Last month, EMD F7A posted looking for trucks with electrical contacts for freight cars, and the discussion turned up some 4-wheel trucks that could be used. Now, I'm in love with my AZL Mikado and 12-1 sleeper, and I just ordered four more cars to go with it (baggage, RPO, diner, observation). The cars (and the loco) are, to my eye, super cool. But I'd really like if they had lights in them--maybe even a decoder so that the lights could be turned on and off, or individual LEDs in there could be operated independently. But the pullmans have 6-wheel trucks. So my question is, have any of you folks put lights into the AZL pullman cars? If you did, how did you do it, and what might you do differently if you were doing it again? Please keep in mind I'm a complete noob with not just Z scale, but model trains in general. Thanks very, very much!
Tito, I've been playing with the idea for a while, just a bit more work than I expected. For the trucks, go back to the suppliers mentioned and look for the axle wipers for the passenger trucks. You should be able to form the contacts to connect to the outer wheel shafts. The big problem is the car weight: a piece of iron that runs the full length of the car that is exceptionally well fitted and secured. You need to drill through it to get power into the car and get it back into the car. It seems that the Rokuhan car lighting board will work mechanically in the cars. I wouldn't see any problems electrically. I don't think that I'd suggest car lighting as one of your first rebuilds in Z. Hope this helps, Mark
Is there any way we can make tiny, 2-contact magnetic connectors for between cars? Polarity wouldn't matter on DCC, and cars could be disconnected for consist changes, etc. small enough magnets and thin decoder wire should flex fine between cars..... We could simply run the wires through the end door windows and almost any passenger car could be mated to any other. Initial power pick up could be in a single lead car, or from the locomotive itself. I have seen these magnetic connectors on larger scales! We just have to.... Scale it down! LOL
Yessir! Exactly what we need! Axial poles & all. Now I have an idea on soldering and isolating them.... place side by side face-down on sheet copper, etc. with opposite polarity facing down. place them 1mm apart, then solder wires to the back of them (very carefully). Then, after all is cooled, come back with epoxy or self-hardening plastic (or heck, some thick CA glue) and apply to cover the magnets, and up onto the wires. That will both electrically isolate the magnets, stabilize them, and protect the solder joints. Then, chisel off the copper sheet, and repeat many times. Shouldn't be a hard process!
I don't think those magnets will take any heat. Try it and see. You are also cautioned not to chip them, and they will chip. If you use CA, I think that might work also instead of solder. This is an interesting idea. If you succeed please share the info in pictures and tell us how well it worked.
Maybe a thin piece of copper sheet on top of the magnet which your wire could be soldered to it? The magnet should still work through it. James
Those KJ Magnetics are huge. And .07 lb pull and 5KGaus means you aren't taking these apart. The concept used with the MagnaLocks by No. American Car Co. are about right. They are on low durometer plastic but that size could be adhesive attached to decoder wire, then conductive painted. http://www.pwrs.ca/announcements/view.php?ID=7440 I'd honestly just put in a SuperCap, place it on a charge location and run it for hours.
Just got my Richmond Controls EZ10-WPRS. These could be used but I like the Streamlined Back Shops versions as they go under the bolster pin. . . . .
Thanks markm, good advice I should take to heart for now. From the responses, it sounds like no one has lighted any of the AZL pullmans? Really? Nobody? It seems like such a very, very cool thing to have done. Anybody have any idea if AZL might ever make a kit to do this? Rob? Thanks again.
We're not planning on a light kit for the Pullmans. There are some things we want to leave up to others to do. That being said, wheel wipers or a Super Cap are probably the best solutions. I way toying around with my 3d printer to make some interiors for the pullmans, maybe I'll throw in some lights too... but those are just for my personal cars. And yes, I think it is a very cool idea too! Best, -Rob(A) AZL
There are several ways of doing it,with what is already available there are already boards for N scale cars with LR44 power and mag switch to activate,maybe they can be trimmed to fit int he heavyweight's roof. Also, there are the interior light board from Rokuhan, and SB4DCC has wipers long enough to extend over the three axles of the passenger trucks, or just do two axles on each truck with pickups, and there is room for a keep alive capacitor inside the heavy weights. Then Ngineering has just about anything you need to create your own, including power supply boards to go from track power pickups to power the LEDs. I have several light strip boards for LED lighting that can be sectioned off to provide a lighting strip and they fit inside the heavyweight Hallmark car roofs so I expect they fit in the AZL heavyweights, there are sb4dcc pickups that pick up from backside of metal wheel so they work with insulated axles.I would certainly want an interior for the car if I was going to light it.
The windows on my cars really aren't transparent enough to show interior detail. I found that a bit of styrene to block out windows in sections that prototypically wouldn't show windows from the other side of the car plus some of the silhouette figures is about all the detail that can be seen through the windows. BTW: window shades make a big difference. Mark
Ah, well. I would love to see some photos if you get around to it! Yes, I was thinking that the 12-1 sleeper has the gents' room at one end, the 12 seat pairs in the middle (each with a wall between), and the parlor and ladies' room at the other end (if I'm correctly remembering the 12-1 at the railroad museum in Sacramento). So, if I were to do it, that would entail three little end rooms, and 11 floor to ceiling dividers in the middle on each side of the aisle. I probably wouldn't add much more detail beyond that (but perhaps some shades) since, like markm, I don't think much detail would be visible inside. Using a 3D printer to do the interior sounds interesting and fun though, and if I had one, then perhaps....
