Tonight I started the project of restoring the Bachmann Ten-Wheeler I got for my 10th birthday. I started things off by replacing the burt-out fillament bulb with an LED. I used a 3mm bright white LED with presoldered resister. After enlarging the hole in the headlight bezel, it fit perfectly. The wires from the origional headlight lead to a small switch on the back of the smoke box front. I clipped these wires about an inch or so from the end and stripped them. Then, I used a pair of alligator clips to temporarily connect these wires to the leads from the LED. Since polarity is crucial with LEDs, I applied power to the locomotive and made sure the headlight illuminated while the locomotive was running forward. With correct polarity determined, I spliced the wires, soldered them and covered the joints with Kapton tape. I reassembled the locomotive and called it done.
Here’s the result:
