Making Lighted Pickup Trucks

[Anonymous]

Charlie: Just a quick thought, How would rechargeable AA baterries work, mounted in the car? Regards Steve

[Anonymous]

Yes they are available but pricey, about what I pay for a good used piece of rolling stock.

Charlie

[Roger Bielen]

I was hoping you had a simple method for adding LED's to pick-up and car headlights and taillights for the layout.

Have you looked into what's available from the mfg.s, I think some have pick-up rollers that snap onto the trucks.

[Anonymous]

Seems like I am always needing trucks with power or light pick ups. These things are rather costly and I like to build things myself if possible. I have made about 15 so far but would like to know if anyone else has a good, easy method for making them.

My current method is to use plastic Lionel trucks from cheap gondola or other cars. I cut a piece of thin brass shim stock about 3/8 inch by 1 1/2 long. I solder a flexable wire to one end and drill a hole about 1/16 inch for that end. I bend the shim in a semicircle with a reverse bend in the end and screw it to truck brace on the end opposite of the coupling. I play with it to get it act as a wiper of the third rail and hook the loose end (with the reverse bend) under the coupling end axle. I put electrical tape on both sides of this end so is it does not short on the axle.

For the ground, I solder a wire to a convental axle that has non attached wheels. I make an axle wiper on fast angle wheels with the axles that rotate.

These pick up trucks works best as the rear truck, so they drag when the train is going forward. No problem here.

The major short coming is these wiper pickups do not back up well, especially over Marx switches! I have made six 2400 passenger cars, lighted a homemade poultry car, and several cabooses. On the passenger cars, I cut the couplings off and body mounted them as the long couplings of passenger cars are really expensive.

Anybody got another method of making light pick up trucks? My grandkids like running night trains so all my search light, passenger, and cabooses were in action. I also have added a light to my homemade gold bullion car and aquarium car and am trying to come up with more lighted cars.

Charlie