Diesel rail cars have lots of internal space for a soundcard but extensive windows make it important to ensure that it is invisible. In some cases, the battery, soundcard and speaker can be mounted below the floor in place of traction weights. Failing that, an alternative is to install all three in the roof as shown in the example below which is a Hornby "Bubblecar".
Before fixing the major components to the railcar roof, it is necessary to organize an electrical pickup from the track or from the motor for the soundcard. In this case, the railcar is DCC ready and so the soundcard M1/M2 terminals have been connected to the 1 and 5 pins of the DCC blanking plug. This makes it easy to separate the body and the chassis when necessary.
The soundcard, speaker and 3.6 volt NiMiH cordless phone battery were fixed into the railcar roof using double sided tape. You may want to paint the battery and other components matt black before installation so that they are not noticable from outside, Two rows of seats had to be reduced in size to allow for the height of the speaker and battery but in the remaining parts of the railcar there was still room for passengers.
In the example, the battery has been connected to the soundcard via an in-line connector. This avoids the need to solder live battery leads and the risk of a short circuit during soldering.
Once the soundcard settings have been set for the type of railcar then you are ready to go.
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