Lighted Hobby Train Cars

They come in all scales, but make sure when you order them they say lighted. I ordered a set to match my LMS but I didn't take the time to read if they were lighted. No wonder they were cheaper than the others, LOL.

They also come in all materials, and scales.

Pullman is a popular passenger set. I have seen people get ones that came as wood kits, paint them to match Pullman colors and use gold type decals to make the wording.

This is a LMS by Hornby

Adding light to a non- lighted passenger car.

Bulbs with Wired Socket
(2)

Do this only if you can open the car up to work inside of it.

Change the truck wheels with axils that have a metal wheel on one side and plastic on the other. You'll need 4 wheel sets. On the front have the metal wheels on the right, in the back have the metal wheels on the left. They can be ordered this way.

Here's two examples of what would work.
The first one has had a non conductive paint added to the wheels on one side so the other side is bare metal.
The other set has plastic wheels on one side and a full metal truck and axils.

Truck, is a train term for the wheels set that includes the wheels, axils and the frame that holds them.

Drill a hole for a metal screw (brass is best) in the base of your car's floor to the side or the part that holds the truck on, so it doesn't hurt the truck's connection to the car. Pick out a screw that will be long enough to stick up inside of the car about a half an inch.

HO Light Kit, 6 Wheel Passenger Truck

Take a thin piece of copper or brass and cut it like with the 2 skinny ends that can be bent downward, and make a hole in the middle of the metal piece for the screw.

Screw the metal piece into the base from the bottom. Then bend the long metal tabs so they would touch the metal of the wheel axils.

Repeat for other truck, but make sure the metal wheels are the other way. The electricity comes from the tracks, but they are opposites on each rail, so you must do the same for the light in the car.

Create a central area on the car's floor to hold the bulb up in a way it doesn't touch the plastic. The each wire cat be wrapped around or soldered onto the screw that is sticking up.

There you go a lighted passenger coach.

An old Passenger coach ad.

Interior

There are kits available to make interiors and seated passengers. If you cant find seating and such, you can make it with Sculpy clay.

Another thing you can do is silhouettes of people's heads. Some of the older passenger cars have that and it has often worn out.

Simply spray one side of a clear plastic sheet lightly with white or ivory paint and then draw in the silhouettes with black. When it's lit up from inside the heads show well. Doing this also hides the inside of the car.

Via Rail Canada Train Observation Car Makes its Way Through Canada Photographic Print
Buy at AllPosters.com

Cabooses were used as an office or sleeper for the workers. I still see a real old one used here for the maintenance crews. It is possible to find lighted cabooses in most scales, just search Lighted Caboose.

Make sure the base wheel set is similar to this.

Or do the above procedure that is laid out for the passenger coach.

With the interior you could go all out and put in stove, beds, sinks and so on. Or do the silhouette thing making it look like kertains. Or use keratian looking material. The light looks great thru those.

It's not on the track, but wires are hooked up to see if it works.

Tyco, Lionel and others have made spot light cars. They work the same way by having metal wheels and wire touching the wheels in someway to get the electricity. Then there is a big turn-able spot light on a flat car. This car is usually for the maintenance crews or military.

If you find one that is not working it is usually just a wire that may need soldering or the bulb needs replacing.