Adding proper lighting to a layout can turn it into a completely different
scene. Installing accessory lighting allows details and scenes that were
once less noticeable (such as detailed building interiors), to be a main
focal point. My layout includes interior lighting on most of my buildings,
street lamps, and nighttime lighting effect to illuminate the overall
layout.
To assist with adding accessory lights as I constructed my layout, I planned
all of the wiring into my master wiring plan at the start of construction. I
pre-installed power bus wires under my bench work and installed switches on
my control panel to turn power to the bus wires on and off. The bus wires
are powered directly by a dedicated 12V 2A DC power supply. These and are
split into two separate circuits, accessory 1 & accessory 2. These two
circuits are each controlled through two automotive-type relays connected to
a corresponding toggle switch on the main control panel (see master wiring
diagram).
The majority of my structures had lighting installed during their
construction (see any of my posts regarding structure kits for details). I
left a long wire lead protruding from either the bottom or side of each
building which I then passed through a small drilled hole in my bench work
and tied it into the pre-installed power bus below. Any visible wire leads
on top of my layout were simply hidden with scenery material.
The brass street lamps along my streets were installed with the same method.
I did need to wrap the base of each lamp a couple times with electrical tape
to provide a snug fit once I inserted them into the drilled holes. The
street lamps are rated for 12 volts, but a full 12 volts produced way too
much light, so I added a 110 ohm resistor to each street lamp to provide a
softer, more realistic glow. Both the building lights and street lamps are
wired onto the accessory 1 circuit.
Accessory lighting on your layout is most effective when, quite obviously,
the room that houses your layout is dark. However, having a completely dark
room void of any light is much too dark and the majority of your layout will
not be visible. You can create low levels of ambient room lighting by simply
dimming the room lighting, but this is only effective if you use halogen or
incandescent-type bulbs. If you use fluorescent lighting (like I do), you
will need to completely turn off the lights as most are not dimmable. More
so, dimming your layout room’s lights still doesn’t create a realistic
nighttime effect, so the most effective method is to have separately
installed “night mode” lights.
For this “night mode” effect lighting, I wanted to recreate a moonlit scene
with a soft, bluish-white glow. To create this type of light, I constructed
three light diffusing boxes out of styrene measuring 2 1/2” x 4 1/2” with a
curved diffusing lens protruding out from the base by about 1 ¾”. I then
installed one super bright white and one super bright blue LED into the base
of each diffuser box, about 1” apart off center. After adding the proper
resistors to each LED, I wired all three diffuser boxes to my accessory 2
lighting circuit and installed them to the ceiling above my layout.
The diffuser boxes combine the intense light from the blue and white LED’s
and emits an even, soft blue-white light similar to moonlight. This glow
provides just enough of a natural nighttime effect that the entire layout
is still visible, while allowing your scenery lighting to stand out and be
the main focal point.
In regards to the main daylight lighting, I originally had installed
standard incandescent bulbs over my layout, which were fine during
construction but recently changed to mini fluorescent spiral bulbs. I use
6 of these bulbs (3 bright white and 3 warm white) in combination to
produce a bright, natural daytime light. I found that incandescent bulbs
alone produced way too much yellow-red light and the typical bright white
mini spiral florescent alone produced an unrealistic blue hue. I also
uninstalled the large florescent ceiling light next to my layout as it
cast a very blue, overpowering light onto the right half of my
layout.
This story reminded me of how I got started building model trains many years ago. It was rough at first, I have to admit. I would get caught up surfing the Internet for ours on end for answers or would spend too much time going through the painful process of dealing with inexperienced sales people at my local hobby shop. But somehow I learned to create my own detailed model train layouts without having a big budget or a lot of space, even though I wasn't good with my hands nor was I an electrician, a carpenter, or an artist. Now me and my two boys spend all our free time with this wonderful hobby. I'm glad that we are having fun together and they are doing something educational with their time. By the way, if you're interested in learning about model trains quickly, you might want to check out this great article, which will save you tons of time and money and keep you from making a lot of easily avoidable mistakes: http://www.bestquicktips.com/modeltrains Hope it helps anyone reading this!
