Lighting questions?

[Anonymous]

I am still new to model trains. I have a question I have built 1 house and 1 tunnel. Should I put lights in the tunnel, if so how do i. (2) What kind if lighting should I use. I know I want lights in the house. How do I do that?

Thanks Cole
Semper Fi

[Jetrock]

Most railroad tunnels don't have lights--take a train trip that goes through the mountains and be amazed how dark it gets in there!! So no, you probably don't need to put lights in your tunnel.

Lights in the house--there are a number of ways. One popular method is to drill a hole in the layout base where the house sits and stick a brass tube into the hole so it sticks out about an inch. Stick a grain-of-wheat bulb (small lightbulb) of suitable voltage, leads first, into the top of the tube so it sticks out the bottom of the layout. Solder the bulb's leads to wires which run to the accessory terminals on your power pack. Put the house back on its foundation, turn on the powerpack, presto!

[Anonymous]

As I just mentioned in response to another post, I used miniature Christmas Tree lights for my buildings back in my high school days. I might not use them again now, since I can afford other lighting methods, but if all you want is an interior glow, they are super-easy to use. The only drawback is that, since they are wired in series, one blown bulb can bring the whole strand down. This means you'll need access to be able to change them as well as to inspect them and find the culprit. The other drawback is the regular 6-inch spacing between bulbs; in order to place them where your buildings are, you'll need to cut the wires and splice in extra length.

You'll need to use up all of the bulbs in a given strand to ensure that you don't overload them with too much juice; it is okay to use more than the original number (say 40 bulbs spliced into a 35-bulb strand) but they will glow a bit dim when you do. Just drill a hole under your building, pop the bulb up through it, hold it in place somehow (maybe using wood glue to plug the hole after it is pushed through, or perhaps a heavy-duty staple), and plug the completed strand directly into a regular 110-volt AC outlet or extension cord. Take care to ensure that the places where you've spliced wires together are completely wrapped up with electrical tape or otherwise insulated, and be sure your staples (if you use them) do not pierce the insulation, and don't mistakenly wire in a short circuit (test things as you go with a ammeter/voltmeter gizmo to find shorts before anything is ever plugged in).

If you're squeamish about doing so much wiring on a circuit that will plugged right into a socket, just reflect that any lighting you do is going to require much the same sort of thing, and you'll have to deal with the same issues. The higher risk of wiring for a 110 volt circuit is reason for greater care in doing the work, and if you're like me it means that you'll be less likely to make stupid mistakes. Incidentally, because the bulbs are wired in series, the actual voltage between any pair of bulbs is rather small, just a few volts, so this mitigates the real risk somewhat (it is also why our pet bunny could chew through cord after cord of these lights without dying!).

[tree68]

A couple of options are available if you are comfortable with them -

You can use some miniature bulbs. They usually are 1.5 volts, vs 12 for the average grain of wheat. They are more expensive than regular grain of wheat, but may have a more prototypical look. You will either have to wire them in series or use dropping resistors.

It is possible to use yellow and white LEDs. Again, the voltage is much less than 12 volts, requiring putting them in series or using dropping resistors, but the effects can be great. Plus, they are generally much cooler running than regular bulbs.

An effect to consider if you are using miniature bulbs or LEDs is to subdivide the house into rooms (using suitable materials) and putting light sources only in some of the rooms. It will take more bulbs, but the effect should be very satisfying. View blocks are always a good idea anyhow.

You also need to consider the "transparency" of the outside walls, etc. All the care you put into bulb placement will be lost if the house glows like a lightbulb, straight through the walls.