I have a couple of Athearn R-T-R GP-38-2’s that begged for some upgrades. These included installing directional constant lighting kits from Miniatronics and Kadee couplers.
Kadee #148 on left, Athearn factory installed generic knuckle coupler on right.
Factory installed Kadee knockoffs; nothing works better than the real thing.
The (in)famous Athearn cab lighting. Nothing looks more prototypical than dim headlights and the cab lit up like a lighthouse.
Kadee #148s. I use these almost exclusively instead of the #5s. I love the centering spring that’s incorporated into the coupler.
Locomotive with just enough power to light the lights.The kits from Miniatronics come with bulbs, circuit and extra bulbs. I wired an extra bulb to each circuit (front and rear), and taped the leads so the bulb is installed just behind the factory headlight lens.