I just converted a set of 18" K-Line cars with lighting modules from Hennings Trains and LED strips that I had on hand, left over from various other projects. Simple, dimmable, inexpensive...

Can you do it cheaper with a bunch of parts... sure. I'm not concerned about paying a few extra bucks to save myself a lot of time. Support a fellow hobbyist and make the job simple to have more time for other projects

here is the thread you need.

 

led lighting

That link should be saved as a sticky in the electronics (or any forum) up top. Very valuable info there to me.

Several methods of how I do it shown here. Which method depends on if you run command or conventional.

 

LINK

 

Dale H

 

 

You can pick 5 meters of LED strip lighting on Ebay for about 10.00 to include shipping. It comes from China but it is worth the wait. It can take 18 volts but still lights bright enough at 14 volts.

You don't have to pay $10 for the strips unless they've gone up in price recently.  Here's one for $7.99: eBay - 281779804667

 

The strips should NOT see more than 12V, that's running them at their full current rating.  18V is too much.

 

 

 

Kevin,

If they have bulbs why not go with the simple LED bulbs? Much easier and cheaper. You can find these that can handle up to 20v, bright white and warm white. There are many options available depending on what your dollar point. Just my opinion.

I put LED lights on station platform I purchased two or three weeks ago. They were individual lights That came 5 to a pack. It's the platform on the left.

It doesn't get much easier than this: 1 module, and a LED strip.. a few solder joints

 

It may be easier, but I seriously doubt it'll be cheaper.  It will also exhibit the same poor hotspots that the existing incandescent bulbs do, and probably more so for most LED replacements.  The difference between the standard limited number of bulbs and the strip of LED's is pretty striking when you put them side by side.

 

John,

You have a good point. The OP must think about what he's attempting to mimic. I bought the 175 LED bulbs on my former layouts for $1.05 ea.(wholesale). It all depends upon quantity purchased and who you know.

Did you find individual lights on ebay also? If not, where? I can see doing that in a a lot of applications, especially with individual lights like these. 

I have been buying LED bulbs on eBay, 24, 18 volt bulbs, for $20, shipped.  They seem to work pretty good for me.

I'll second this suggestion. GRJ has done all the thinking and legwork and put together a nice conversion package that works very well. Very well thought out, well designed, compact and also easy to install as Laidoffsick says. I believe the kits come with everything you need but the tools needed for installation.

 

Anyone have experience using double row led strip lights? Can they be used with your module, GRJ? Seeing that they are more expensive than the regular single row led light strips, is there an advantage to using them rather than regular single row led strip lights?

Why would you want to use double rows???

 

grj offers a variety of kits via Henning's Trains, a forum sponsor, for those using constant and/or variable voltage; i.e. he takes the guess work out of eliminating high current and variable voltage passenger car lighting and hotspots in OEM lighting.

 

Also, to his GREAT credit, he is a relentless and prolific poster offering "roll your own" solutions for LED lighting--he's not just selling his kits--he offers alternatives for those so inclined.

 

 

No need for double row strips. The single row is PLENTY bright at max. I don't run them at max output anyway.... way to bright for me

Something that is not brought up often is the type of light (soft vs bright) that should be used in passenger cars of different eras.  LEDs labeled as warm white or soft white will produce a yellow hue, close to incandescents, found on most heavyweight cars before they were rebuilt in the 50s or later.  LEDs labeled as bright white will produce a whiter light, closer to daylight and similar to what you see in the lightweight/ streamlined cars produced in the 40s and later.  I believe Henning's Trains kits have warm white LEDs, so I am looking for bright white LEDs to use with their circuit to upgrade my K-Line aluminum streamlined cars.

I use warm white almost exclusively, and all the kits I've sold have had warm white strips.

 

I agree with the comment about the double strips, that's overkill.  A single strip of the 300 LED 5 meter roll product will give you more light then you can possibly want in a passenger car.

 

My regulator board maxes out at about 45ma, far short of the maximum intensity for the full strip in most any car, and I've never had anyone say it's not bright enough.  I typically run them in the 20-25ma range for the whole car.  The huge bonus of the strips is you get even lighting that looks much more prototypical than the bright spots of lights that most incandescent lighting gives you.  Another huge bonus is the cars consume a tiny fraction of the power the incandescent lighting does.  The 18" MTH cars I've converted for myself went from about 350ma to 25ma of current for each car.  If you have a ten car passenger train with incandescent lighting, the lighting in the cars alone is pulling 3.5 amps!  When you switch to LED lighting, that drops to 1/4 amp.

