You mentioned RealTrax. Some RealTrax came with a black coating on the center rail that, in my experience, interfered with reliable electrical pickup. I used an abrasive eraser to remove the black coating. Then I had to go back and remove it from all of the pickup rollers as well. If your RealTrax has the blackened center rail, you might choose to do the same.
There are some talented MTH techs on this board that could add a pickup roller to the Mohawk's tender. (This job requires some custom engineering.) Doing this would greatly improve the number of power pickup points, and net you more reliable operation. Shame on MTH for NOT putting a pickup roller on the tender, in the first place!
