Building A Modular Model Railway! - Episode 15: How To Install Lighting
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- čas přidán 26. 07. 2024
- In Episode 15 of Building A Modular Model Railway I'm installing lighting!
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It's time for another layout update from the modular model railway and this time I'm looking at installing lighting to the layout! With several buildings around the station it does make sense to add some lighting to them as to me it just makes the layout feel a bit more alive.
This is all thanks to the Signals Box really since I went to the trouble of putting in a fully detailed interior so now I want everyone to be able to see all that work by having it lit up! I also think it'll be really good for the Shed too. In the previous episode of Building A Modular Model Railway you saw me adding hardstanding to the shed roads and with this being such a big large feature on the layout I do want to reward anyone who bothers to look inside by at least lighting it well.
I have a few more tricks up my sleeve as well. The building lights will be on pretty much permanently but when I built the semaphore signals I also added an LED to each of the lamps. That means I can light these up too for after dark running sessions but if that's the case I'll need a way to switch them on and off and I think I can do this using DCC. Every good station needs some lampposts as well and so naturally I'm intending to make these work as well! It's a busy episode but I think you'll agree it adds a new layer of atmosphere to the modular model railway!
Products Used:
Micro LEDs: amzn.to/36El77x
LED Tape: amzn.to/3v7ZZjn
Voltage Regulator: amzn.to/3ED98nb
2 Pin Connectors: amzn.to/3vBTjZX
Wire: amzn.to/3xNMI1k
Splice Connectors: amzn.to/3QMZIeX
12v Distribution Board: amzn.to/3KcSufg
Foam Board: amzn.to/3vCSQGX
Cake Dowels: amzn.to/3Lbu8DU
Loco Depot Kit: agrmodelrailwaystore.co.uk/ga...
Signal Kits: agrmodelrailwaystore.co.uk/ra...
Lamps: www.layouts4u.net/oo-scale-li...
DCC Accessory Switch: www.heathcote-electronics.co.u...
Wire Strippers: amzn.to/3ECZMYH
Soldering Iron: amzn.to/3k7PVAF
Pin Drill: amzn.to/3LadswG
Superglue: amzn.to/389Vxrj
(Some of the above are Affiliate Links which means I may earn a small commission from any sales at no extra cost to you)
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
00:34 - The Buildings
02:03 - Drilling Cable Holes
04:23 - 12v DC Wiring
07:25 - Initial Test
09:44 - DCC Lights
11:04 - Installing Lampposts
18:48 - More Wiring
14:19 - Final Test
14:52 - Running Session
Thanks for watching 😃
Brilliant in more ways than one, the workman in the shed will need sunglasses on lol 😂
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! I think they’ll need cream too 😂 Thanks for watching 👍
I came into this video hoping for a night-time running session...but this was just as fun! Great video!😃
Glad you still enjoyed it Will! I imagine I’ll probably do a night time running session in the future. Thanks for watching 😃
Now your model railway can be see from space!
Haha, I better start checking Google Earth 😆 Thanks for watching 👍
Great video mate. I have to say the lights really make a Difference to the overall appearence of a layout. DCC lights that's something I have never seen or heard of before it was interesting to see how they worked. Look forward to some night shots in the future. - Nicholas.
Thanks Nicholas! Yeah the DCC lights still run of 12v DC (or rather 3v in this case) but it's the On/Off switch that is controlled by DCC. I'm looking forward to doing some night time running in the future too! Thanks for watching 😃
The lighting turned out nice. So glad you showed us how you did that.
GOD BLESS from America.
🚂💖🚂💖🚂💖🚂💖🚂💖
Thanks Lois, glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching 😃
Have you considered adding resistors to the signal lights to dim them
Hey Andrew, yeah that’s the plan if the black paint doesn’t work. Thanks for watching 😃
The lights look superb, it really does bring the layout to life, it would be good to do a night time running session, it would bring a whole new running experience, run different locos at night, like shunting rolling stock so that it's ready for the next day. 😀
Thanks Adam, I think the lights look great too! I’d definitely love to do a night time running session in the future - I think it would work really well with DCC sound models too so the lack of visuals in the darker areas still has something going on. Definitely one to think about! Thanks for watching 😃
Thank you for a very illuminating video, the signal box looks particularly good with its lights and interior
I see what you did there Nigel 😉 Yes the signal box is my favourite too, so glad I put an interior in there! Thanks for watching 😃
Dear TMRG, U got a new follower from the Netherlands. Love to see ur struggles and ur solutions. I do learn a lot.
