Model Railroader – September 2019

September 2019 43

I recently added interior lighting to several structures on my

N scale model railroad and found that it enhanced the realism

of early morning and evening operations. A microcontroller

randomly and subtly changes the lights, turning them on and

off and adjusting the brightness and color. My wife liked the

look of the structures and said it would be neat if some of the

backdrop buildings had lights, too. I agreed, but wondered how

to light the windows of a structure that is only^3 ⁄ 4 " deep.

Searching for ideas

I thought of several options for adding lights to my low-

relief structures. In the full buildings that already had lights,

I placed translucent parchment paper around the LEDs to dif-

fuse the light. Was there a way to do this on a backdrop flat?

Then I considered using an array of light-emitting diodes

(LEDs). However, that approach would result in uneven bright-

ness across the structure.

An electroluminescent panel, a small liquid-crystal display

(LCD), or organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) behind the

windows were also considered, but proved too expensive.

Then I found a simple, less-expensive solution: LED back-

light modules. The light of a single LED is captured through

the edge of a light guide plate, a thin sheet of clear acrylic

designed to uniformly spread the light. One side of the sheet is

covered with a white translucent film. The other side and the

edges are covered with an opaque or reflective film.

RAILROADING AFTER DARK

Light-emitting-diode backlight

modules are a quick and

economical solution

By Mike Hardwick • Photos by the author

How to

Mike Hardwick used light-emitting-

diode backlight modules to illuminate

this low-relief structure on his N scale

model railroad. The backlights are

inexpensive and easy to install.

illuminate

low-relief buildings