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My advice would be to run a set of uninsulated wires under the layout to act as bus bars. Then simply drill holes in the platform under each building and run a set of wires to the bus bar.
Personally I would use LED lighting. It is available in many forms including self adhering tape. Powering LEDs take very little in the way of a transformer or power pack.
I use LEDs in my garden railway powered by the same power pack that powers my other garden lights. The power pack is light sensitive so everything comes on at dusk.
Dan Padova posted:My advice would be to run a set of uninsulated wires under the layout to act as bus bars. Then simply drill holes in the platform under each building and run a set of wires to the bus bar.
Personally I would use LED lighting. It is available in many forms including self adhering tape. Powering LEDs take very little in the way of a transformer or power pack.
I use LEDs in my garden railway powered by the same power pack that powers my other garden lights. The power pack is light sensitive so everything comes on at dusk.
I agree, good advice.
I agree with the LED light idea unless you enjoy changing bulbs. I use some HO track nailed on the underside of my train table and just solder the wires to that.
Regards,
Steve
My idea is more or less cheap. For my layout I string white Christmas lights under my plasticville buildings. Then just tape or staple them to the bottom of the plywood.
Thanks for all the great suggestions. I'm interested in using the LED lights, and using the old HO track as the bus and power leads. I knew you guys would have good ideas. Thanks!
Dan Padova posted:My advice would be to run a set of uninsulated wires under the layout to act as bus bars. Then simply drill holes in the platform under each building and run a set of wires to the bus bar.
Personally I would use LED lighting. It is available in many forms including self adhering tape. Powering LEDs take very little in the way of a transformer or power pack.
I use LEDs in my garden railway powered by the same power pack that powers my other garden lights. The power pack is light sensitive so everything comes on at dusk.
Dan. I'm not that good w electricity either. Why are you suggesting uninsulated wire for the bus bar. Wouldn't they cause a short if the two bus wires touch each other?
Thanks
Remember that you need a DC power source for LED lite source.
Mikey
I use Evan Designs LEDs (modeltrainsoftware.com) lights. They are cheap (about $3.00 each), reliable, easy to attach, and plug right into your transformer. You can choose the size of the light and the length of the lead. Highly recommended.
George
Bridgeboss Jim posted:Dan Padova posted:My advice would be to run a set of uninsulated wires under the layout to act as bus bars. Then simply drill holes in the platform under each building and run a set of wires to the bus bar.
Dan. I'm not that good w electricity either. Why are you suggesting uninsulated wire for the bus bar. Wouldn't they cause a short if the two bus wires touch each other?
Thanks
Based on personal experience, it'd be much easier to be able to solder to a bare wire than to have to go through and strip an insulated wire every so often to run your wire to it. As long as they are mounted securely under the table there shouldn't be a risk of them touching unless you get them too close.
That being said, this is an idea I hadn't considered before, but I like it.
You might want to consider Woodland Scenics Just Plug Lighting System...
Very easy to use. LED's throughout. Interior lights as well as exterior/street lighting choices. Individually dimmable. Cool white/warm white choices for different situations (flourescent or incandescent simulations).
Evans Design LED modules with the built-in rectifier circuit are good choices, too.
Everyone will have a preference, of course.
KD
Use insulated wire. Cut as needed & splice together. Leave a little slack to have room to make a splice.
Ken M
Ken M posted:Use insulated wire. Cut as needed & splice together. Leave a little slack to have room to make a splice.
Ken M
I agree with Ken, use insulated wire under the layout because if you grab a bare wire by mistake you can get shocked. 16 AWG should work good for most lighting needs plus you may not have to worry about distance of the wire unless you have an extremely large layout(12 ft by 30 ft).
Lee Fritz
SantaFe158 posted:Bridgeboss Jim posted:Dan Padova posted:My advice would be to run a set of uninsulated wires under the layout to act as bus bars. Then simply drill holes in the platform under each building and run a set of wires to the bus bar.
Dan. I'm not that good w electricity either. Why are you suggesting uninsulated wire for the bus bar. Wouldn't they cause a short if the two bus wires touch each other?
Thanks
Based on personal experience, it'd be much easier to be able to solder to a bare wire than to have to go through and strip an insulated wire every so often to run your wire to it. As long as they are mounted securely under the table there shouldn't be a risk of them touching unless you get them too close.
That being said, this is an idea I hadn't considered before, but I like it.
