Hey Maletrain (and Trainman 203):  Thanks so much for the cleaning advice.  I followed your recommendation and did find a dull oxidation on the tracks.  They're clean now and my train has woken from it's 25-year hibernation with success!  And a new model railroader has been born...me...at age 72!  Who'd have guessed!

Thanks much for your replies.  Great help.  My tracks (and train) have been sealed up in a box for the past 25 years, so  the track, to my novice eyes, looks pristine and not needing cleaning.

Thx again.

I have just rediscovered a Bachmann HO set, vintage early 1990s, and am about to set it up for the first time.  My tracks are both the silver kind and the copper colored kind.  Can I mix these two?  What's the difference?