Building Lights

[GP-9_Man11786]

I thought of this the other day: I have severl lighted buildings on my railway. At first I was going to wire their power feed to an on/off switch; but then I noticed the solar yard lights come on at different times in different part of the yard due to different light levels. These lights have a photo censor in them that turns them on and off. That's when I got the idea to put these censors on each of the individual buildings. The buildings would A. Illuminate automatically and B. at different times, creating a very realistic and theatrical effect. I will let you guys know how this works and what kind of wiring is involved.

[Tom The Brat]

Sounds like a plan!

[Anonymous]

I have suggested this previously and no one has treated it seriously but I use small candles. These are cheap quick and simple to use and give you an idea in advance of what the real thing will look like. I actually have done some good research this way and we certainly want to do it and would not have got much of an idea if we hadn't done this very simple thing first.


Rgds ian

Actually it was my wifes idea and she is in charge of it at this stage

Rgds ian

[GP-9_Man11786]

That is a good idea and I will keep it in mind when I install more lighting. The candels you refer to are very cheap here in the US, maybe $5 for 40.

[GP-9_Man11786]

Weel so far this idea has turned out to be a dud. I baught the photo cells from Radio Shack, hooked one up and to my frustration, it did not work. I have the lgiths wired straight to my Aristo-Craft 10-amp DC transformer, I might have fired the cell.

[ragnar]

In one of the Garden Railways Magazines theres a artical on installing the solar powered lights used to line sidewalks, etc.mounting the solar panel in the roof of the bldg.,Try going through the back issues to find it, looked like a rather great idea.

[bhewitt452]

I use solar lighting in several of my buildings. It works very well. I also have used Malibu low voltage lighting. The solar is used for buildings that are not close to the loop wire.
Bill Hewitt
Southpark & Dogbark GRR
Mansfield, MA

[Anonymous]

I have been using low voltage lighting in my garden for a while now with no problems at all . Lay out the 14 guage wire around the edges of your railroad and when you install a new building or street light they make these small black connector blocks to tap off the main wire . I am using a 300 watt transformer that is timer operated . Solar would be good I guess in some situations where you would have to tear up too much existing scenery to light the new additions.