There have been a number of posts on the Forum recently regarding LED constant voltage lighting for passenger cars. While we here at the PRND&L want to serve our customers well, we are a budget-conscious railroad.
We operate O27 passenger cars in 4 three-unit sets for commuters, These are Lionel O27 streamlined cars, and MPC-era heavyweights.
We did hear the complaints of commuters bothered by the constant flickering of the lights. No matter how hard our maintenance crews tried, they could not keep the wheel and roller contacts clean enough to eliminate the flickering.
Moreover, after we installed pickup rollers on both trucks of each car, performance suffered. Trains slowed noticeably on certain sections of the line, wreaking havoc with the schedule.
While constant voltage LED lighting would solve the flickering problem, we would still have to deal with the drag on the wheels from the pickup rollers. Plus, the cost of the LED units per car was prohibitive.
In the end, our operations manager came up with the idea of using inexpensive strings of LEDs powered by small disc batteries. He procured 12 sets for less than $20. “Cool White” LEDs were installed in out streamlined cars, while the heavyweights have the glow of “Warm White” LEDs. Battery/switch units were mounted under the cars with some minor modifications.
On the streamliners, the light wires were wrapped around the screw pillars inside the car; on the heavyweights, the shop glued short flat heat screws to the floor on each end. This keeps the lights up overhead, and away from the windows.
Yes, the downside is that each car must be manually turned on when going into service, and turned off when the run is complete. The shop foreman is presently fabricating a tool to reach under each car to flip the switches without having to lift them off the track.
