Just recently gotten back into ho trains - grandkids are my motivation.  For a 5'X 8' oval, I'm trying to understand which would be a better choice - steel alloy or nickel silver.  I understand the cleaning aspects of one over the other.  But for a small 5' X 8' oval track, would steel alloy conduct electricity as good as nickel silver.  In other words, is the increased performance of nickel silver worth the investment?  Thanks!

I have an MRC Synchro Sound Box which I am generally satisfied with.  I am interested in adding a battery-powered portable speaker that I use with my iPod.  Is it possible to wire the MRC Sound Box into my iPod speaker?  Thanks!

Adding the secondary feeder line did the trick.  Thanks for everyone's input.  First time I've used the forum and had some great comments and suggestions.  Happy rails!

I have an oval track (approx 8 feet by 4.5 feet, 22" radius, steel EZ track) using an MRC 280 Tech4 transformer running a Bachmann Steam Engine Class with Tender (J 4-8-4) pulling four cars.  I have decent speed except going around the far turn when the engine slows down noticably.  I've checked track connections, keep it clean but still have the speed loss.  Anything I can do to remedy my problem?