LEDs for SP F-Units

[hornblower]

I have used "diffused light" (inverted cone) 3mm LED's I liberated from strings of warm white Christmas lights for headlights and MARS lights in several old Athearn Blue Box F7 locos with great success.  I first make and install a styrene mounting plate in the front of the chassis similar to the original light bulb holder.  I then place the shell on the chassis and use a drill bit that just slides through the headlight openings to mark the LED locations on the styrene mounting plate.  I then remove the shell and carefully drill 3mm holes as marked on the styrene plate.  Next, I insert the LED's into the mounting plate and adjust the depth so that they just fit inside the shell.  I  paint the sides and base of the LED's black to limit light bleed.  The final step is to use Krystal Klear or Testors Clear Parts Cement to form headlight lenses in the shell. The results are nothing short of fantastic.  Most of the light comes from the tip of the inverted cone of the LED so it looks just like a sealed beam headlight with a very correct warm "incandescent" color.  These headlights look so good that I converted every F7 loco I own!

[tstage]

John,

You can purchase 3mm "golden whites" from Litchfield Station that have a nice subtle yellowish hue to them.  I just installed a couple in a Stewart RS-12.

Also, I would try drilling out the backside of the lens with a #32 (0.116") drill bit - i.e. if there is enough thickness to the lens.  A 3mm LED press fits nicely right into that sized hole, with no need to glue it.

Tom

[Attuvian1]

I can get 3mm headlamp LEDs from TCS that are their "sunny white" (their #1650).  Their #1651 ("golden white") is no longer available.  Allowing for some personal preference here, is the former acceptable in color for what should be expected on an old SP leading F unit?  If not, what other recommendations could be made?  BTW, these will be going into Stewart shells, and will be duals.

Thanks,

John