Original page created on 04/06/2023.
Machining the roof
To light the coaches, I design strips with as many LEDs as there are compartments, plus one per toilet and per platform, making four more in total.
The problem is that there are ribs in the roof that prevent a strip from extending beyond the compartments. So, these ribs have to be machined. This can be done roughly, with wire cutters and pliers, or, more cleanly, by milling. Here are the parts to be removed, hatched in yellow.
Here is the result. Note the barrel for screwing on the roof.
Electrification
The first step is to strip the wheel treads. I use a brass brush, or even a steel brush in the most resistant cases. You should proceed gradually, checking the resistance between the tread and the axle shafts with an ohmmeter, from time to time.
Also clean the axles, which are sometimes greasy.
For the power supply, as is often the case, I choose the technique of winding wires around the axle shafts, which causes very little friction. The only drawback is that it prevents the axles from being removed, but this shouldn’t happen very often…
The ⌀ 0,15 mm wires are strands of flexible cable recovered from computer power supplies.
Approximately 100 mm long, they are first soldered to the piece of self-adhesive copper already mentioned.
Then, they are patiently wound around the axles, five turns being enough. An 80 mm flexible wire, black on one end, red on the other, is then soldered to the copper, pointing towards the end of the coach.
Before reassembling the bogies, the wires are passed through the holes already mentioned, and end up in the toilet, ready to be connected to the future lighting strip.
Lighting strip
I’ve designed a strip that fits all the arrangements, namely A9, B10, A4B5, B5D, A7D, A4c4B5c5x, B9c9x. As already mentioned, REE forgot the service compartment of the A4B5, which will require a ⌀ 4 hole to be drilled there. Apart from this, no changes to the false ceiling are required.
The fact that the strip is “universal” gives me an economy of scale in terms of the number of circuits I need to order from the supplier, at the cost of greater complexity and the risk of assembly errors. Obviously, for a larger number, it would be more practical to have a different circuit for each diagram. In any case, I’ve taken care with the strip marking to keep errors to a minimum.
Reminder: If you’re interested in these strips and not put off by soldering tiny SMD devices, I can supply you with bare strips at a moderate price, as well as the assembly plan.
Appearance of the strip
Latching reed switches are of course provided for lighting control and for any tail lights (B5Dd2, for example).
Fitting the strip
The strip is fitted and taped to the false ceiling.
Close-up view.
Top view.
The false ceiling is installed in its place. The wires coming out of the toilet are connected.
Warning: do not run the wires above the fixing hole, or through a transverse partition, as you risk pinching them and not being able to close the roof properly. This has not yet been done in the photo!