This is an old standard way of running voltage drops. It works fine as long as you keep the negative and positive wires separated.
I saw an how too article about a fella who ran a section of HO track tacked up under his platform and he soldered his lighting drops onto it.
In fact, if you used S gauge tinplate track with the bottom side down you can use crimp on spade connectors pushed into the rail bottoms, thus avoiding the need for soldering altogether. But, soldering is always best!
I agree with gjp, i to used Evan Designs led's ,just connect them right to your buss wire under the layout .
If you're getting shocked from your toy train wiring, you've got bigger issues than little dark houses. Just sayin'...
An the other reason besides less maintenance for LEDs is the O.P. stated to light up his Plasticville buildings. LEDs generated min to no heat so the O.p. will not damage his Plasticville!
I ran insulated bus wires down the middle of the whole platform, and drilled through with drop wires from whatever accessory I wanted to power. I then used scotch-loc connectors. No bare wire and very easy.
I also used a bus block from RadioShack under the platform near where I have my bank of transformers, so I can unhook or even move them without disturbing the wire for the layout. In between, I rigged up circuit breakers to protect the electronics.
For the light bases I went to RadioShack again, they have nice, cheap lamp bases. You can use LEDs in these also, just make sure it's a LED designed for AC.
You may want to mimick what I did with my L layout, and that is to run a separate set of bus wires for the left and right sides of the L, wired into the B and C terminals of a ZW. This way I know in the future that the circuit won't be overloaded and I can split the power duties between two stand alone transformers if necessary.
DONTANO,
Recently I purchased a string of LED lights with 20 LED Lights on it, plugged right into a multi bar and strung under the platform, then pushed up thru drilled holes in your platform, they make perfect house lights for all the plasticville village. You can purchase them at Pat Catans for about $4.00 a string. Cheap investment for long lasting platform lights.
PCRR/Dave
Montclaire posted:I ran insulated bus wires down the middle of the whole platform, and drilled through with drop wires from whatever accessory I wanted to power. I then used scotch-loc connectors. No bare wire and very easy.
I also used a bus block from RadioShack under the platform near where I have my bank of transformers, so I can unhook or even move them without disturbing the wire for the layout. In between, I rigged up circuit breakers to protect the electronics.
For the light bases I went to RadioShack again, they have nice, cheap lamp bases. You can use LEDs in these also, just make sure it's a LED designed for AC.
You may want to mimick what I did with my L layout, and that is to run a separate set of bus wires for the left and right sides of the L, wired into the B and C terminals of a ZW. This way I know in the future that the circuit won't be overloaded and I can split the power duties between two stand alone transformers if necessary.
Hi.
Can you let me know which type of Scotchloc connector you used as there are many types to select from.
thanks.
jim r
Hey, if you are going to build a post war layout lets keep it authentic: Drag those old worn out 110 volt C7 bulb light stings out of grandma's attic and poke the sockets through the "platform" where you need them. Leave the ones you don't need underneath (don't bother putting bulbs in them , it just attracts the cat). The results are that your buildings can light up like an X-ray and heat the whole room too. There is nothing more nostalgic than running trains under the glow of well lit Plasticville structures. Oh, the memories of Christmases past .... What's that I smell burning?
:-p
Jim, I believe they came from harbor freight; they were in a small, circular, clear plastic container. They are color coded by wire gauge. I think I paid $5 for 25 or 50 of them.
One side of the connector is slotted and slips over the bus wire. The other side is a blind hole for the accessory feed. Use one hand to hold everything in place and crimp the blade with the other using a set of pliers. Should only need a little squeeze. When it is seated enough, the flap will snap in place over the blade. Give your feed wire a little tug to make sure it was crimped properly and that's it.
I like the ho track idea, except for the total amp capabilities. But for led, it's a neat scrounge. Now screw some O gauge to the bottom and your in business 
Not that the led isn't a good light source, but you folks must have weak connection issues. I have about 50 bulbs on two layouts and replace 2-3 a year tops. Zero this last year. I often turn the living room layout on just for the lights, even if I'm not running trains.
Cars on the other hand eat more bulbs due to them not having a solid connection. A capacitor helps some.
I'd stick with wire or an actual set of bus bars. If they are bare and a foot apart, it really takes some effort to get shocked at all from the underside imo. Sweaty arms across the track on the top side at 20vac is more like a pin prick than a shock imo. Dry, I don't feel anything.