 

Team,

 

First - Thanks for all the suggestions - let me answer the questions / comments in order that they popped up. 

 

Laidoffsick - I don't habe any LED lights as I have never tried this. The reason I wanted to do this is because when we have shows we block off times to run equipment. What I have found is running for extended periods of times - the lights installed by the manufactures heat up the cars and typically burn out. Plus, to get 100 bulbs for equipment more than 5 ~ 6 years old is  challenge = either not available or you need to upgrade to a new bulb and socket.

 

Bigdodgetrain, Engineer Joe and Dale H. - Thanks for the links. I will look at that tomorrow. Looking for options. The question will be what to put into my MTH - MT4005's and Lionel CCII streamline cars (18 inch). Do you have a suggestion?

 

RRaddict2 - Thanks - Ebay is an option. Have you purchased from a specific vendor?

 

Gunrunnerjohn - Thanks - I will search Ebay tomorrow. If these are in a roll format how do I connect them to the trucks? Are their clips or something else I need to purchase?

 

Pre War Pappy - Did not think that they made LED replacement bulbs - Do you have a suggestion as to what to buy and where? I am looking to keep the same brightness but will sacrifice that for longevity.

 

Denny M - I will pull down you attachments and look. The buildings look great.

 

Laidoffsick - Thanks for the pictures and directions. Can you tell me they type of LED in the caboose and how many - how long would the strip need to be - I am assuming it is the same length as the current strip for the plug in lights.

 

PreWar Pappy and Gunrunnerjohn - Like the idea of replacing the light with LED - less work but will they be able to withstand 4 hours of constant running on the NJ Hi-Railers layout during a show? Where did you get the lights for $1.05?

 

Gary Graves - Can you please tell me where you got your lights? They look nice on the platform.

 

Bob Severin - Did you put the bulbs in a passenger car? If so, which ones did you use?

 

RTR12 - GRJ, is their a website you have? or just www.grj.com

 

Ogaugeguy - Great question - single or double strip? I have no preference other that they last and provide the same or close to brightness.

 

Pingman - you answered my questions - GRJ from Hennings Trains - I will contact them for more information on them - RTR12 - thanks

 

Laidoffsick - seem like you and others feel single strip works - I guess that is what I will try on the MTH - MT 4005's - NYC Heavy Weights.

 

CAPPilot - OK, the type of light is important to me - The MTH MT 4005's are Heavy Weight cars and the CII are streamlined - Are you saying I need bright light LED's for both sets?

 

Gunrunnerjohn - Single strip but how did you connect them up? Can you provide pictures and directions? Second, I am trying to reduce "burn out" at shows. I really hate looking at the cars in motion with half the light burnout.

 

Thanks to all 

 

 

 

 

I updated my 9 Williams passenger cars to LED lights, using home built voltage regulators.  I used two strips per car.  Too bright.  One would have been sufficient.  Warm white looks far better.

PSU 1980 wrote:

 

"Bigdodgetrain, Engineer Joe and Dale H. - Thanks for the links. I will look at that tomorrow. Looking for options. The question will be what to put into my MTH - MT4005's and Lionel CCII streamline cars (18 inch). Do you have a suggestion?"

 

 

 

Really the passenger cars for the purposes of conversion are all the same except for the length. They vary as to how they come apart and if they have interior detail or strips in the windows. In any case,  simply stick the strips or LEDs to the roof and use whatever circuit you find comfortable with to drive the LEDs. I run conventional so I use individual LEDs mounted on fish paper which gives me constant intensity from 5 volts up.  I am also a toy train guy so I light the cars brightly,but LEDs can be dimmed with simple resistors. I also install super capacitors so the cars stay lighted when power is removed for a while. Slowly they fade and even an hour later have a very dim glow.  Lots of ways to do it so you have to decide what is right for you.

 

Things I would consider

 

Conventional or command?

 

If conventional I would use a constant intensity circuit. 

 

Use a capacitor for flicker free lighting.