Adding lighting effects to a railroad scenery is quite a task. It is nice that you have managed to pull it all off. The results are amazing and mesmerizing. I wonder how it would look like if all the house lights were off. Good work! Thanks for sharing :)
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Wow, this lighting color is brilliant! I have seen a few that were darker blue (which wasn't bad either), and a little harsher due to the type of direct lighting used (which works obviously), but this has to be the best I have seen so far hands down. Very nice to look at, having a "full moon" affect to the layout!
Urdu is one of the main languages in the state, and this is the first language for Urdu Medium students, there are fewer schools are working in all districts of the state, all the applicable students also can download AP SSC Urdu Model Paper 2023 Pdf in chapter wise for all lessons of the course, AP 10th Urdu Question Paper download, and practice the Ibtedai Question bank to get better rank in all exams conducted by BSEAP. Urdu is one of the main languages in the state, and this is the first language for Urdu Medium students, there are fewer schools are working in all districts of the state, all the applicable students also can download AP SSC Urdu Model Paper 2023 Pdf in chapter wise for all lessons of the course.
Discover the entire design and construction processes of my HO scale model railroad layout. You’ll also find valuable resources such as wiring diagrams with detailed explanations, printable scenery templates, how-to tutorials, and more.
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7 comments
This story reminded me of how I got started building model trains many years ago. It was rough at first, I have to admit. I would get caught up surfing the Internet for ours on end for answers or would spend too much time going through the painful process of dealing with inexperienced sales people at my local hobby shop. But somehow I learned to create my own detailed model train layouts without having a big budget or a lot of space, even though I wasn't good with my hands nor was I an electrician, a carpenter, or an artist. Now me and my two boys spend all our free time with this wonderful hobby. I'm glad that we are having fun together and they are doing something educational with their time. By the way, if you're interested in learning about model trains quickly, you might want to check out this great article, which will save you tons of time and money and keep you from making a lot of easily avoidable mistakes:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bestquicktips.com/modeltrains
Hope it helps anyone reading this!
Thank you very much
DeleteAdding lighting effects to a railroad scenery is quite a task. It is nice that you have managed to pull it all off. The results are amazing and mesmerizing. I wonder how it would look like if all the house lights were off. Good work! Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteTripura Board 12th Class Latest and Last Year Exam Study Material for Syllabus, Question Paper etc, Hindi, English Medium Pdf Format, Tripura HS Question Paper 2021 Students Download Tripura Board 12th Model Paper 2021 at Official Website Only.
ReplyDeleteManipur Board 11th & 12th Previous Question Paper are very important for the Preparation of HSSLC Public Exam of Manipur Board Students. HSSLC Students of can easily get their Latest and most valuable Mock Test Paper from this website. COHSEM HSC Model Paper 2022 Students only have to Download the Manipur Board HSSLC Mock Test Paper 2022 for all the important subjects are available Including the Arts Science Commerce etc. Manipur Board 12th Model Paper 2022 has announced Board of Secondary Education, Manipur, HSLC Students who are going to sit in Public Examination 2022 are allowed to Download COHSEM 11th&12th Standard Sample Paper 2022 Download our web Portal.
ReplyDeleteWow, this lighting color is brilliant! I have seen a few that were darker blue (which wasn't bad either), and a little harsher due to the type of direct lighting used (which works obviously), but this has to be the best I have seen so far hands down. Very nice to look at, having a "full moon" affect to the layout!
ReplyDeleteUrdu is one of the main languages in the state, and this is the first language for Urdu Medium students, there are fewer schools are working in all districts of the state, all the applicable students also can download AP SSC Urdu Model Paper 2023 Pdf in chapter wise for all lessons of the course, AP 10th Urdu Question Paper download, and practice the Ibtedai Question bank to get better rank in all exams conducted by BSEAP. Urdu is one of the main languages in the state, and this is the first language for Urdu Medium students, there are fewer schools are working in all districts of the state, all the applicable students also can download AP SSC Urdu Model Paper 2023 Pdf in chapter wise for all lessons of the course.
ReplyDelete