Bachmann Mk1 Coach lighting and switchable tail lamp

[Art Dent]

I had posted the following images on another website before Photobucket started being silly with their free accounts.

 

Anyhow, below is detailed how I installed coach lighting and a switchable tail lamp into a Bachmann BR Mk1 BSK.

 

First, you have to remove the bogie from one (or both ends if preferred).  I chose the end where the Guard's compartment and luggage area is (to minimise the length of pick-up wire required).

 

 

Once the bogie is removed, you can see the close-coupler and spring.

 

The small screw shown in this picture is to retain the inside seating.  Remove the roof and two coach sides before loosening this screw.

 

 

I decided I wanted a switchable tail lamp (so that it can be turned off when coupled behind a loco).  There are several ways to do this - perhaps the best is to use a latching magnetic reed switch mounted in the coach roof.

 

This was one of my first attempts and I chose to use a floor-mounted SPDT (single pole, double-throw) slide switch mounted between the underfame 'furniture'. 

 

This picture shows where the switch was to be mounted and what had to be cut from the ballast weight to accomodate the switch.

 

 

The ballast weight is simply glued in and easily removed.  A hole needs to be cut in the coach floor to accomodate the switch.

 

 

The switch installed and ballast weight reinstated.

 

 

The swich position between the frames on the underside of the coach.

 

 

There is just enough room so as not to foul the bogie on curves.

 

 

I then added a red & green blob of paint to indicate whether the tail lamp was on or off (the main carriage lights are on permanently as I seem to recall that coach lighting was always on - even in broad daylight).

 

 

From the side, the switch is barely noticeable.  For some it may stick out like a sore thumb - but I can live with it.

 

 

The coach floor needs a curved slot cutting out so that the pick-up wires don's strain (leading to potential snapping of the thin wire).

 

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Similarly for the bogie ...

 

 

Note that the inner faces of the wheels had been 'blackened' and as this is where the wiper contacts were, they needed cleaning up.

 

The coach was detailed using a scan of an old Kitmaster coach interior sheet laser printed to ordinary A4 paper and some painted figures used to populate the coach.

 

The wiring may look rather 'Heath Robinson' but the use of connector blocks (aka Electrician's chocoate block) means that shoud any part fail, it should be relatively easy to fix.

 

Note the different upholstery for 'First' class passengers.  No boring maroon moquette for them!

 

 

The thin enamelled pick-up wire is soldered to some solid-cored copper wire and the insulation from some other wire used as a 'cap' to prevent shorts.  The next two pictures hopefully show this.

 

 

and

 

 

I decided to use Layouts4u's phosphor-bronze pickups (not shown) a self-adhesive LED lighting strip of theirs and one of their stay-alive modules (which fits just inside the toilet at the other end of the coach).

 

First the wiring schematic ...

 

 

The underside of the coach roof was painted cream to make the roof less 'translucent'  I then glued a strip of aluminium cooking foil over this, but you have to be careful to avoid shorts.  In hindsight, maybe the cream paint was all that was required (and would help with colour-balance).

 

The LED strip was carefully positioned to illuminate the compartments and, if memory serves, the end vestibule.

 

 

Stay-alive / Anti-flicker unit in the toilet.

 

 

The stay-alive / anti-flicker uses a  16V,1000uF capacitor.  Larger capacitances and voltages lead to larger capacitors and so problems with regard to space.  The 16V/1000uF is an acceptable compromise.

 

Due to the construction of the Bachmann coach (separate floor, roof and two body sides), I decided to use a micro-pulg to the lighting strip in the roof.

 

 

Two views of the completed coach.

 

 

and

 

 

and two views of the DCC Concepts tail lamp at the rear of the coach

 

 

and

 

 

I've taken to producing my own stay-alive / anti-flicker units and the scematic is shown below.  This is considerably cheaper per unit than the purchased circuit-board version from Layouts4u.

 

 

I hope this helps / inspires others.

 

I have also undertaken coach lighting for a Bachmann SK and Guard's Van and will post these if folks are interested.

 

Art

 

 

 

 

Edited April 6, 2019 by Art Dent

[JST]

Nice job! Very helpful for my current project.

[Peter Beckett]

Art,

Thanks for that and I am certainly interested in the SK and Guards Van. The only thing different that I am doing is to use a function decoder instead of the switch

 

Peter

[Clagsniffer]

Very interesting and nicely done. Will definitely be having a go at this after seeing the results. I’m also interested to see how the SK install goes. Thanks for sharing.

[Clagsniffer]

Could I be cheeky and ask for a view of the pickup arrangement please?

[Art Dent]

Sorry, I thought I had posted those pictures.

 

Have a look at this thread.

 

The only difference is that for this coach (BCK) the pickups were on the underside of the bogie, wiping against the inside faces of the wheels.  In the SK I tried it on the top of the bogie wiping on the edge of the wheels (not recommended as it introduces too much drag).  Wiping on the inner face of the wheels - as close to the axle as possible - is probably the best solution.

 

I used phosphor-bronze strips as supplied by Layouts4u.net.

 

Regards,

 

Art