# Open Lionel Passenger Cars



## gunrunnerjohn

I have some Lionel passenger cars that I'd like to pop the top off. I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out how they're attached. The Lionel instructions are no help, they claim there are tabs to release the top when there clearly are none.

One of the cars in question is the Lionel 6-9532 Southern Passenger Car Beauregard. Here's the instructions and pictures of the cars.

*Liionel instructions to press tabs to remove roof.*












*Here's a couple of the cars.*












*A close-up, I don't see any tabs!*


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## ran007

Looks like the 4th window from the right is the tab. Press on that both sides and it should pop up.


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## gunrunnerjohn

I think you may be right, though I did press on that and pry, I was reluctant to use too much force. I'll have to apply "brute force" and see if it pops off without breaking things!


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## ran007

Wow, I see. Looks like you'll have to press in 4 total tabs... I'd definitely use that thin metal ruler to help with pulling that sucker apart.


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## Big Ed

I gave up trying on mine.
I did not want to break them.

What a _hitty way to make them come off!:thumbsdown:

Let us know what happened John.


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## gunrunnerjohn

Well, I got them apart. First off, the Lionel instructions suck and can't work as far as I can see!

I found out that by sticking a plastic tuning tool in the bottom of each of the slots and then using some plastic thin rulers to stick in from the top and hold each tab open, I could get three, then when the 4th opened, I could pull the top off. It was a real PITA, and they're staying off until I'm done with all the mods and fixes, I can tell you that for sure!

I got these on eBay, and I was going to send them back after seeing them, the description didn't really match what I got. However, the guy first offered them to me keep them for free, but I couldn't in good conscience do that, so I settled for a hefty 50% discount. They do need some work, and I have to try to find a truck for one of them, but they can come back with some work. At the price I got them, I won't feel bad putting some time and effort into them.

I'm trolling the parts places looking for the parts I need...


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## Big Ed

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Well, I got them apart. First off, the Lionel instructions suck and can't work as far as I can see!
> 
> I found out that by sticking a plastic tuning tool in the bottom of each of the slots and then using some plastic thin rulers to stick in from the top and hold each tab open, I could get three, then when the 4th opened, I could pull the top off. It was a real PITA, and they're staying off until I'm done with all the mods and fixes, I can tell you that for sure!
> 
> I got these on eBay, and I was going to send them back after seeing them, the description didn't really match what I got. However, the guy first offered them to me keep them for free, but I couldn't in good conscience do that, so I settled for a hefty 50% discount. They do need some work, and I have to try to find a truck for one of them, but they can come back with some work. At the price I got them, I won't feel bad putting some time and effort into them.
> 
> I'm trolling the parts places looking for the parts I need...


Mine are packed away.
I need to replace 2 bulbs and tried to get the top off but stopped for fear of breaking it.

Please post some pictures showing how you did it.
How did you get the tool in? From the bottom?
Tuning tool? Tuning tool, whats it tune?

Your cars from what I see look pretty good.
Exactly what parts do you need?
I will keep my eyes open for them.


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## gunrunnerjohn

I need one of the trucks and the coupler for it. One of the "fixes" that was applied to one car was someone used a load of CA glue to glue the obviously broken coupler in, he managed to bond it crooked. In addition, he apparently put it in the box with the CA glue still curing, so there was a white film all over one end of the car. I got most of it, but it's affected the paint a bit on that car. It's not that noticeable, so I think I'll leave it alone, nothing seems to budge it.

I'm thinking of adding another pickup to each car and LED lights, also replacing the cheap plastic rivets with better choices.


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## Badwolf & Arizona RR

I was going to say that those tabs look like they would have to be pressed from the bottom of the car - with what tool, I couldn't tell you.


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## tjcruiser

I'm soooooo confused ...

I still don't see any tabs in the pics 

John, maybe post a pic or two with the top removed, and a Paint/Photoshop circle as to where the tabs are and where you had to push/pull?

Thanks,

TJ


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## ran007

The tabs appear to be the white windows under "RE" of "Crescent" and "TE" of "Limited".


