Model Railroader – September 2019

50 http://www.ModelRailroader.com

see road numbers, couple cars, and

read paperwork.

Last, but not least, is lighting for visi-

tors, guests, and operators ❽. In a dark

layout room, it’s important to have string

or track lighting along the floor that

allows for people to see where they’re

stepping. These can be inexpensive holi-

day light strings that emit enough light

to allow visibility but aren’t distracting.

Finally, battery-backup safety lights are

important in the case of a power outage.

Into the night

Running your railroad requires loco-

motives, cars, and a layout, and odds are

most of that is something you’ve thought

about a great deal. Consider lighting part

of your modeling, and watch your rail-

road spring to life. As day fades to night,

railroading changes. Now, you can

model that too.

Dave Abeles is a civil engineer and

general superintendent at New Jersey

Transit. His HO scale Conrail Onondaga

Cutoff layout was featured in Model

Railroad Planning 2018.

Backdrop-mounted lighting

Some of the magic of the night can be captured by install-

ing lighting on the backdrop. White light-emitting-diode

holiday lights are the perfect starting point for behind-the-

backdrop lighting.

First, I paint each LED a different shade of yellow or

orange to suggest sodium-vapor or halogen street lights or

incandescent building lights. Then I drill holes through the

tempered-hardboard backdrop and press the lights into

place from behind.

Next, I mount the photo backdrop to^1 ⁄ 2 " spacers

attached to the front of the backdrop, as shown in the

inset photo at lower right. I cut small holes in the photo to

allow light to shine through, simulating room and street

lights, as seen in the main image. Areas on the photo with-

out black paper backing glow from residual light, which

also bleeds onto the sky-painted part of the hardboard.

I put a shield below the photo to prevent light leaks.

When the room lighting is bright for daytime, the photo

looks like an ordinary backdrop. As the room lighting dims,

the warmer tones of sunset darken and the horizon

becomes aglow with light from Syracuse off in the dis-

tance. – Dave Abeles

Light-emitting-diode holiday lights illuminate a photo backdrop mounted on spacers attached to a piece of hardboard.

Dave cut holes in the photo to create the illusion of distant room and street lights (inset).

❼ A flip of the switch. As the room lights fade out, the Onondaga Yardmaster

uses a fascia-mounted switch to turn on the yard and office lights.

❽ Keeping trains rolling. Dave installed reflective lighting beneath the Island

Yard to softly, but fully, illuminate the work space.