In order to power the lights in the heavyweight passenger cars I’m restoring; I’ve been thinking of bashing a “Steam Generator Unit”, out of a Lionel box car. The box car is much too short to be of much use for anything else, in fact I think we have a reefer also. So, It seemed like it/they are somewhat closer in length to a “CN inspired” SGU.
We seldom operate at night, so there is little call for lights, but if we wanted them, without track power, this might be the answer.
The idea is to “HEP” the cars, with “MU” cables when the lights are required, using the SGU as the battery car.
Most of the diesels on the SG roster do not have steam generators, so they would require a SGU anyhow.
The SGU/Battery car would only provide power for the car lights, as the diesels are self contained.
Any suggestions to motivate this idea, are welcome.
This might be a solution for those in “Live Steam” that want to light their cars while operating at night.