LIGHTING THE WAY
BRIGHT IDEAS FOR ILLUMINATING DETAILS
BY DEAN LOWE
ONE OF THE MORE satisfying aspects of my large scale model railroading is adding fine detail. We may sometimes forget to include it in that category, but lighting is one of the nicest details you may add to a structure or rolling stock. Marker lights add much to the realism of a locomotive. So do the lanterns at the rear of a coach or caboose.
Recently I visited Ted and Charlie Greeno's excellent indoor layout in Fontana, California. They had another idea for adding light. Ted drilled out the center of an Ozark Miniatures signal lantern, inserted a small bulb, and mounted it on an end-of-track bumper. It really brought that scene to life.
A BULB TURNS ON
It occurred to me that this idea has limitless possibilities, not only on stationary structures but on rolling stock. My first attempt involved mounting a lantern on the end of a string of LGB 4043 "tipper" ore cars. I used a 1/8-inch bit to drill out an Ozark lantern from the bottom. It was easiest to hold the lantern in one hand to prevent damage to the soft casting, then drill the hole at high speed with a Dremel Moto-Tool. Don't be alarmed when the metal castings separate from the plastic lens; you may reassemble them easily with CA (super glue) when you have finished drilling. I used a small pin to hang the lantern on the end of the tipper car. I inserted a Walthers 12-volt "grain of wheat" bulb in the 1/8-inch hole. Then I hid the wires inside the frame and ran them down to the axle.
The original plan was to use a pair of LGB's 3019/3 lighting contacts and metal wheels. But when I tested the car with contacts on only one axle, I found the lantern seemed to "flicker" very realistically as the car passed over rail joints and turnouts. I left it that way. That little "accident" has caused the car to elicit as many favorable comments at shows as some of my major projects.
GLOW-IN-THE DARK MINER'S HELMETS
The tipper car was so effective I tried something more ambitious. I built up a personnel/tool car for the mine train from the frame of an LGB 4045 stake car. The 3019/3 contacts allowed track power to light the miners' helmet lanterns. The miners themselves are Preiser firemen. The helmet lights are styrene and tubing with HO scale diesel headlight lenses.
I inserted two more 12-volt grain of wheat bulbs through a hole in the back of each helmet. I filed a groove on the back of each figure and ran the wires behind them. I plugged the helmet holes and grooves with Gap-filling CA. Then I repainted the figures.
I drilled a hole in the bench where the figures sit. The wire passes through the hole and runs down to the power contacts. This time I used two axle contacts so the helmets would give off a more constant light.
THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS
Other suggestions might include a lantern on the back of a caboose or hanging in the cab of a locomotive, even a lighted lantern in a brakeman's hand. He could be on the platform of a caboose, a coach, or a depot. The only limit to such ideas is your imagination. Think up a few of your own and have fun!
