the electric flow in that piece of track. That things heated up is a big clue-- depending upon the current load, voltage, and a few other things, resistance causes the "blocked up" electricity to turn to heat instead of the work it's supposed to do.

Good thing it didn't start a fire.

With any device with multiple parts it often is a process of elimination. As to your question, this is a guess as I can't put my hands on it, but I believe that there is an incomplete short circuit in that one piece of track. If it was a complete short nothing would work and it it might trip an internal circuit breaker on the power source.

It's been a long time since I handled electric train parts so I can't remember how the power is passed from one piece of track to the next. If I had it and a known good one in hand I would use my ohm meter to measure for the short. I doubt that piece can be effectivly repaired.

I am surprised that there isn't an electric train forum on DU. My far distant brothers-in-law are train nuts with great layouts in their basements.

the smell of an electric train running around a track. It's strange how these posts took me right back there.

make the problem worse. Oxidation will interfere with conductivity. This happens with track that doesn't get used regularly.

Christmas. Polishing the track was part of the ritual.