With the exception of the H0m souvenir cars, all narrow gauge passenger coaches produced by TILLIG are already prepared at the factory for the installation of the lighting kits that are available from the same manufacturer. The H0m souvenir cars can also be upgraded with the conversion kit for narrow gauge H0m, Art. No. 08892, for the installation of lighting.

The range the company based in Sebnitz includes different lighting sets for two (# 19801) and four-axle (# 08811) narrow-gauge passenger coaches. The board has two contact springs for two-axle coaches, and four for four-axle coaches. Each of the two articles also contains, in addition to the actual lighting board, the appropriate number of LED boards for the platform lighting. Both coach lighting designs can be installed without any soldering work.

Installation:

To begin with the roof of the coach is lifted off carefully. The roofs are clicked into place and can be pulled off by lifting them upwards. You will find instructions in the coach manual concerning this. Subsequently, the contact tabs of the circuit boards are bent downwards at an angle of 90 degrees. Ensure that the contact attachment is at the top (solder joint). You must avoid bending it backwards as this would cause the contact tab to break off.

Now the board is inserted into the coach with the contact tabs along the slots on the coach interior sides inside the coach. Care must be taken here that the board is aligned with the pins on the top of the coach housing. Before inserting the circuit board onto the pin, it must be pushed under the small hook on the opposite side. The precise attachment is important to ensure that the platform lighting is subsequently correctly supplied with power.

Now a functional test is performed. The two bogies will each take up the power on one side of the track, in this way one coach side is always a pole.

Now the small LED boards for the lighting of the entry areas are glued into the recesses provided for the coach roofs so that the LED is outside the vehicle upper part. Following this the coach roof is sensitively latched on to the upper part. Prior to this the contact lugs for the platform lighting may need to be slightly readjusted. When attaching the roof, you must also ensure that the cutouts for the carriage end wall have different dimensions on the end walls.

Note:

The two lighting kits available from TILLIG are suitable for the H0m and H0e passenger coach models. The LEDs constantly shine brightly from a voltage of about 6 volts. It should also be noted that the use of illuminated coach models increases power consumption. Nothing should go wrong if our tips are observed during installation. Good luck!

Manfred Hofmann – article from the Schmalspurfan (Narrow railway enthusiast) issue 1/2018

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