1. LEDs in Rolling Stock Jim Hinds RICHMOND CONTROLS

2. MOUNTING Installation generally requires a clear pliable adhesive and sealer, several drill bits, and highly opaque black paint. The mechanical LED mounting techniques are the same regardless of the type of power system and drive electronics used for the model and its lights.

3. SECURING LED Several clear and pliable adhesives that also serve as sealers are available and recommended for this activity, including Pacer’s Formula 560 Canopy Glue and Micro-Scale Krystal Klear. Pactra Racing Finish black paint is a very effective and opaque black paint.

4. RAILROAD CAR INTERIORS Interior light modules are available in all scales from several vendors. Modules range from simple and cheap, to fully-featured and more expensive. Cost tradeoffs may involve features like constant intensity, flicker-free operation, color, brightness, even light distribution, power source, and on/off control.

5. RAILROAD CAR EXTERIORS Exterior lights may include tail signs, markers, and signal lights. Low LED currents help extend the operation of antiflicker circuits and batteries. Some commercial modules are designed to be cut to fit, and others can be special ordered or even ordered as a bag-of-parts kit to save cost.

6. MARKERS – HO, N and Z Easy for HO Scale and larger, replacing Tomar marker lamps with white LEDs. Needs a different driver package to replace “diode- drop” circuit. Harder in N and Z Scale due to size. One approach is two back-to-back surface mount LEDs driven rapidly with alternating voltage.

7. MARKER DRIVERS Special drivers can offer constant intensity and flicker-free operation. When used with LEDs, flicker-free circuits can hold up the light intensity for quite a while. With LEDs, it is unlikely the user will ever have to replace a burned-out light source.

8. FREDs Some manufacturers just furnish an LED mounted on the rear wall of a car like a boxcar. Others offer a more prototypical mounting. Track powered FRED flashers can be small enough to put UNDER empty Z Scale and N Scale cars like flatcars and gondolas

9. FRED MODELS In most scales, FREDs have been very hard to find because Sunrise Enterprises went out of business. Replacements are in the works but are slow in coming. Ring Engineering has a system for HO Scale where everything is built into a truck. That can be readily done in HO and larger scales using available flashers, if you can find a FRED.

10. POWERING CARS All scales have metal wheels for track power. Some cars have built-in electrical pickup (Kato, Walthers), and axle wipers are available for others.

11. FACTORS IN MOUNTING in Locomotives The selection of mounting arrangement for the LED is primarily determined by the geometry of the existing light opening and the ease with which factory-installed lighting components can be removed or modified. The installation approaches discussed are:

12. MOUNTING OPTIONS in Locomotives Mounting the LED’s face over an open light hole not containing a lens, Mounting the LED to the surface of a lens, Inserting the LED end-first into a hole, Inserting the LED face-first into a hole, Inserting the LED into a bezel and mounting this lighted bezel into a hole.