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## gunrunnerjohn

ran007 is correct, they're the windows. Knowing what other windows look like I was reluctant to push on windows, since many times the window strips are glued in. These are different, they're part of the framework of the car.

I'll post some pictures later of how I took them apart, after I figured it out, I got them apart without any damage. I can see where these could easily get wrecked by trying to take them apart!


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## gunrunnerjohn

Here's some shots of the car interior and the removal process.

Basically, you press the bottom of the window with the plastic screwdriver, used to avoid scratching the plastic window material. 

Next I slip the plastic ruler in the crack and rotate it to pry the side of the car body out slightly. If you don't do this, both the tab and the body are compressed, and you will never get the roof off!

After getting the ruler in, I push it down over the tab inside the body to keep that one disengaged.

Move on to the next one and repeat the process. When I got to the last one, I was able to simply press it in with the screwdriver and then wiggle the roof off.



*Car Roof Section, One Piece*










*Car Body*












*Tab to press in, it's really the window.*












*Removal process, done at each corner, and leave the plastic ruler in place when you move on.*












*The tools used, I actually had three plastic rulers.*


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## Big Ed

Thanks John.:thumbsup:

Good thing I gave up when I did.:laugh:

A plastic screw driver?
I never heard of one.

So the windows and the top are one piece?
That doesn't make any sense to make it like that, what do you do to replace just the windows?

Looks like I will have to buy some plastic rulers.hwell:

And plastic screwdrivers......where would one find plastic screwdrivers?

Thanks for posting pictures.


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## Badwolf & Arizona RR

This is one of the most clearly shown "how-to" threads I've seen to date. Never having seen the cars, I was assuming that the windows were a separate piece, with the tabs holding the roof at the blank spots at "D" in LIMITED and towards the rear.

Thanks for the lesson.


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## tjcruiser

Ohhh! Very clear pics / description now. It was not clear to me in (earlier) looking at the Lionel diagram that the "window sides" of the car were molded one-piece witht the roof. Now I get it.

Thanks, John.

TJ


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## gunrunnerjohn

Well, the construction wasn't clear to me either, I've never seen this type of car before. All the other passenger cars I have, and there are a number of different types, have separate "window" glass with or without passenger figures. This was a surprise when I cracked the case. 

The plastic screwdrivers I use are electronic tuning tools.










You can buy it here: Insulating Adjustment Screwdriver


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## gunrunnerjohn

Here's the cars minus the tops, waiting for parts to fix them. I'm also considering lighting upgrades with LED's.


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## Badwolf & Arizona RR

This is just my opinion: LEDs will make the lighting look modern, whereas these cars have a "vintage" look to them. I'm not saying the cars are old - heck, the could have been manufactured in 2009. They look like they come from an earlier time period. The incandescent lights will give them a warmer look. The LEDs will give a cooler/colder look. It's personal preference. The LEDs will last way longer, run cooler, and use less voltage, from what I understand, though.

If you do change them, I'd love to see how they look.


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## Big Ed

Badwolf & Arizona RR said:


> This is just my opinion: LEDs will make the lighting look modern, whereas these cars have a "vintage" look to them. I'm not saying the cars are old - heck, the could have been manufactured in 2009. They look like they come from an earlier time period. The incandescent lights will give them a warmer look. The LEDs will give a cooler/colder look. It's personal preference. The LEDs will last way longer, run cooler, and use less voltage, from what I understand, though.
> 
> If you do change them, I'd love to see how they look.


Lionel made these 1977-78.
This Lionel set is very collectable, I have the whole train.:thumbsup:

The original Southern Crescent Limited started in 1925.
It was a deluxe all-Pullman sleeper train (no coaches), equipped with observation and club cars that operated from New York to New Orleans through agreements with several other railroads. 

In 1926 it was assigned brand new heavy 4-6-2 passenger locomotives, painted green and gold with the train's name on the tender. One of these PS-4 class Pacific's is on display in Railroad Hall at the Smithsonian Institute's American History Museum in Washington, D.C. This locomotive also hauled the funeral train of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945.

John?
Do you have the MTH engine and tender?

Maybe Popsicle sticks would work instead of plastic screwdrivers?