Amazing! So glad to hear you've been enjoying and learning from the videos. Thanks for watching and subscribing too! 😃
Nice work mate! No light leaks and it looks awesome. Can't wait for ep 16!
Thanks! There’s a few little leaks around the shed but it’s nothing I can’t sort out with a little bit of time. Glad you’re looking forward to the next episode, I’ve already got plans for it! Thanks for watching 😃
Thank you so much for all of your videos.
I've just started on a layout and your information has been invaluable.
Love the lighting on this, something to aspire too.
Cheers.
Matt
Great to hear Matt! Glad you've been enjoying videos. Thanks for watching 😃
Lighting and sound really bring a layout to life, excellent work
I couldn't agree more Colin... just need to get working on the sound now 😉 Thanks for watching 👍
Another fantastic video, and seeing the class 47 sat in the shed at the end made it even better!
Thanks! Haha, yeah I couldn't resist having the 47 hanging around with it's tail lights on. Thanks for watching 😃
Awesome job! Looks really good. It does make it come alive. Thanks for sharing and stay safe. Ken
Thanks Ken, it does make big difference doesn't it. Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for watching 😃
Nice one. Simply and clearly explained. Thank you.
Glad you found it clear and easy to follow! Thanks for watching 😃
Another great video and possibly another idea for myself when I get started on my layout!
Thanks Connor, glad to hear it's given you some inspiration for your own layout! Hope you get to start soon and thanks for watching 😃
I absolutely love this! Returning back to the hobby, I am buzzing for a new layout now!
Awesome, really glad you're enjoying it and hope you get make a start on a new layout soon! Thanks for watching 😃
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy cheers! i’m currently in a bit of a dilemma, one of my baseboards is lifting up and the electrics are quite low on that end, any tips for a fix?
Great video and clear and easy to follow. Do like that voltage regulator. Winsor and Newton Black Acrylic paint from the Range, is a very dense black for painting inside Hornby resin buildings.
Glad you enjoyed it! Yes the voltage regulator is very handy for getting things up and running quickly. Good tip for painting the inside of the buildings too, I'll have to check that paint out sometime. Thanks for watching 😃
Very atmospheric, That Lighting is looking great. If there was a bit of firebox flicker on the tank engine in your running shot we have really sold the illusion. Great to see your hard work again. James
Thanks James! The annoying thing is this loco has a firebox flicker - I just forget to turn it on 🤦🏻♂️ Thanks for watching 👍
Laser level and a small spirit level are your best Freinds when doing lamp posts.
Nice tip, thanks for sharing. I tend to go by eye too, if it looks straight then it works for me. Thanks for watching 😃
Great video. Like all the detail.
Glad you enjoyed it John! Thanks for watching 😃
Well, as someone who is in the process of starting to build my own layout, I never even considered lighting but now Im absolutely going to be doing it. That looks brilliant
Awesome, great to hear you're starting your own layout and that this video has made you want to include lights on it! It does add an extra element in my opinion. Thanks for watching 😃
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy I found your channel specifically while looking for guides on how to get started, its been super helpful already, so thanks for the content!
My favourite is also the signal box and shed
Fantastic! Yeah I love the bright working light of the shed in comparison to the warm glow of the rest of the buildings. Really makes it feel realistic to me. Thanks for watching 😃
Looks really great, but what a tremendous amount of work, seeing the underside of the layout. Worth the effort, though, very atmospheric, much nicer than virtual, I'd say.
Haha, yeah the amount of stuff going on underneath the layout is insane but it does all add to what happens on the surface and like you said, creates that atmosphere. Thanks for watching 😃
Interesting timing with this, as I've been entertaining the idea of installing lights over the last day or so. Way off in the future mind.
Really nice job though, night time running will look fantastic with these additions.
Awesome, hopefully it gave you a basic idea of how to go about it then. Yes I’m really looking forward to filming a night time running session too - although might be tricky with such low light! Thanks for watching 😃
Thanks for the video, very useful. Please can you post details of the connectors and where to get them?
