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Lighting an Industrial Area

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  • Member since
    May 2008
  • From: Miles City, Montana
  • 2,289 posts
Lighting an Industrial Area
Posted by FRRYKid on Friday, August 31, 2018 11:47 AM

Ok Forums friends, got yet another one for you: I am building an industrial area on my new layout. It contains a team track area as well as an area for woodchip unloading from smaller cars (modified 34' hoppers) and reloadinng them to bigger 62' ones. It has a Walthers bulk transfer conveyor, a structure from the Walthers woopchip structures kit and two Walthers woodchip loaders to accomplish the transfer. In the area, there is also a bashed unloading ramp (from the two ramps that were sold in the old Walthers team track kit) and a large kitbashed building (3 DPM Laube Linen Mills) for storing the items that came in via the team track.

The questions are: What sort of lighting would one need for that sort of area and how would one replicate those lights in HO scale? As usual thank you for any assistance that can be providded.

"The only stupid question is the unasked question."
Brain waves can power an electric train. RealFact #832 from Snapple.
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Posted by dehusman on Friday, August 31, 2018 4:36 PM

Need?  None.  Neither of those would be a 24-7 type operation.

I do have to ask, why in heavens name would you transload woodchips from one car into another.  Railroads hardly make any money on woodchips, why would you double the cost of handling them?

Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com

  • Member since
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  • From: Miles City, Montana
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Posted by FRRYKid on Saturday, September 1, 2018 12:33 AM

dehusman

I do have to ask, why in heavens name would you transload woodchips from one car into another.  Railroads hardly make any money on woodchips, why would you double the cost of handling them?

Probably a bit of modeler's license but I was insprired by an old Northern Pacific prototype. (36' converted hoppers for woodchip service. I made a concession by using for 34' Athearn twin square end hoppers.) The theory is that the logging plant is on an island and the car ferry can only handle 34's. It also allows me to generate some interchange traffic.

"The only stupid question is the unasked question."
Brain waves can power an electric train. RealFact #832 from Snapple.
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  • From: OH
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Posted by BRAKIE on Saturday, September 1, 2018 3:12 AM

You could use security  lights to ward off any mischief.

Larry

Conductor.

Summerset Ry.


"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt  Safety First!"

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Posted by Deane Johnson on Saturday, September 1, 2018 7:56 AM

As Brakie says, security lights would be the primary usage.  I would see them being reasonably vintage, not modern like the street lights you see in real world usage today.

For the more informal more industrial look, I like the lights mounted on wooden poles that are sold by Woodland Scenics.  The system contains a dimmer so you can balance the light level and get rid of the overly bright led glare.

They come with an extention for each pole which I would recommend using to get the height you might expect in that setting.  I might caution you that the extention pole sometimes has some glue inside from assembly and you might have to drill down through the extention in order to feed the wires through.

I add a 1" or so pices of brass tubing from Hobby Lobby to the bottom of the pole so it inserts nicely into my 1" of layout surface made up of a layer of OSB board and a layer of Homosote.

  • Member since
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  • From: Miles City, Montana
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Posted by FRRYKid on Saturday, September 1, 2018 10:46 AM

Deane Johnson

As Brakie says, security lights would be the primary usage.  I would see them being reasonably vintage, not modern like the street lights you see in real world usage today.

I model the BN merger era from 72 to the SLSF merger (1980) so vintage would be right in era.

Deane Johnson

For the more informal more industrial look, I like the lights mounted on wooden poles that are sold by Woodland Scenics.  The system contains a dimmer so you can balance the light level and get rid of the overly bright led glare.

They come with an extention for each pole which I would recommend using to get the height you might expect in that setting.  I might caution you that the extention pole sometimes has some glue inside from assembly and you might have to drill down through the extention in order to feed the wires through.

I add a 1" or so pices of brass tubing from Hobby Lobby to the bottom of the pole so it inserts nicely into my 1" of layout surface made up of a layer of OSB board and a layer of Homosote.

What stock number(s) would I be looking at? I am not that familar with Woodland Scenics' lighting system.

"The only stupid question is the unasked question."
Brain waves can power an electric train. RealFact #832 from Snapple.
  • Member since
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  • 189 posts
Posted by Deane Johnson on Saturday, September 1, 2018 4:55 PM

It's in the Just Plug system.  JP5630 is the wooden pole light I was referring to.  They come in packages of 3.  All 3 will run off of 1 channel of the Just Plug system, leaving 3 channels you can use for other lighting.  Each channel has it's own dimmer control.

Their lighted vehicles are nice also.  I just added the lighted little Heavy Hauler truck.  It's the first thing people want to look at closely.  Lighting on a layout adds a hugh amount of interest.

The Just Plug system isn't cheap by the time you buy a wall wart, light Hub and the package of pole lights, but it's very nice in performance.

https://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/category/JustPlugLightingSystem

 

 

  • Member since
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  • From: Miles City, Montana
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Posted by FRRYKid on Sunday, September 2, 2018 12:22 AM

Deane Johnson

It's in the Just Plug system.  JP5630 is the wooden pole light I was referring to.  

Hypothetically could that type of light be adapted to conventional wiring if one didn't want to go whole hog? or in the alternative, could conventional electric light be adapted to fit into the Just Plug system? (I have a couple of lighted clocks that were ordered well before this layout was planned. They were planned for the old layout.)

"The only stupid question is the unasked question."
Brain waves can power an electric train. RealFact #832 from Snapple.
  • Member since
    August 2003
  • From: Collinwood, Ohio, USA
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Posted by gmpullman on Sunday, September 2, 2018 12:48 AM

I used the W/S lamp posts on this bridge.

 IMG_8909_fix by Edmund, on Flickr

They're simple LEDs in there. I probably used a 1KΩ or 1.2KΩ resistor on each one. No need to buy any hubs or dimmers or wall worts. I already have a stable 12VDC lighting circuit available.

 IMG_8897_fix by Edmund, on Flickr

The wood pole light posts are on sale at the "Cloud 9 weekender sale"

http://www.toytrainheavensale.com/

They're on page 30:

http://www.toytrainheavensale.com/.sc/ms/cat/HO%20Scale/30

I believe this is an outlet run by Bowser.

Cheers, Ed

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