Installing lights in an old brass steamer

[climaxpwr]

Thats basicly the idea, drill a small hole in the rear of the headlight, and run 1 wire back to the motor terminal that comes from the Tender.  You can solder the other wire to the backside of the headlight if its not painted or you can clean it.  The whole body of the engine is the other half of the electrical circuit.  I have heard of guys using a stiff solid wire as a boiler hand rail to supply the power to the headlight.  The real steamer boiler handrails were electrical conduit and if you look at pics, they will terminate in a box of sorts, then a flexable electrical cord will run over to the headlight.  Watch the opening scenes in the Emperor of the North, and you can see the cord going to the headlight on the 19.   Cheers  Mike

[NevinW]

OK, now that I have the coal load removed, the next question is how does one install bulbs and wiring in one of these old steamers without unsoldering the headlight and drilling holes into the bottom of the headlight and into the boiler. I hate the idea of taking a soldering iron to this thing. I guess one could drill a hole straight back thru the headlight and then let the wires go though and then drill a hole thru the boiler directly behind the headlight. That would work but the wires would be visible coming out of the headlight. Any tricks for wiring these? It currently contains an jewel that has seen better days. - Nevin