Rule of Thumb For Engine Amp Draw?

Unfortunately, life isn’t always so simple. Our club has experienced an amperage shortage a couple of times in the past when displaying modules at a local train show. Too many engines pulling too many cars up a grade (created by the uneven floor) on top of trying to push electrons through the track and track bus, caused the system to shut down (we were drawing more current than it could put out). We have since fixed the problem by buying extra power boosters. We now have more current than we need but we still to the calculations once in a while just to be safe.