 

If using DCS and a capacitor install a choke in the circuit.

 

I like warm white. The only other option for me is amber.

 

Experiment with a few methods and see what you like best. LEDs and components are cheap.  You can customize the lighting to suit your tastes.

 

Dale H

 

When it comes to LED lighting of passenger cars, we are very fortunate to have gunrunnerjohn, stan2004, and Dale H who freely offer expert advice to address these questions.

Kevin,

 

The warm white LEDs simulate the incandescent light found in most heavyweight cars, and the bright white LEDs simulate fluorescent light found in the newer lightweight cars.  The actual light used probably depends on the railroad.  On my late 40s PRR themed layout, I'm going to use warm white LEDs in all heavyweight cars except the modernized P70 coaches.  In the modernized P70s and in all my streamlined/ lightweight cars I'm going to use bright white LEDs.  I will run my non-express passenger trains the way the Pennsy did, with a mix of old and new equipment.  The mix of lights in the train should add character

Ron

 

Ebay has bright white and cool white. Unless they have changed them ( I have nothing recent) ,they can have a harsh bluish tone to them. A little pink from a magic marker helps remove some of the harshness. Actually in my experience,the interior color makes a difference too,since it reflects the light. On some of my cars,I often spray the seat inserts,especially my MTH interiors, with Krylon antique white or some other off white type color.

 

LINK

 

Dale H

 

I just finished these four cars for outback. Warm white self stick strips inside. I had to paint the interiors in Amtrak colors as they were all a orange color.

No more flickering, no heat, almost zero power draw, I'm happier than ever with these!

 

Has anyone used yellow leds to simulate the kerosene lights prevalent in the mid 19th century (1850's) passenger coach cars? Would that give a more realistic color than warm incandescent whites for that period's type of lighting?

I ordered some flickering white LEDs for another purpose. It would be easy to color em yellow with a magic marker. I will experiment with them and post the results.

 

here are some amber ones

 

LINK

 

Dale H

I used 18 volt, soft white, single bayonet bulbs.  GRJ and the others are correct.  These bulbs closely mimic the look and effect of the original incandescent bulbs, but do not give the enormous amount of light the strips offer. But the change was clean and easy.  And, I wasn't after showing off the inheritors of my cars, so I was pleased with the results.  I just wanted to reduce power consumption.

Henning's Trains sells my lighting kits and the individual regulators.  Both have instructions on how to use them.  These products are designed for constant voltage command operation with track voltages from 12-18 volts.

 

20100 Passenger Car LED Lighting Kit

20110 LED Lighting Regulator, 2 Pcs.

 

You can also "roll your own" power source for the LED's.  There have been many threads on doing the LED lighting for passenger cars.  Here's a thread where Bobby compiled them all into a PDF and posted it for download, should give you a good idea of what we're all talking about.

 

LED Lighting - Passenger Cars & Cabooses

I think you have figured it out, but GRJ is gunrunnerjohn and his kits are available from Henning's Trains, a forum Sponsor that is in the Forum Sponsor List or banners at the top of the page.

 

He provides directions with his LED kits and also provides a lot of info here on the forum. I don't think you can go wrong with his kits, he really has worked out all the details so you just purchase and install.

GRJ's regulator boards are available separately and you can get bright white LED strips on ebay or Amazon pretty inexpensively and just cut to desired length. I haven't bought any for a while, but seems like the last ones I got from ebay were about $5-$7 or so. Shop around, prices are all over the place and they are all probably selling the same LED strips. At least I haven't noticed a difference in any of them.

 

I put a strip of doubles (600 LEDs per 5 meter strip) under my train table, those are quite bright. IMO, the singles (300 LEDs per 5 meter strip) would be more than enough for any buildings or passenger car lighting. GRJ's regulators are also adjustable, so you can fine tune the light levels.

I received the LEDs today. They work and flicker well on filtered DC. For a passenger car I would hook them to a buck converter set at 5 volts if using conventional with a 100 ohm resistor in series to each. I would mount them on fish paper. They flicker very nice. The car would randomly flicker like a candle,especially if multiple LEDs were used. My earlier link has circuits for individual LEDs with both conventional and command circuits. You could substitute a buck converter as mentioned.

 

Dale H