Illuminating a Station Platform

[RRCharlie]

When I was a teenager (many moons ago), I took two 12 volt bulbs,soldered wires to them to operate in series, mounted them on the underside of the roof of a Plasticville station platform and ran one wire down the inside of each support (like an electrical conduit), and ran wires through holes in the table to feeder wires to transformer. Worked well and looked sharp when lit in the darkened room.

Mel Hazen

Jacksonville, FL

 

[baltimoretrainworks]

  I just had to deal with the same problem this past Christmas. I used a Model Power Highway Lamppost, the the one with two lamps. I cut them off leaving about an 1/8" of tube on the socket that fit perfectly into the hole at the top of the post holding the roof up. I glued a small black tube down the side of the post and thru a hole drilled in the base of the platform, I then put the light bulb back into the socket, slipped the wire down the tube  and out the platform bottom and slipped the lamp cover back on it. To prevent light from coming thru the roof I was going to paint it but it was faster to line it with aluminum tape used to seal ductwork. In about 45 minutes I had 2 lighted platforms.

Hope this helps.

[cnjcomp]

I got the parts from the Model Railroad shop in Piscataway,N.J.  I'm sure if you search for the parts nos I listed, you should be able to find them easily. The rix roof vent kit is an HO accessory.

[Anonymous]

cnj,
Where did you get these parts from?

Thanks,
Brent

[cnjcomp]

I was given a pair of Lionel 6-24190 station platforms and decided to illuminate them. I'll try to post a picture, but feel that they look better than the original Lionel illumination. The wiring and mounting is done the same as on the original Lionel Illuminated platforms, since the roof already has mounts for the lamps and wires.   I used the following parts:  4 funnel shaped parts from a Rix Roof Top Vent kit (628-0610). 4 bulbs & sockets Mod Power 12-16V economy lite set no. 492. 2 evergreen 5/32 no 225 tubes. 4 spring clips I had laying around.

Remove the roof from the station platform and ream the lamp mounting holes on the station roof a little to allow the  funnel shaped parts from the rix kit to press fit in to the roof to form the lamp shades.  The model power bulb sockets press fit into the funnel shades as is. I measured and cut wires to allow one lamp socket to be routed through the funnel, the wiring pins on the underside of the station roof over to the other lamp socket and soldered the wires to the socket(brown to brown,black to black). Then inserted the second bulb socket into its funnel and pressed it into its roof mounting.  Re-mount the roof to the platform. I then drilled a hole in the base of the station platform to allow the  5/32 tubing to be pushed up through the base and attach to the mounting hole in the station roof. I routed the wiring from the second socket down through the tube and into the base where I soldered the wires to the spring clips for power pickup.  I just hot glued the clips to the station base after soldering.

 

 

 

[Anonymous]

 I too am trying to go with LED illumination over bulbs on everything . They last years and no heat except the fact like stated they are'nt as bright or white but are eons better now than when they first came out .  Although I did make a nifty flashing sign or 2 with the mini xmas flashing bulbs for illumination years ago. Added a bit of flash to my layout and most loved them . And you can pick a set or bunch of them up for pennies after xmas . Man I hope radio shack stays around for a long time even though they don't carry alot they used to for us home brew guys.

[Anonymous]

I am lighting some Skyline M3 Freight Sheds, which are basically station platforms, using the pre-wired 14v Life-Like bulbs. I just attach the bulb assembly to the roof struts and there's plenty of light.

I agree about the painting to diffuse the lighting. The undersides of the Skyline materials are already white reflective for this purpose, and it makes a big difference.

For a larger platform building such as the Marx Freight Terminal, I am using the Life-Like House Lighting Kit, which is basically the same light attached to a useful plastic base that, inverted, becomes a wonderfully functional overhead lighting fixture.

[ADCX Rob]

I'm in the process of doing this exact same thing.

Paint the underside of the platform roof with opaque paint.  You will be glad you did.

I use 4 clear 5.5v Christmas bulbs, in the holders, epoxied to the bulb holder castings on the roof undersides(the tubes of the bulbs parallel to the roofline).  Two on one side wired in series, two on the other wired in series, and then those two circuits in parallel for a nice glow at 6-10 volts. 

For a "riser" for the wires(under base to roof) I use a cut-to-length clear plastic tube from inside an aerosol can of spray starch.

Buying just the Lionel parts to convert will set you back more than buying them illuminated in the first place.

Rob

[lionelsoni]

LEDs generally put out a fairly narrow beam; so you might want to think about ways to diffuse the light.  Also consider Richmond Controls' LEDs, which are tinted to resemble incandescent lights.  Most white LEDs are quite bluish, because they are actually blue LEDs with some phosphors added to convert some of the blue to longer wavelengths.

http://www.richmondcontrols.com/

 

[phillyreading]

Might be cheaper to go with something from Radio Shack or other electronics store than to buy Lionel parts for the station platforms.  If you can find a clear LED light than get it and make sure that you can secure the LED light to the platform good or the light may fall out.

Lee F.

[Anonymous]

I have a few Lionel Station Platforms (the non-illuminated version) and would like to wire these to be illuminated.  Does anyone know the Lionel Part-no.s to accomplish this?  If I can't get the Lionel parts, then I'll just go LED lights, would 2 3mm lights be sufficient or would larger lights be recommended?