My mother gave each one of my siblings and I the Holiday Tradition Express G Gauge (I think) over twelve years ago. There were a total of six given out and none of us have been able to get the train to run consistently. In fact, mine has ran a total of two times in its lifetime. The second cart powers the engine, but it's like the metal contacts short out the instance it starts to move. I have cleaned the metal train tracks where the contacts touch, I have cleaned the metal contacts under the carts, and I have moved the train just slightly along the track for hours to see if the train would get started at some length of the track and keep running. It so frustrating. I am starting to wonder if the trains were all defective in design or batch. It's so sad because this year my mother is actually visiting me for Christmas and I have tried so hard to get it to run (she lives across the country). Any suggestions to help me get this thing running would be great. video link is here

I tried to upload some photos, but this message forum says the folder is full. Here is a link to someone selling the same train, it gives you an idea of the engine and second powering car. https://www.ebay.com/itm/334334982821