Original page created on 30/11/2021.
Lighting
With the preparation completed, I can design a suitable strip. There is one LED per compartment, two in the van section and one at each end (toilet or conductor’s compartment). The strip also includes a latching reed switch for the lighting and another for controlling the tail lights. So there is no need for the original slide switch or a function decoder!
Notes:
- the presence of two capacitors is explained by the use of a voltage doubler.
- notice the notches provided to fit the partition walls of the interior.
Bogie wiring
The blade current pick-up system is replaced by wires soldered onto the original tabs, after checking their solderability. As they are crimped into the plastic of the bogies, they have to be quickly tinned with a very hot iron.
Click for a closer look at the soldering.
The wires run first backward and then forward to give them more flexibility. They then go through the original openings of the chassis (photo above, top right).
Note: I chose to run the wires under the chassis, because running them between the chassis and the interior, as it was the case with the contact blades, would have been almost impossible: they would have hindered the drawbar’s elongation.
Mounting and wiring of the strip
After the interior fittings have been put back in place, the strip is glued to them with a few drops of CA glue at the partitions and the wires are soldered on.
It’s not yet time to put the body back on the chassis, because I have planned a little extra that will seem a bit futile: adding removable lamps at the end not equipped with tail lights.