Hi James,

I'm with you, I love coach lighting, particularly if the layout is being run in a 'night-time' mode.

Set 7077 is indeed what you want, you will need 2 per coach, plus a 7198 pickup shoe for each coach, but if you can be talked into leaving the coaches as a consist, most would encourage you to run a wire between each coach and use a single pickup shoe, less drag on the train than 4 shoes, or perhaps one shoe per 2 coaches, up to you.

The lighting may seem harsh compared to later versions using a diffuser or LED's, and perhaps someone has already done a conversion along those lines but to get you up and running quickly the above parts will get you under way.

I've attached some images to give you an idea. My one shows the older style hinged shoe, simply because that is what is fitted but the more modern slider type is probably better for you. Excuse the grainy 'nighttime' image, I just shot it without worrying about exposure etc, but there are two railbuses nearby to give comparison also.

Lighting is at its best when the trains are on the move, and in a consist. A single coach with lighting and no interior is a bit stark. It is also worth noting that the underside of the roof does a reasonably good job of scattering the light although it is noticeably brightest each the location of each bulb.

Cheers

Steve
NZ

James,

In addition to working, I think this is the better choice if available. On K track I find that the 7198 style shoe work a lot better across turnouts and double slips than the older "ski" style which can sometimes become stuck. However, given that the ski style originally came out in the M-track era, it may not be an issue. I don't have any experience running ski pickups on M track to give you personal observations.

-Brandon