Who out there can share with me ways to add ditch lights to my fleet of n scale locomotives? Any manufacturers who make them. To scratch building. Would like to make them work if possible. Thanks for any help. Jt
Joe, there are some ditch light housings available on Shapeways - I've used them and they work with an 0402 SMT LED. I roll my own, and each loco is different. Hardest part for me is getting the wires soldered to the LED, see Ngineering.com for LEDS and wire and fixtures...I think you can also get them prewired from Richmond Controls. I glue 'em into the housings and then creatively route the wire to the decoder light outputs. Every install is different, you just need to feel your way. I think it's pretty rewarding, and enjoy doing it. You can see samples if you browse my thread on Trainboard - search on The Oakville Sub
I use my printed housings (available on shapeways) with 0402s to light them. Like Jim said each loco is different every install is different.
At one time I had made some ditch lights [for HO] that were nothing more than a small suitable size square SMD led, with a SMD resistor soldered to the back, and some wire wrap wire [Kynar coated] for hookup wire .. Once the outsides were painted, they looks alright, the SMD itself is square, the light part is round
Should have said 0402, can't edit the post, sorry. It's not an easy chore, but doable. Like anything else, don't be afraid of it.
