Tomix HO Series 683 light questions

[DennisAkaTECHNO]

I'm about to start the DCC conversion of my Tomix JR West Series 683 and I've got a few questions regarding the lights of this EMU.

I've got the 3 car set (Tomix HO-9071) and I plan to just run it as the 3 car set.

 

However I wondered about these two things:

 

1. What are these small lights on the side for and when do they light up? I wasn't able to spot how they work by watching videos. Why are there two lamps in some cases and in other cases just a single one? I would really appriciate if someone could explain that to me.

 

The second thing I've noticed: there's a cold white light in the cab, when the train is heading in the other direction and the red lights are turned on on this side. What is the purpose of this light and does it always light up when the red lights come on, or is it just the normal cab interior light? The Tomix Model already features this light and it's connected to the red lights.

 

 

Greets
Dennis

[Kamome]

The small lights on the side are the door open lights. It allows the conductor or station attendant to see that all doors are closed. They stay on when the doors are open and extinguish when they’re closed. I read somewhere they are a legal requirement for Japanese trains. Especially important for congested commuter trains whereby someone or thing may be obstructing a door. Not 100% sure about multiples in the middle of the coach on this particular prototype. Most trains have failure lights and emergency lights too. 

 

The cab light, I assume, is on as the conductor is using the rear cab for his duties. Some trains still have a designated conductors room, shinkansen for example, but many modern trains have omitted one to maximize passenger space so conductors use the rear cab. Not sure what the case is on 681/683 but I’d imagine the 3 coach units don’t have a conductor’s room. You’ll see this on many commuter trains too. 

[DennisAkaTECHNO]

On 2/25/2024 at 2:18 AM, Kamome said:

The small lights on the side are the door open lights.

Thanks for your reply! I'll try making those work with SMD LEDs on my model, that's why I was asking.

 

On 2/25/2024 at 2:18 AM, Kamome said:

Not 100% sure about multiples in the middle of the coach on this particular prototype. Most trains have failure lights and emergency lights too. 

As far as I was able to gather information (from someone outside the forum) it was basically what you say. The upper one is the "door opened" indicator and if there's a lower one, it's the emergency indicator. However I don't know when this one comes on.

 

On 2/25/2024 at 2:18 AM, Kamome said:

The cab light, I assume, is on as the conductor is using the rear cab for his duties. 

Makes sense! I knew conductors use the rear cab on japanese trains usually, but I haven't had this in mind, since this is not very common where I'm from.

 

Thanks for you reply!