The LED Passenger Car Lighting Board is fully equipped and ready for installation in your car. This page features specific applications for common applications. If PayPal button not available for your selection, just email us!
Prices per car= $22.00 (MTH Premier),
All other cars = $21.50 each
Other applications supported, drop us an email!. Features of passenger kit include:
- 6 Warm white LEDs, wide angle, high brightness
- Plug & Play for MTH , Premier passenger cars w/ MTH connector $22 (non tail-end cars)
- Non-MTH passenger cars come with two 6" wires for connection to the car $21.50
- Attaches to underside of roof with double sided foam tape (supplied)
- Add vestibule lighting for increased realism
- Fits any passenger car with an interior length of at least 14"
- For shorter cars the short lighting board is only 5" long, ideal for caboose, combines or smaller cars
- It is possible to shorten the 14" board by up to 1", but requires special instructions or order
- Can be easily expanded to support 80' cars (20") as detailed in instructions and shown below
- 84' scale cars supported with special order - email for details
- Continuously adjustable LED brightness from off to full using a small screwdriver
- Typically uses 15-30ma at common brightness settings per car (Ten LED equipped passenger cars require less than 1/2 amp), examples of brightness and the current draw are shown below
- Full brightness is reached with less than 10 VAC to the track
- Flicker free LED Lighting during short dropouts due to track gaps or switches
- Works with both DCS & TMCC (I have both on my 600 sq ft layout!)
- If ordering for use in a tail-end car, make sure to get the add-on platform board or the existing lights may not work!!
- Works with business car drumhead/marker light board (see below) or get both together and save (required to work with original marker bulbs, etc.)
- Options available for Bi-level, Vista Domes, and RailKing passenger cars - Click here for some examples or email RoyzTrains@aol.com with your needs for more information
- If you have aluminum extruded cars or silver metallic paint, the board should be fully insulated from the car!!!
Like the D-I-Y approach?
Buy just the power supply as used on the passenger kit and add strip lighting.
Cost $12.75 for typical Passenger Kit length and you do all the soldering!
Or...$10 per car supply & $16/5M roll of warm white LEDs
Passenger kit power supply = $10,
Add strip lighting = 25 cents per 3 LED Segment or $16 for 5 meter roll.
For more interesting examples take a look at our "Passenger Car Examples"
Passenger Car Board installed in MTH Premier passenger car
Platform/Business Car Board with Passenger Board ready for installation in
Heavyweight Car
Business Car Special lighting provides power for markers lights, drumhead, and platform lighting as shown in photo to the right. This was designed specifically for the MTH business cars, but will work for other manufacturers as well (drop me an email with your application!). These are also known as platform cars, private cars, and on some railroads as observation cars. Other tail-end passenger cars also be supported!
Price with add-on platform board for (MTH Premier version) = $34, All Others = $33.50
This item works with the standard passenger car lighting boars as described above. It supplies a fixed 3 or 4.5 VDC for marker lights alone or with drumhead, respectively. All two/three bulbs must be connected in series (MTH supplies them in parallel). Note this is not the standard method used by MTH and requires rewiring of the car prior to installation. The modified car will require less power than as supplied by MTH, but more than the passenger car board for a maximum of around 100ma at full brightness (car shown uses 45ma). Also included is a LED light for the platform. This board is offered in combination with the regular passenger car lighting board for a lower combined cost! If you are using the Tomar drumhead, there is an LED option compatible with the passenger car lighting. Next button is for All Other applications besides the MTH Premier passenger cars (2 rail, Weaver, Williams, Lionel, etc.)
Different approach used for streamlined cars. See next Section for more information!
Sample Pictures
The following pictures show different applications at different user defined brightness levels. The current drawn by the car is also shown with a track voltage of 18 VAC.
The following platform car photo has both the passenger LED board and the platform board (end view shown above left). The current draw as shown is 75 ma. Note that driving the three incandescent bulbs in the marker lights and drumhead draws about 45 ma of the total. Have NOT found any LEDs that provide a 180 degree output for the marker lights!
The streamlined car below is brighter than above but not at the highest level. At this level the LEDs mimic flourescent lights. At moderate to low levels (heavyweight cars) the LEDs mimic incandescent lighting. All photographs were taken in my train room with ambient light to present realistic lighting level.
MTH streamlined car with higher brightness level, LED lighting shown above. At this level of brightness the bright interior walls, give the illusion of flourescent lighting (30ma).
GGD scale length passenger car shown above with mid-level brightness
(as delivered from RoyzTrains).
New 7 LED kit for GGD cars and many order with vestibule LEDs.
The interior of the car is darker than the streamlined car and the
LED lighting takes on a warmer feel (10 ma total draw).
This is the brightness level most often chosen.
Before shot shown at bottom of page.
MTH PRR Passenger car with low-level brightness shown below (6 ma draw).
Before photo of GGD Passenger Car - Notice the dark spots!
Vestibule Lighting. Add an amber (or warm white) LED to the vestibule on either of our LED lighting boards. Just specify what you want and the board will come with the extra LED, etc. Note cannot be combined with Passenger - Bus/Platform combination. May require drilling in plastic divider between passenger compartment and vestibule depending on manufacturer. The low glow provides realistic lighting you can see out the door windows. Just add a figure in the doorway! Sample of installation in some GGD cars is shown here. Shown below is amber color. Many customers opt for amber for the heavyweights and warm white for the streamline cars.
Vestibule purchase: Add one per car for each streamline passenger car (except baggage and RPO). Add two per car for each heavyweight passenger car, one for Observation, and none for baggage and RPO).
For more options for the tail-end heavyweights and streamliners see the Specialty Car Lighting page. Also there are options for Vista Domes, Baggage cars, etc!