Fitting lighting to either 2-BIL or 2-HAL

[Bulleidboy]

There are probably cheaper options, but I noticed on ebay that the Brighton Belle bogies are available as spares and they have electric pick-ups with wires coming up through the mounting  for the interior lighting on this model. Would this bogie be the correct type for the Hornby 2-BIL or 2-HAL? Probably a question for LC&DR?

[atom3624]

There are motion-sensing lighting kits which can be bought - forget the name.

Battery powered, but last at least several weeks to a few months (meaning you need to open the carriage, remove and replace the battery on an infrequent but regular basis).

 

Al.

[Bulleidboy]

I've got some of those Al - they are magnet operated as far as off/on are concerned. You wave a magnet over the coach and the lights react accordingly. I have not fitted them yet, but did fit a strong magnet directly over the track in the tunnel portal which is the exit from the fiddle yard - train leaves fiddle yard via tunnel lights go on - when it come back lights go off - well that's the theory. I think the kit came from Trains4U - cost about a fiver including a battery. There is a youtube video on fitting them - the video does "ramble" on a bit. BB

 

[ColinB]

Have you seen how much they are? Looking at the well known spares supplier, they are about  £22.50 each. I was thinking of doing it, but that is a bit over the top. They do make the insulated wheels though. I think you can get a kit for less than the price of a bogie.

[LCDR]

To answer the the original question re the bogies, the Brighton Belle trailer bogies were similar to the bogies under the new express electric stock (6Pul, 6Pan, 6Cit, 4Cor etc.) which were of the "Equalising Beam" pattern with coil primary springs, which were significantly different in appearance to those under SR suburban and outer suburban stock (3Sub, 2Nol, 2Bil, 2Hal) which had leaf springs.  Following complaints about rough riding the bogies were modified in 1957 to remove the equalising beams and change the springing from coil to leaf, although in appearance they were still different from other stock. They still gave the passengers a dodgy ride!

[Bulleidboy]

The lighting kits (I bought three) came from Layouts4U not Trains4U as mentioned in my previous posting. The kit consists of a strip of 3v LED's, a latching reed switch, battery holder, battery and some wire - plus instructions. The kits cost £6 - which as Colin said is a lot cheaper than a replacement bogie (you could light-up three carriages for less than the cost of a bogie). Although I have not checked it out to give a cost, all of these parts are available individually on ebay - which could bring the cost per coach down even more. I'm currently trying to get the body off of one of the new Hornby Bulleid Coaches. 

[Bulleidboy]

I have removed the coach body - four clear plastic lugs (two at each end), they can be eased with a small screwdriver. The battery/battery holder can be hidden in one of the toilets. Compared with some youtube videos I have watched, the compartment walls (?) do not go all the way up to the roof, therefore allowing room for the reed switch and the strip of LED's to be glued to the roof of the coach. Some coaches require some snipping in this department.  I'll try and post picture when job completed.

[ColinB]

These are what you want https://www.petersspares.com/peters-spares-ps84-141mm-disc-coach-wheels-one-wheel-live-to-axle-x1-pair.ir . I gather he had then specially made. Then all you need are some pickups. Actually a better way would be to feed power through from the driver carriage, then you don't need the wheels. On some of the early Brittanias Hornby used a 2 pin plug and socket between loco and tender, with the socket on a PCB, these would have been ideal, but they don't sell the PCB as a spare. There is a big opportunity for someone out there with PCB design skills. 

[Bulleidboy]

I've got the lights working, they turn off and on by passing a magnet a couple of inches about the latching reed switch - which will be glued to the inside of the coach roof. One problem with LED's is that even the "warm white" turns night into day! I have put a "dollup" of Tamiya Clear Yellow on top of each LED and am waiting for it to set before installing them into the carriage. So far so good! 

 

Colin - your idea of attaching the wires directly to the power supply internally on the 2-BIL and 2-HAL should be relatively easy - a number of the LED Strips are 12v - so with a resistor in the wiring to reduce the power from the track (15/16v?) would stop the LED's blowing. I suppose the LED's could be wired into the decoder which would allow them to be turned off and on? I'm not an electrician so this would all be a case of trial and error with me. 

[96RAF]

Pullman coach lights run all the time on a DCC track. My haven’t given any problems after years of use. X9096 wheelsets can be used in lieu of other types the allow pickups to be used. I use the ESU ones marketed to support their coach lighting kits.

[ColinB]

If you look on EBay a Chinese supplier does strips of SMD leds on a sticky strip with two wires that connect to 12 volts. I have used them for kitchen lighting, illumination of my railway in the loft, illumination under station canopies and in carriages. They are not very expensive, I think they were about 10 for £5.00. You might have to wait a few weeks for them to come from China, or you might be able to get them from the UK. They use then for carivan lighting. If you are on dc you will need to feed them with a bridge rectifier otherwise they only light up in one direction and if add an electrolytic capacitor across the 12 volt wires, the lights don't flicker.