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## gunrunnerjohn

Ed,

I have the MTH loco and tender in PS/2. I have 4 of the 5 original Lionel cars, and I'm camped on the last one on eBay. I also have a more modern dining car that exactly matches the set.

B&A RR, I'd be using the "warm white" LED's, they're really pretty yellow, and should keep the "old time" flavor of the cars. The existing lighting at 40 watts for the 5 cars is a bit much.


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## gunrunnerjohn

big ed said:


> Maybe Popsicle sticks would work instead of plastic screwdrivers?


Anything that's soft and skinny and won't mark up the side of the window or car will work. I'd probably shave the stick close to a point at one end. The object is to bow the windows in a bit and bow the side of the car out a bit to release the clip and allow the plastic ruler to slip in and hold it out.


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## Badwolf & Arizona RR

big ed said:


> Lionel made these 1977-78.
> This Lionel set is very collectable, I have the whole train.:thumbsup:
> 
> This locomotive also hauled the funeral train of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1045.


1045? In the year 1045 AD movable type printing was invented by Bi Sheng in China. Now we know the truth. He was given this knowledge from the future. 

President Roosevelt WAS a time traveler.


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## Badwolf & Arizona RR

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Ed,
> 
> I have the MTH loco and tender in PS/2. I have 4 of the 5 original Lionel cars, and I'm camped on the last one on eBay. I also have a more modern dining car that exactly matches the set.


Good luck with scoring that auction. I know how they can be sometimes. I hope it doesn't get nutty.



gunrunnerjohn said:


> B&A RR, I'd be using the "warm white" LED's, they're really pretty yellow, and should keep the "old time" flavor of the cars. The existing lighting at 40 watts for the 5 cars is a bit much.


I'd still love to see how they look once the mod is completed. I'm sure it'll look great.


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## Big Ed

Badwolf & Arizona RR said:


> 1045? In the year 1045 AD movable type printing was invented by Bi Sheng in China. Now we know the truth. He was given this knowledge from the future.
> 
> President Roosevelt WAS a time traveler.



I better change that before I run out of time.:laugh:


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## Big Ed

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Ed,
> 
> I have the MTH loco and tender in PS/2. I have 4 of the 5 original Lionel cars, and I'm camped on the last one on eBay. I also have a more modern dining car that exactly matches the set.
> 
> B&A RR, I'd be using the "warm white" LED's, they're really pretty yellow, and should keep the "old time" flavor of the cars. The existing lighting at 40 watts for the 5 cars is a bit much.


What # is on the modern one?
Picture?
Break the window and your screwed huh?
You wouldn't even be able to put inserts in it as there would be no way to fasten the top.
What genius thought of that?

Thanks for the pictures, I asked how to remove them here a long time ago and got no reply's.


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## tjcruiser

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Anything that's soft and skinny and won't mark up the side of the window or car will work. I'd probably shave the stick close to a point at one end.


More possible uses for credit-card-style hotel room keys. I never throw 'em away. They're easy to cut with a scissors, make great epoxy "putty knives", etc.

TJ


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## gunrunnerjohn

The Hotel keys would be just about the right thickness to do this job. I didn't have any, so I used what I had.

I did a little work on the cars, I'm going to put collectors on both trucks to have more steady lighting, so I combined the existing ones. They had the axle pickups on one truck and the roller on the other one, for what reason I have no idea. A very handy use for my rivet tool, made the job easy moving the contacts over to be with the rollers.  Before I close everything up, I'm also going to get rid of those horrible plastic truck clasps and use real truck rivets to hold the trucks. The plastic ones allow the car to rock way too much.

Ed, the MTH Southern Crescent loco is 1395.

I'm going to build one light bar for a car and test it against the incandescent lights to see how it looks. I figure with 4-5 LED's, it should provide much more even lighting.


