Brightness of Lionel Station Platform lighting

Perhaps change the bulb value to a lower voltage bulb. If you have an 18 volt bulb and give it 12 volts, it won't be as bright as a 12 volt bulb getting 12 volts.

Marty W,

Thanks for the suggestion, have not tried controlling the brightness of the post war station platform.  The info on the bottom says to use 6 - 8 volt bulbs but the closest I could get from the local Batteries Plus Bulbs store was 4.9 volts.  The two bulbs are wired in series so the 11 volts I am supplying is overdriving them a bit.

Do you, others, have experience with the two new illuminated station platforms I bought?  My guess is even if I were to turn off the post war station's illumination the new ones would appear rather dim.

BZ

Are you familiar with the method of using diodes in series with a load to reduce the applied voltage in steps of approximately 0.7 Volts?  It may be of use in this application, in order to equalize the appearance of the lighted platforms.

ArthurPBloom,

No, I am not familiar with using diodes in series, but I did some experimenting and found ways to control the older station's brightness.

I connected the wiring to the constant 5 volt terminals of my 1033 transformer (in lieu of 11 volts) and the lighting was dimmer, but a bit too dim.  I then connected the wiring to the variable voltage terminals of an old American Flyer Type 7 transformer that I was not using and I can control the brightness with that.

Yes, the new stations do not appear to be as dim when I turn down the brightness of the old station.

Thanks for everyone's help.

What gauge of wire are you using to connect the platform to the transformer, and how long is the distance?  As an experiment, hook it up with short wires (12"?) to your transformer and see if there is a brightness difference.  If the lights are acceptably brighter, then a larger diameter of wire is warranted for your setup.

Dale

Dale,

The wiring for the two new station platforms is 16awg with a total length of about 8' in 3 segments.  First segment is the pigtail for the barrel connector and is 20" long.  Second segment is about 4' long and third segment is about 2' long and connects to my ZW.  Segments are connected via terminal strips using spade wire connectors.

First terminal strip just connects the pigtail to the second segment.

Second terminal strip has additional connections available but not currently being used.  I was planning to add wiring for auxiliary power for 4 Fastrack O-36 switches to this terminal strip to use the same ZW terminal to power the switches.

BZ 

I don't think your wiring is an issue. The gauge of the wire is great, too.  I guess I'd try different bulbs.  Right now you're using different bulbs and getting different levels of brightness too.

Dale