And, something people don't talk about but can happen. If really running only oldschool conventional only, high inductance, lots of sparks, frequent possible shorts, kind of equipment- that abuse actually can cause failures in modern electronic controlled transformers (ZW-L, Z4000, GW180, Powermasters). In other words, the load spikes and shorts the transformer eventually causing a failure not the other way around.
So again, IMO, running a conventional transformer (meaning a roller or tap based voltage transformer- like a ZW) - as long as more recent modern circuit breakers for current are added- let the trains spark- create that ozone and EMI RFI all they want. The transformer doesn't care and the trains get to be run safely, and the whole thing doesn't cost you arm and a leg.
