I need help with lighting the interior of passeger cars with track power?

Garden Railroading
1

I would appreceate some help on converting passenger car lighting
from the stock (onboard 9volt battery) power source to picking up track
voltage through the wheels. I did this a long tome ago and have
recently puchesed some more cars, I found the metal wheels/axels
someplace and they had posiitive and negitive wires coming off
the axels which in turn could be connected to interior lights onboard
the coach. Does anyone know where to locate this item and what they are
called?

Hope you can help, Thanks Mike

2

I think you might be referring to ball bearing wheel sets with power pickups. LGB and Aristo-Craft make sets. I’ve used the LGB wheels to light a drumhead and markers on a parlor car.

These wheels are expensive, but work really well.

Here is a link to a place that sells both wheel sets:

LGB Wheels

Aristo-Craft Wheels, Black

Aristo-Craft Wheels, Silver

I hope this helps.

3

I have got a lot of these lighted cars using LGB ball bearing axels and they are terific, expensive but terrific.

Nothing fancy, forget about the 9 V battery and just connect the two wires out of the axels directly to the lights no polarity problems or anything like that.

Rgds ian

4

I presume you are talking about “G” scale cars.

Aristo had wheel whipper kits.

I added them to several cars.

I have had major problems with Aristo’s heavy weight passenger cars. two axle or three axle go down the track Blinky the Blink.

Finally I had to put two wire Model airplane plugs between cars. They are a pain to deal with but the lights stay on all the time.

5

LGB are the ones. I replace an axle in each bogie and I use Massoth lighting boards, as Ian says, expensive - but good!

Showing the connection pins.

A Massoth board, this is the small one.

Two long boards fitted in a Bachmann baggage, the clips keep the doors in position when the body goes back on the chassis.

Cheers,

Kim

6

Thats it Kim, thats it exactly.

Rgds Ian