Purchased the 0 42 and several 0 54 pieces. Installed them and not one issue. Since I knew I was going to need more I ordered a case mail order as the store only had a small supply on hand. Quality of new case was the same as the pieces I picked up at the store, no complaints about the track at all.
Am wondering if perhaps you may have gotten some older stock. If I need more track in the future I will definitely consider Menards.
