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It's been a while since I did a set of Premier cars and I wanted to try out a couple of recent ideas for size on this set. Some pictures follow. Here is the first car opened up and the OEM lights (5 total) have been removed from the light track. They just slide off with a  little nudging. Track power enters at the left end. I figured the best place for the constant current module would be at the right end, affixed to the track right about where the 2 screws are located. This would be basically out of site in normal operation, and fits nicely between the walls at the extreme right end of the gray seating module.

2

Some folks start by tearing out the OEM lighting track first, but I wanted to keep it as original as possible. So  I made up the power adapter below using one of the original light sockets, per the method devised by Hokie71 a few months back. Works great. You can see the tiny wires bent back around the plastic body where the incand. bulb used to be. This will just be plugged into the nearest spot on the light track upon installation.

4

Here below is the module all ready to install. Note the short wire supplying AC, and note the led strip has been soldered directly to the underside of the board output pads, as documented in the topic "Enchanced Building Lighting Using Leds". Makes a simple and secure connection, and no wire fiddling other than the AC power. Premier cars really lend themselves to this method since the roof remains attached to the car body and there is no need for any inter-connecting pigtail for servicing.

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Here is the module affixed to the end of the light track by the highly exotic hot glue method! I removed the screw that would have been right under the board so that the track can be removed in future if needed. The power plug is securely connected to the light track. Note the module is offset toward the near side so that the light strip runs down one side of the OEM light track. And you can still see through the end door vestibule window down the full length of the car interior. Certainly the power connections could be made by solder connection to any spot on the brass power buss strips if desired. I chose to use the plug in method instead.

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And here she is on the track for testing. Module output is set to about 9.0VDC and the resulting light level looks good to my eye for a streamliner. It may get tweaked up or down a little as I try it out in different lighting conditions. The overhead room lighting is fairly bright for this picture.

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Because these cars are a bit of a PITB to disassemble each time you want to adjust something (total of 11 screws to remove the floor and sub floor), I drilled the 3/16" hole shown below so as to access the blue adjustment pot for fine tuning. Time will tell how effective this idea turns out!

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Now only another 7 cars to go!

Rod

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Last edited by Rod Stewart
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Rod:

Thanks so much for posting your nice work on the LED conversion. I have 7 MTH Premier Amtrak bi-level passenger cars that so far I have decided not to switch to LEDs.

When I opened them up to consider the conversion, I wound up gluing in many passengers, then closing back up due to the multi levels. I am getting no flicker as each truck has a pickup roller.

The 7 lighted cars plus the locomotive are just about at the maximum for the 135 watt Lionel powerhouse providing power to this great train.

I am now once again considering the conversion which would be a big project, but likely a satisfying one due to the lower power consumption resulting.

I did convert my 10 car UP passengers cars to LEDs so I have some experience. Wiring in the bi-levels is somewhat different than the single level cars.

Stan

Thanks Mark. The direct soldering technique seems to work fine when you can use it. Today I just got done the whole set of Premier 70’ cars, 7 total including a vista dome and a full vista car. I used direct solder. Except for the full vista. It has a full length strip on the vista roof and a partial strip on the lower floor ceiling. Had to pigtail connect them both to the light module. The set looks pretty good. I’ll try to attach a video but the file might be too big.

Haven’t done the baggage car yet, still debating whether to minimally light it, or just leave it dark like I usually do.

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Today I fixed the observation car; the bluish look of the marker leds just didn't look right. Here is how it rolled out. This pic shows how it was originally. The blue light of the marker leds flooded the back end of the car.

25-Obs

A simple enclosure made of light cardboard blocks off the marker led light, and an extra strip of WW leds makes sure the rear end of the car is not left dark. The enclosure is just a friction fit so it's accessible if needs be.

26-Obs Mkr Fix

And here she is back on the track. No muss no fuss. Looks way better. Going forward this will be my new standard procedure for observation car markers. Hey, it works!

27-Obs Fixed

I also finished up the baggage car with 2 led strips at each door. Looks not bad, first time I have ever modded a baggage car, I usually just disconnect the OEM lighting for them. So the fully upgraded set of 8 cars plus the A-A F3 set draws only 0.5 amps at rest, 0.7-0.9 amps underway. Not bad at all. We're on a roll.

Rod

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Last edited by Rod Stewart

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