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## Big Ed

gunrunnerjohn said:


> The Hotel keys would be just about the right thickness to do this job. I didn't have any, so I used what I had.
> 
> I did a little work on the cars, I'm going to put collectors on both trucks to have more steady lighting, so I combined the existing ones. They had the axle pickups on one truck and the roller on the other one, for what reason I have no idea. A very handy use for my rivet tool, made the job easy moving the contacts over to be with the rollers.  Before I close everything up, I'm also going to get rid of those horrible plastic truck clasps and use real truck rivets to hold the trucks. The plastic ones allow the car to rock way too much.
> 
> Ed, the MTH Southern Crescent loco is 1395.
> 
> I'm going to build one light bar for a car and test it against the incandescent lights to see how it looks. I figure with 4-5 LED's, it should provide much more even lighting.


I asked about the other passenger car you said you have and matches the others perfect. I was wondering about that one.


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## gunrunnerjohn

You mean the dining car? It's the 6-19001 Dining Car. As you can see, it's a really close match. It has a different truck design, but the side plates have the same molding, so without looking under the car, you can't tell. It also has the same roof design with the tabs and the one piece windows/roof. Obviously here they are missing the roof, they're stacked away until I finish on all the cars and lighting.


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## Big Ed

Yes it should fit in nicely.

Though it is missing the side door and the steps are different.
It is also missing the underside details and 2 windows are different.


But it should look nice with the others.:thumbsup:

It looks like they skimped on details to save money when they made them.

It has the same roof and window setup?
I wonder how many other passenger cars Lionel made have the same thing?

Do you have the original 5 cars in your picture above, or is one of the 19000 series?

Edit, 
I think I see the odd ball in the above picture. Do you have 2 oddballs in that picture?


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## gunrunnerjohn

I have four of the five original cars, I'm missing the 9531. I'm camped on two of them on eBay, so hopefully one of them won't go past my _threshold of pain_ and I'll fill in the set. The dining car was just a bonus, and it's close enough to add to the set. Only the detail oriented will ever notice the differences. Of course, maybe they didn't want people boarding the dining car so they left the steps off! 

As far as the Window design, apparently there are other series of cars with them, all of the 9500 series from the documentation I have here. There's a series from 9500 through 9519, then 9521 through 9525 at least in my parts lists. Bound to be others...


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## eljefe

Thanks for figuring out how to get these things open! I recently acquired one myself and may never have figured out how to get the roof off without this thread. The problem I'm having is there's a little plastic piece holding the trucks on to the body. One of these has broken and was rattling around inside the body. I've gotten it out but now need to figure out some other way to hold the truck on.


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## T-Man

*My Guess*










The raised window has a crease to the left.


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## gunrunnerjohn

eljefe said:


> Thanks for figuring out how to get these things open! I recently acquired one myself and may never have figured out how to get the roof off without this thread. The problem I'm having is there's a little plastic piece holding the trucks on to the body. One of these has broken and was rattling around inside the body. I've gotten it out but now need to figure out some other way to hold the truck on.


I'm going to remove all those plastic pins and use real truck rivets to secure the trucks on mine. That's part of the lightning upgrade.


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## tjcruiser

Just a a sidenote, on my Lionel prewar tinplate cars, I've reattached trucks using stainless screws with a stainless locknut that has a nylon insert. The nice thing about that is that you can tighten the nut to just the right amount of "tension" to give the truck room to pivot, but without too much "slop".

Not purist, but it works nicely for me.

TJ


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## gunrunnerjohn

I have a rivet tool, so I just put the truck rivet on with just the right amount of play to freely pivot, but prevent the car from rocking on the mounts. The plastic pins suck.


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## Big Ed

tjcruiser said:


> Just a a sidenote, on my Lionel prewar tinplate cars, I've reattached trucks using stainless screws with a stainless locknut that has a nylon insert. The nice thing about that is that you can tighten the nut to just the right amount of "tension" to give the truck room to pivot, but without too much "slop".
> 
> Not purist, but it works nicely for me.
> 
> TJ


Where did you find the stainless screws with a stainless lock nut that has a nylon insert?


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## tjcruiser

Rocky's ACE hardware ...

Just about any well-stocked hardward store would have them, I'd bet.

TJ


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## gunrunnerjohn

Well, one nice thing about the screw is you can easily take it off, the rivets are a bit more difficult!


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## eljefe

gunrunnerjohn said:


> The plastic pins suck.


Concur!


