I’ve posted the routing of LED leads in the “Whats On Your Workbench?” as snipits.  This is slightly more involved so I’ll post it separately. 
 

The first step was to solder a lead to the positive side of the small connector board.  Just like the decoder the hot wire goes to all the LEDs.

Just a simple question, but expect a lot of complicated answers. LOL If a person who has no knowledge whatsoever about HO diesels wants to buy a GP7 or GP9. And lets assume it is a PRR. Now: there's Athearn, Bachmann, Walthers, and who knows how many more. How would the decision be made? Price? Details? Running quality? decoder quality? Or buy a DCC compatible and what decoder? You see the dilemma? Yes, price may be a determinate factor, but how do you know you get the quality you expect for the price you pay?

One thing that's apparent when you model a single railroad for nearly two decades is that the state of the equipment is always in flux.  Damage and wear are inflicted, repairs are made...more wear, more repairs.  In fact, that's one of the things I enjoy most about prototype modeling within a very tightly-defined era because, through the details you choose to model or ignore, you tell the story of where a particular locomotive or car was in its journey with the railroad.