Originally Posted by Keystone:
If you are able to identify the areas that appear to have a decrease in power check for breaks or cracks of the copper type hooked tabs at the ends of the track connection or separations between the tabs and rail above. Sometimes the hooked tabs will ride up and over each other leading to poor connectivity especially when the track flexes with the weight of an engine passing over the area. You can hone in on the trouble spot(s) w/ a multi-meter and if needed, you may wish to add some feeder power lines to that area.
I just rebuilt my Realtrax layout, and after again reworking a section, the loco stopped dead as soon as it entered that loop through a switch. I again disassembled the loop, and, as Keystone suggests, several of the small copper "hook" connections were now bent beyond repair, and would not have mated at all with the next track section -- hence, no power and a dead loco. I repaired the several hooked tabs that were repairable, and just put two track sections in our home recycle bin. The loop works fine now.
I'll be more careful with my inspections of the hooked copper tabs when removing and re-installing my Realtrax in the future.