Coach Lighting The Easy Way...

I don't know if you guys have seen or heard of this product, but Hornby have recently released what they describe as 'Mag Lights' (I know its also a brand of torches )

Anyway basically what the product does is to give you an easy way to illuminate the interiors of the Hornby 4 or 6 wheeled coaches.  While this is a great thing for HO/OO modellers like me, the convenient thing is those coaches are about the same size as the normal Tomy coaches so should be ideally compatible with those as well!

The kit consists of a small strip of LED's connected to a small circuit board that contains a magnetic reed switch which is also connected to a small holder for a button cell battery (CR2016 I think by the size/thickness of it).  You also get a plastic brick that has a magnet embedded in the bottom of it.

Basically you fit the LED's to the roof of the carriage and then place the circuit/battery at one end of the carriage.  Then when you pass the magnet over the part of the coach with the circuit board it will turn the LED's on or off.

You may think the button cell would be too puny, but it is claimed that the battery can power the LED's for around 100 hours of lighting, which in the scheme of things would last quite a long time unless you leave them on by mistake.  I suppose it could also be possible to replace the button cell holder with a dual AAA or similar holder instead if you wanted longer.

Anyway here's some shots of the product parts and a small video showing how they turn on/off, enjoy!

[Super]

That is cool. I like the idea of the magnet turning them on and off. Wonder how close the magnet has to get to that Reed Switch to activate it. At $19us a bit steep to run in several Plarails. Wonder if any magnet will work then they could sell the set without a magnet for a little less and sell the magnets separately. Thanks Nigels

I know what you are saying about the cost, but it is a unique type of product and frankly I don't think removing the magnet would make that much difference to the cost, they are probably only pennies.  Over here they are £12,99 currently, and longer term are likely to drop in price a bit, but still quite expensive if you got a big rake of coaches.

[Super]

It is a great idea though, especially for those who have no experience with wiring and soldering who wish they had some coaches with lights. I think if I had some I would work out a bracket or something where I didn't have to permanently stick the LED strip inside the Coach. That way it could be transferred to other Coaches when the need arises. Still would like to know how close or far away the magnet has to be to turn the lights on and off....hmmm...wonder if there is a Reviewer with a video on it.

Ha....I just got it...Maglight.....short for, Magnet Light....Ha 

The magnet doesn't have to be that close, I reckon if for example you had a tunnel if you mounted one of those powerful little magnets on the entrance/exit you could use those to turn the lights on as they go into and come out of the tunnel...  To a degree it all depends on where you mount the small circuit board.

[Super]

I guess that however close the magnet needs to be, its better than having to manually use a switch on each coach to turn off and on.

Well it means you don't have to cut the chassis/bodywork either which means they can be converted back if you want to sell them on.  Also look at the other opportunities, while you have it apart you could add some glazing to the windows for PlaRail carriages that don't have it (most in my experience), maybe even add some interior detail or some people or whatever.  The world is your oyster and think how impressive it would look on your youtube channel if you did have lit carriages that others can't buy lol!

On a similar though different theme, I came across these the other day. 20 LEDs on a 2m long copper wire powered by two button cells. All the rage for Xmas table decor in my local pub. Available in a range of colours for less than £2 per piece. Also a range of different lengths starting from 1m with 10 LEDs.

If you could find some way to turn them on/off easily they could possibly be fitted inside coaches as well I guess, if not they would be fine inside buildings and stuff on a layout

There's a little black on/off switch on the battery pack, next to where the wire comes out.