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## gunrunnerjohn

Here's the one reason for opening these cars. I'm losing the incandescent lights and installing LED strips. These are from Mouser Electronics, you can buy them as long as you like and cut them into three LED chunks (or multiples) for use. They run nominally on 12V, though I did a small mod to allow mine to run a bit lower. I use a bridge rectifier, constant current chip, and a filter cap to complete the circuit.

The lighting is much more "natural" when it comes from above and is distributed.


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## eljefe

I thought the cardboard was one of the classier touches of these cars...


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## gunrunnerjohn

As classy as cardboard can be I guess.  It does prevent light from showing through the roof, probably an undesirable effect.


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## Badwolf & Arizona RR

Have you fully reassembled a car with the new lighting? I would love to see a side-by-side comparison between stock and modified.

FWIW.


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## T-Man

That's how to do it! Nice!:thumbsup:

Now all you have to do is build a DC version and "explain how to do it" to a simpleton like me!

The strips are neat I just haven't gotten any yet. I saw a board once but the cost was too high. The strips shouldn't be too bad.


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## gunrunnerjohn

DC version? Not sure what that is. If you want to run this on 12V ( or less )DC, you don't need anything but the strip. Just adding a bit of series resistance would probably solve the issue even for DC voltages higher. The CL2 may also work, don't know what voltage drop is introduced by the chip.

I also shorted out the two internal resistors (one for each 3 LED section), since I was using the current limiting.

The other components are to rectify the AC and limit current, since these will mostly be running command/control on 18V AC.

The strips are pretty cheap, a 15 LED strip is $6.45, that's enough for two and a half cars the way I'm doing them, these are going to have 6 LED's each. Here's the link to the LED strips.


*Mouser* LED Strip Lighting Warm White 3200K 15 LEDs 500mm Strip


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## T-Man

For DC, I was thinking for an HO apllication where the rails change polarity to reverse. That pricing is not bad at all. 

Up until now all I have used is voltage regulators. Sounds like a CL2 is different.


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## gunrunnerjohn

OK, if you want to use it for HO with reversing polarity, the full wave bridge will do the trick, it'll pass the DC at the correct polarity at the output no matter what the input polarity is. The CL2 is not a voltage regulator, but rather a current regulator, very slick little part. It's like a _*super*_ resistor in the LED circuit, just passes a constant current no matter what it's input voltage is. 

I guess my circuit would do just fine for the DC, the cap would help with the momentary power glitches as you roll down the tracks.

I'm looking into getting some chokes to block RF from the circuit, the cap is likely to screw up my TMCC/DCS signals on the track if I don't.

The key to the LED strips is whether you'll have at least 8-9 volts available all the time. For DCC that would be no problem, for conventional, slow speed operation with HO probably doesn't give you that much voltage.


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## gunrunnerjohn

As promised earlier, here's a picture of a car with and without the new lighting upgrade. The second one is a little fuzzy, but it doesn't affect the comparison of the lighting any.

I think it turned pretty decent, way better than the stock lighting. The reflection is the switch lantern that's right in front of the one car.


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## tjcruiser

Definitely more of an even lighting distribution. Did they have any sort of a diffuser shield in the original (bulb) setup?

TJ


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## gunrunnerjohn

No diffuser, just two bulbs sticking up in holders in the middle of the car.

Now that I've seen one, I'm going to proceed with building the guts of the other 5 cars, now only is the light a lot better, the current draw drops for about 300ma to 20ma! If you have a bunch of passenger trains running around, they can suck up more power than the locomotive!


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## tjcruiser

Good thinking. Nice work. Thanks!

TJ


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## servoguy

John,
Looking good
B


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## gunrunnerjohn

Thanks guys, trying up update some of the stuff that's been sitting on the workbench for months.


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## gunrunnerjohn

Moving on, the strips are ready to install in the cars, just have to wire the cars with the mating sockets from the pickups and the lighting project will be complete.  Can't wait to see all the cars on the track with upgraded lighting.


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## tjcruiser

Here's another thread showing some helpful tips on how to remove a similar roof:

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=8634

TJ


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## gunrunnerjohn

Yep, saw it on another forum. basically the same as mine, I just held the latches open with the plastic rulers instead of the sticks.