Cheers, Tim
Hi Tim, whoops! Sorry about that, it’s the one thing I managed to miss in the description 🤦🏻♂️ I’ll add the link for them tonight as soon as I can. Thanks for watching 😃
Nice Layout There
9:12 odd how the signal moved up and down slightly
Thanks, it's certainly starting to get there. That's just because the servos are on the same power source as the lights. When the control unit powers on it gives the servos a quick check. Thanks for watching 😃
Nice footage 😃
Thanks! So glad you enjoyed it 👍
Enjoyed the video. I am currently working on lighting up my own station and platforms. To dim the brightness of the lights, might I suggest this 'High Temperature Heat Resistant Tape polyimide 1cm'. I've tested this on 12v and 3v LED lights and the brightness noticeably drops when I put a bit of the tape over the LED.
Hey Tim, that’s great hope it goes well for you. Ooh good tip, I’ll keep that in mind if the black paint doesn’t work. Thanks for watching 😃
Great video. I think using the woodland science just plug in would be a quicker install. For lighting and adjusting the brightens of the lights. I've used them, they are easy to use and install.
Thanks Trevor! Yeah the Woodland Scenics system would probably be easier to install but it would probably end up being much more expensive if you have a lot of lights like I do here. Thanks for watching 😃
Please do the next episode soon. BTW I'm the person you met on the 10th.
I'm actually hoping to start work on this layout again really soon so hopefully it won't be too long to wait! Was really great to meet you yesterday, so sorry I couldn't stick around to chat for longer. Thanks for watching 😃
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy You're Welcome!
for the cost of a couple of resistors its _seriously_ worth adding them, dead easy, stick one end into your distribution block, and solder the other to the feed wires, this will make sure the current is suitable pretty much no matter what - and can also dim them slightly if desired. 1k resistors are find for 12v, higher may work well
there is another alternative, slightly more work but once its working its easy - use a PWM LED controller board - Adafruit do one that will drive 24 LEDs, needs a cheap Arduino clone but then you can vary the brightness of each and once happy switch the arduino and the driver on/off and the lights come on/off as desired. (this is a bit more work but once set up its really good, also very good for adjusting the brightness so different lights match)
I do like those shed lights though
oh yes, the black paint idea for blocking light leaking works very well, and nothing to say you can't paint over the black
Awesome, good to know. I LEDs actually all came with resistors and I probably will add them to the circuit at some point down the line. Doing things to a deadline to get a video filmed partly dictated the strategy here (along with my own impatience for results 😂). Thanks for watching 👍
@9:10 through @9:13. Idk if its intentional but the taller signal flag moves as the lights in the shed kick on. But now that begs the question. Is that taller signal flag Hunted? Mmmm.
No not haunted 👻 I was just switching the power on for the whole layout and the servos that control the signal jump slightly when power is first applied. But good spot, you’re really on the ball! Thanks for watching 😃
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy lol! Thank you for explaining. I was wondering how you did that and now i know. Lol and thank you! For a another awesome layout update. Even if the taller signal flag is not hunted. 👻 can't wait to see if you got anything planned for Halloween when it cames around. That taller signal flag would be a good trick for a hunting. 😂
Fantastic tutorial! Thanks very much. I’ll be referring back to this…along with your other videos as I progress my own modular layout.
Can I ask, do you use electrofrog or insufrog points? I have been struggling a bit with short wheelbase locos stalling when crossing electrofrog points. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong though. I have altered them correctly.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! I use insulfrog points personally and my Peckett and Ruston are fine on them.
If you’re having trouble with electrofrogs maybe check that they’re layed completely flat and not bowing at all. Otherwise it can lift one set of wheels off the track - it may only be a millimetre or so but it’s enough to cause a stall. Thanks for watching 😃
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy Thanks very much for your advice.👍 Much appreciated.
I love this series!:)
It's very entertaining and very informative. It's a great source of inspiration and comfort:)
Just out of curiosity, what's the name of the music that plays at 14:50?
Thanks, I'm currently working hard on the scenery for this layout so there will definitely be more episodes coming very soon! All the music on the channel is stuff I've written myself specifically for these videos. Thanks for watching 😃
great lay and scenery! Is episode 16 available? I would really love to see the finished version
Thanks Landon! I'm currently filming the next series of videos on this layout at the moment so new episodes aren't far away. Thanks for watching 😃
A great video. Just the info I needed. Out of interest, has the voltage regulator remained consistently working 9 months on?
