Dead rail is very big with the garden modeler crowd, for obvious reasons, don't have to worry about cleaning track, electrical connectivity, animals chewing through your wiring.
There are a number of remote control systems that can incorporate a dead rail feature. Many now have a bluetooth option so you don't need to buy a controller, just use your smartphone. I have an MTH PS2 switcher with a bad board and will try one of those dead rail systems to resurrect it. Might come out cheaper than rebuilding the PS electronics or switching it to TMCC.
