# Adding detail



## vette-kid (May 2, 2020)

Looking for some info on these lights. Some pictures I see what looks like a number plate, others I see lights. I'd like to try and add a little detail to this loco, not really sure what they are called or which is correct. And more importantly, of someone makes a kit to add them. I could probably Dremel out the blank, but getting a clear cover is another issue, unless one exists that I could make fit! 










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## cid (Jul 3, 2014)

vette, I saw some F7A number boards on Blue Rail Hobbies. Don't know if they have lenses or cutouts. I think the real
thing was illuminated...


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## cid (Jul 3, 2014)

See if this link works...
Number Boards


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## vette-kid (May 2, 2020)

Number boards, thanks for that. Those look like they will work, it at least at that price I'm willing to find out! I've seen a few pictures that look like they are just ditch lights, but they all seem to be models.

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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

I would send off an email and find out whether they are cut out for illumination or you'll have the same number boards that are already on the locomotive.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Does your locomotive have a road number? All I can see in the photo is the "50" on the nose....


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## cid (Jul 3, 2014)

It's gotta be 1953 😂


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## vette-kid (May 2, 2020)

cid said:


> It's gotta be 1953


That's actually a great idea! That or 2003, since I it's a 50th anniversary edition! Might as well have some fun with it.

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## vette-kid (May 2, 2020)

Old_Hobo said:


> Does your locomotive have a road number? All I can see in the photo is the "50" on the nose....


No, is a Hawthorne village Corvette edition. That said, it runs rather nicely and probably didn't have a lot of collector value since it's already scratched up, has a crack in it and isn't a complete set. I figure I might as well have some fun with it.









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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Or, you could have the right one as 1953, and the left one at 2003.....


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## cv_acr (Oct 28, 2011)

The little round circle above the number board is a classification light.

The whys and wherefores of their use is a little involved, but the short version is that it's directly related to the old systems of operation when trains actually ran by timetable and used the timetable schedules for their operating authority.

Most trains would not have these lights lit up at all.

"Extra" trains (an extra train not listed on the timetable and without a schedule) would display WHITE flags (day) or lights (night) to identify themselves.

Multiple "sections" could also be run on the same schedule authority, with several trains following each other running with the same number/schedule. [Scheduled] trains that had additional sections following would display GREEN flags (day) or lights (night). The last section would NOT display signals. (By definition if only one section is running, it's the "last" one, so most regular trains did not display flags/lights.)

When railroads dropped the old "timetable & train order" style operations for modern systems where the dispatcher could actually give orders directly to trains via radio, these lights were obsolete and no longer used. Some older engines that had them end up having them removed if the engine gets a full rebuild or overhaul so they don't have to be maintained anymore.


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## vette-kid (May 2, 2020)

@cv_acr are you referring to the little bubble (or pimple!?) Directly above it? That's cool info. Do any scale models have these lights? Seems lighting things up would be a good way to add some realism to these trains. All the models I have, run only one light, the headlamp. I've got an assortment of LEDs and wouldn't mind trying to add some if I can figure out where.

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## cv_acr (Oct 28, 2011)

Only a few of the most recent high-end models actually have working class lights. Ones that I have personal experience with are Rapido FP9s and Bowser SD40-2s. 

Most just have it molded in, and sometimes a bit of paint.


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## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

If you end up scratch-building the number boards yourself, a good starting point would be to find some milky-white translucent plastic. Maybe even something as simple as cutting up a plastic milk bottle. Use some dry-transfer decals to put your numbers in place and spray them with some dullcoat so they don't get scratched. Then you can cut the plastic to size and glue them in place.

Note that if you want to add more lights inside the loco, it might be worthwhile to give the inside of the shell a good coat of flat-black paint so that your new lights don't make the whole thing glow from the inside. Obviously you want to do this before adding any lighted details like the number boards.


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