Yep still working fine and I've used the same regulators on two more layouts since this video. One was an exhibition layout where I leave the lights for pretty much the entire weekend and the other was a Christmas layout where the lights were on throughout December as part of the festive decorations. No problems at all so far. Thanks for watching 😃
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy I thoroughly enjoy each series as they are produced. I always learn so much, very well presented. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 Star channel
Great video and excellent tips. Do you have links for the components you used?
Hi there, everything used is listed in the description with links. Thanks for watching 😃
I would have had the socket for each building above the board and in the building to make connect/disconnect easier (no need to crawl under to seperate) PS if you want to have flickering lights in fireplaces/fireboxes/bonfires etc then use the led from a led tealight. I made them for a friends layout
Yep you can do it that way too if you like. As my layout is modular though I have to go underneath to get it all setup anyway so it doesn't really make a difference in my case. Thanks for watching 😃
I want to install some station lamps like the ones in the video but I don't want to do all the fancy electronic bits you did under the board but do a basic wire up to a controller or something similar.
How do I go about doing this bearing in mind im not good at soldering and wiring?
Hi Matt, the wiring would be pretty similar in all honesty, you would just connect your wires to a DC controller instead of the board seen at 04:45.
If you don't use a voltage regulator you would have to solder a resistor to every single LED though. OR you could just keep the controller on at a very low level but there's a risk that your lights will blow. Another option would be to perhaps look at getting a dedicated 3v power supply instead although I don't have any experience with those.
If you're not very good at soldering (I can relate!) then I would suggest looking at the 12v Power Distribution Board linked in the description. That will allow you to connect up multiple lights using screw terminals instead, which are much easier to use. Hope that helps and thanks for watching 😃
Nice update. But in reality the engine shed would not be as bright as that in real life. If you can drop it down to half the brightness which be more protocol to real life.
Thanks! Yeah, obviously it looks a lot brighter on camera than in real life, especially in a dark room, but even so I have dimmed the LEDs since this video was made. Thanks for watching 😃
Whats the track plan and baseboard size ? Cus I might make one
As the layout is modular naturally the track plan and size changes depending on how I set it up. If you check out Episode 16 though there is a track plan towards the beginning which shows the layout in its exhibition setup. In that instance the main circuit is around 13'x7'. Thanks for watching 👍
Can you please share a link to those red/orange "splitters" used to get power from the main lines to each led?
Hi Tomas, I've just added the splice connectors to the product list in the description. Thanks for letting me know they were missing 👍
Great video. I have a question, I want to put a single led light in a paper building. Do I have to worry about fire?
I wouldn't have thought so, it probably wouldn't get hot enough especially if it's a 3v LED. If you're really worried you could always mount it on some tin foil as a protective shield, which will also reflect the light. Thanks for watching 😃
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy thank you. Good idea.😊
Were did you get the red and black cables from with the white conecters please Regards ken
Hi Ken, all the links are in the description 👍
I'm trying to get to part one of your build, but I can only get back to part 11. Are the rest somewhere else.
Hi Alan, if you go to my main channel page and scroll down the playlist with all the videos is listed there. You can also follow this handy link: czcams.com/play/PLrxCs5t2FkmxNd-_hB6asSke8Ss-sDgGe.html Hope that helps and thanks for watching 😃
Cheers for your reply
Where did you find those station lamps? I can't find them anywhere. Please help, Thanks.
Hi Bill, there's a link to the ones I used in the description. Hope that helps and thanks for watching 😃
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy thanks so much. They are what I've been looking for to install on my Harry Potter Hogsmeade station.
Hi, for hiding light shining through roofs and such, apparently aluminium/tin foil works well.
Awesome, thanks for the tip Barnaby. I'll be sure to try that out! Thanks for watching 😃
Sorry! Just come across episode 10 on the type of points.🙄
Haha, no worries. I replied to your other comment with a possible solution though 🙂
Great stuff. Perhaps not so good for my wallet. lol.
The lighting was probably one of the cheapest parts of the layout. If you're not including buildings and kits, the 12v power supply was probably the most expensive part to be honest. Thanks for watching 😃
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy where about did you get your 12 volt supply? I have a Hornby elite dcc and would prefer a separate source for my lights and points.
first
The early bird catches the worm 😉Thanks for watching 👍