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Tom, The problem you describe may be caused by three things. First, the rail may be dirty as you believe. The top surface of the rail can be cleaned with an abrasive like a Brite Boy cleaning eraser or a variety of cleaning solutions. I use a Brite Boy from time to time. Second, the wheels on your locomotives also become dirty. I put some rubbing alcohol on a strong kitchen towel and let the trucks on my diesel locos run in place on the towel. After you are finished with this technique, run the trucks over a section of dry towel to remove the alcohol otherwise you will spread it on your track. The third problem is possibly poor conductivity through your rail. This is most often caused by long runs from the power pack through the rail to portions of the rail. If your power must run through several loose rail joiners then you will have less voltage at the other end. The best way to eliminate this problem is to run 'feeder wires' under the table to several locations along your track. Just make sure you dont create short circuits when you do this. I recommend you get the book by Atlas which discusses two rail wiring for your layout. Good Luck - Ed
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