That method might be a touch easier, I'll have to try it on the next batch of cars when I'm trying to pry them apart.


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## Texas Pete

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Yep, saw it on another forum. basically the same as mine, I just held the latches open with the plastic rulers instead of the sticks.
> 
> That method might be a touch easier, I'll have to try it on the next batch of cars when I'm trying to pry them apart.


Try it. You'll like it. 

Pete


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## eljefe

Bringing back bad memories of those awful roofs...


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## gunrunnerjohn

They can be tamed, but not the way that Lionel describes taking them off!


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## diaz4212

I just opened (to repair a broken wire) my PRR coach. There's no way I would have been able to do this without this tutorial. I had started but stopped several times due to imminent damage. These 5 PRR cars (I have the Harry Truman observation car too!) pulled by my postwar 671 Turbine are the flagship of my line. Now that I can open them without damage I may upgrade the windows to those sweet Polar Express windows with passengers. Hooray for the Internet!


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## tjcruiser

Diaz,

Glad to hear the news. A huge atta-boy to our "how to" forum gang!

TJ


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## gunrunnerjohn

Glad to see something we post helps other people, that's what these forums are all about. 

Oh, and bragging about how clever we are at solving problems!


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## joeptrain

here is a tip, if you don't have plastic rulers you can fold up some paper about 6 times into that space and put some packing tape around it and is will slide in real nice.


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## T-Man

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Here's the one reason for opening these cars. I'm losing the incandescent lights and installing LED strips. These are from Mouser Electronics, you can buy them as long as you like and cut them into three LED chunks (or multiples) for use. They run nominally on 12V, though I did a small mod to allow mine to run a bit lower. I use a bridge rectifier, constant current chip, and a filter cap to complete the circuit.
> 
> The lighting is much more "natural" when it comes from above and is distributed.


Those strips are SOOO! COOOOOOOOL ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
I got 4 meters worth in the mail today. :thumbsup:


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## gunrunnerjohn

They sure make it easier to wire lights.  I have three spools of them (15 meters) waiting to do some under cabinet lighting in my kitchen and laundry room.


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## seabilliau

I for one would sure love to see a tutorial on how to do this. I've worked with led strips before but I get pretty confused once I get into the conversion from ax to dc at that level.


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## KimmieMcK

seabilliau said:


> I for one would sure love to see a tutorial on how to do this. I've worked with led strips before but I get pretty confused once I get into the conversion from ax to dc at that level.


I'd love to see a tutorial too!


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## gunrunnerjohn

Well guys, it's actually pretty simple. You can see from the pictures that there was only a couple of components involved in the process. The strips are just cut to size and use the sticky back to place them. The circuitry to convert AC to DC can be done several ways.

My lighting is designed to maintain a constant intensity, and that's what these circuits reflect. I've done them both ways, the advantage of the 3-terminal regulator is you can tune the current output for your desired result.


For O-scale command operation, I typically use one of these methods, since I have plenty of voltage available.



*Constant Current Using Three Terminal Regulator*










*Constant Current Using CL2 Constant Current Source*










For non-command use, I suggest using a voltage doubler instead of the simple rectifier. This is because you'll be running at lower voltages and the lights may vary in intensity too much.

Here's a typical circuit, obviously the transformer is actually the track power.

*AC to DC Voltage Doubler*


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## Texas Pete

Here's a pop-a-top photo illustrated how-to I posted a couple years ago on the J&C Studios O Gauge Archive, often imitated, never equaled:

http://www.jcstudiosinc.com/BlogShowThread?id=663&categoryId=

HTH. The J&C Studios O Gauge Archive is a "must see" for all O gauge enthusiasts.

Pete


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## gunrunnerjohn

Pete, I think they were asking about lighting solutions. 

I think I do like your solution better than the one I worked out, where were you when I was trying to get mine apart?


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## Texas Pete

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Pete, I think they were asking about lighting solutions.
> 
> I think I do like your solution better than the one I worked out, where were you when I was trying to get mine apart?


Sorry, I went back to the thread's first page. Judging from the photo data I put it up on the OGR forum on 1 January 2011, which was the day I made the photos. According to the J&C Studios O Gauge Archive it went up there on 29 September of the same year. I developed the method in fall of 2008 when I had to replace a bulb and found the Lionel instructions, shall we say, lacking.

Pete


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## gunrunnerjohn

Yep, I tried the Lionel method, that was frustrating, but not very helpful. I wonder who writes those things.


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## T-Man

*My Version HO*


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## gunrunnerjohn

T-Man, is that light coming out the bottom? If that's together, I'd see if you could block that. It looks like the folks in that car are getting a sunburn!


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## Big Ed

T-man this is the O forum, please post all HO in the HO forum.


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## T-Man

Then the post won't count for the O Sale Forum! 


The 470 uf capacitor was large and when I moved it sideways the board holding the makeshift bridge had to be trimmed to squeeze it all in there.

The car doesn't have pickup so I have wires sticking out just to have a demo or a handy night light.


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## Big Ed

T-Man said:


> Then the post won't count for the O Sale Forum!
> 
> 
> The 475uf capacitor was large and when I moved it sideways the board holding the makeshift bridge had to be trimmed to squeeze it all in there.
> 
> The car doesn't have pickup so I have wires sticking out just to have a demo or a handy night light.



Night light sounds good.

Take them off and use them in an O car?


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## T-Man

Ed I got 16 feet worth!


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## Big Ed

T-Man said:


> Ed I got 16 feet worth!



Wow, that is a lot of night lights!


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## gunrunnerjohn

Ed, I have four reels of them, each 5 meters long, as well as part of a reel.

Three of the reels are for under counter lights in my kitchen remodel, the others are for passenger car conversions.


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## old464

Well I just pulled my southern observation apart to install the drumhead I got. And I used a thin jewelers flathead each side, used a credit card at the end to prop it open a bit and a butter knife to pop it open a little crazy but it worked. 

Do you need to install anything special with the led,s or can you just hook a premiered unit to the original lighting? The ones I have are 12 volt and have resistors. Can they work, or do you need the devices that you installed?
Thanks
Chris


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## gunrunnerjohn

If you bought 12V LED's that have the resistors and diodes, you can connect them directly. I'm assuming conventional operation, for command with 18 volt track voltage, you'd probably want some current limiting resistors.

Are you installing individual LED's for car lighting? You get a lot better and more even lighting with the strips as detailed in this thread.

If you're talking about the LED strips, you still need the diodes to convert the track voltage to DC. Again, we need to know the operating environment.


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## plasticvillemayor

*replacement lights*

Thanks to the great advice in this thread, I was able to take the roof off one of my cars (mine are blue and grey Baltimore and Ohio passenger cars with exactly the same design) to replace the lights. I actually used four steak knives sticking in one at each of the tabs and the roof came off easily without my needing a metal ruler. (I had given up on trying to get the roof off before I found this thread).

I love what you did with the led lights, but since I don't know how to do the wiring to replace the original lighting, does anyone know what the parts number is to replace the original little light bulbs? Are they readily available at train stores or on line? (I don't have owners' manuals for the cars).


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## imatt88

mayor,

I have the same series of B & O passenger cars you have and was actually just looking at one to see if I could find the screws that hold on the roof, now I know why I couldn't find them:laugh:

I also have to replace some burned out bulbs in mine, and I've seen bulbs on eBay, you could try there..

HTH,

Cheers, Ian


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## Big Ed

John, can you add this thread to the sticky O gauge help section?

I tried to tag it "removing Lionel pass car top" for searching, but it is too long.
I know that sometime in the future, I will have to find this to look at.
I did shorten the tag some but when I tried to search for it the search wouldn't bring this thread up.

Maybe add it there if it is not there all ready. 

Add it to post #16 here?
http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=5946

Or if it is there and I missed it maybe rename it, How to remove Lionel passenger cars tops?

I think this would benefit other members who gave up like the rest of us on taking the tops off of them.
What do you think?


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## gunrunnerjohn

We put it in the information sticky already, so you can find it on a search.


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