Can Lionel Post War 1043 Transfomer power 30 18V light bulbs?

There were three variations of the 1043.  The first in a black case with a red handle was 50 watts, the second two variations were 60 watts.  BTW, this is input power rating.  Output power is more like 70 - 75% of that.

1447 bulbs use 2.7 Watts each.  That's a total of 81 Watts for 30 bulbs.  That's far exceeding the transformer's rating which is why it's circuit breaker keeps kicking out.

Thanks SteveH. That's why I could not pin point any short circuits in the wiring. I'll swap it out with a 1044.

You may still have issues with a 90 Watt 1044.  90 Watts input power times 73% output efficiency is only about 66 Watts.

You could either use a bigger transformer (rated for at least 120 watts if a postwar type) or split the load into two smaller circuits to use with the 1043 and 1044.

I'm will follow your advice. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Think LED lighting, no more issues with excessive power use or heat generation.

Hi gunrunnerjohn. Can you please tell the brand, wattage etc? Thanks.

Maybe something like these 6V LED or 12V direct screw in 1447 replacements from AliExpress.  If you go with these, they could either be powered with the appropriate 6 or 12 Volt DC power supply.  Alternatively you could use an AC voltage source set to about 2x the LEDs rated voltage with a rectifier diode in series with the circuit feeding the LEDs.  The rectifier would reduce the AC voltage to half wave pulsating DC at a little less than half of the input voltage.

@Dontano posted:

Hi gunrunnerjohn. Can you please tell the brand, wattage etc? Thanks.

The LED's used really depend on the specifics of the lighting job, so without those details, it's hard to recommend the best choice.