Model Railroading > Pump UP the Brightness

Been working on my Rapido UP C30-7 this week. The model has light tubes with bends in it, which works for things like the number boards and class lights, but makes the headlights WAYYY too dim. I removed the cab to install the blanked out side windows, and also removed the front and rear headlight tubes and installed SMD LED's behind the lenses. They really should have just put a circuit board in the cab roof that handles the headlights, number board lights and rotary beacon. I wired the new headlights right to the Loksound decoder, but that's not a simple task as you need to be very cautious since the 21 pins are just that close to the soldering pads. I checked my work with a multimeter after the decoder was installed looking for any possible shorts. Now the headlights are sufficiently bright. That was my only major issue on a otherwise fantastic model. I'm replacing the front brakehose with a DW extended version and need to fashion a "can" that UP put on the front handrail stanchion to hold the loose end of the MU cable.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

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Very nice Ted. With the blacked out cab the light looks perfect for a model and real life.

funnelfan Wrote:
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> need to fashion a "can" that UP put on the front
> handrail stanchion to hold the loose end of the MU
> cable.

I used a 1.8mm brass tube =16px-- believe it or not I found a brass tube "variety pack" and tried various sizes until I found the one that looked right.
https://pbase.com/alasgw/image/170907195

Gotham Rail & Marine part # 2010, UP/WP Can Style MU Cable Holders.
https://gothamrailmarine.com/