What's the difference between exposed wire and exposed ho track?
I run a 12 to 16 ga lighting wire with 12volts to each area where there are buildings to be lighted. I screw a 1/2 or one inch long brass screw (depends on thickness of table) with two brass washers or brass recessed washers in the area and wrap the about 2 inches of stripped 12 ga light wire around the screw. A 20 ga wire is run after being wrapped around the brass washers and trough a hole in the center of each building to be lighted. A similar wire is run from the common of the layout. The whole layout has one common common for 3 train LW trans, two 12v lighting trans and one 14v switch trans, all phased.. I have 8 to 10 buildings running of one pair of brass screws.
Lights sockets are made from mini Christmas tree stings of 35 or so lights (35 bulbs will have 3 volt bulbs, throw them away). The string is cut up into sections of one socket with two 6 inch or so pig tails. A small plastic loop is glued to the roof. One leg of the pig tail is run through the loop to put the bulb in the roof of the building to make the bulb not visible through the windows. The pig tails are wired to the 12 volt wire and common with plastic wire nuts to allow easy changing of building if desired.
The bulbs used are mini Christmas tree lights that are sold at Walmart for 10 for a 99 cents before Christmas and 50 cents a day or two after Christmas. That is 5 cents for a bulb and strings of wire with sockets can be easily be found at the curb or at garage sales. I sometimes use two 7 v bulbs wired in series if a building needs two bulbs.
Mini Christmas tree lights are inexpensive for bulbs and sockets, easy to find bulbs at Christmas time, use less power give less heat than bigger C7, 4 watt bulbs allowing more bulbs and lighten the load on the12 volt Trans and give that warm incandescant bulb yellowish color typical of 40s to 80s real lighting.
I have used this lighting system on my 40 yr old layout without issue and it is easy to expand, trouble shoot and install. I have a circuit breaker on the 12v transformer and have cut off switches to give control of sections of building lights, accessory flood lights, etc.
Charlie
Thanks for sharing your system Charlie. It sounds great, and I will try it. I'm just not certain what you mean when you say:
......" I screw a one inch long brass screw with two brass washers or brass grommets in the area and wrap the about 2 inches of stripped 12 ga light wire around the screw. A 20 ga wire is run after being wrapped around the brass washers and trough a hole in the center of each building to be lighted. A similar wire is run from the common of the layout. "
Dontano,
it's 2016. Pull an accessory bus from the ZW B or C post with a common in 18 gauge. Use the tap splice connectors. Blue is 18 and the easiest to find.
Then check out the Lionel LED replacement bulbs here and the corresponding sockets with leads that available. You can direct replace Lionel with LED's or add your own . I would use the E10 screw socket. Make a hole under the building that the socket would sit in snugly. Feed it in from the top and push it into the table. These LED bulbs are ready to go.
Then connect the leads to the bus for hot and common. You should be able to get all the stuff that you need for 16 buildings for under $50.
If you want top down lighting, hot glue the socket where needed in the building. It won't get hot.
Anyway, between a home store, what you have and Town & Country lighting parts, you can light everything in LED's. You can even do the trains.
Good ideas all around!!!
I run different buss wires based on voltage requirements. I have a 3v and a 4.5v. The 4.5 runs my Christmas lights. I leave the lighted trees inside my buildings the entire year, and activate the 4.5 buss from Advent through Epiphany (12th day of Christmas.)
Dontano
One can take two washers and a nut and bolt to make a wire connector by wrapping wires to be connected around the bolt between the two washers and tightening.
I use two brass washers or recessed or countersunk washers (I had some) and wrap the wires between them and use a screw to fasten them under the train board. It is easy to loosen the screw and add or remove wires as needed.
Charlie
At the lighting stage of my layout. The approach that makes sense seems to be to attach a length of N gauge track under the layout using Powergrip construction adhesive (used to hold wood molding in place), then solder to the rails. Before doing the soldering capability test must be done. This should work. If there are reservations about bare electric conductors under the layout, you can always buy a can of liquid electrical tape that brushes on. Led lighting will be used 90% and I have a supply of 1" AC/DC mini-boards to get the task done.
Those "blue" connectors have never been a favorite here.
But I learned in time the #1 issue was they often don't cut the wire insulation well enough, giving a rather poor connection, likely to fail over time. The insulation widens the groove via pressure and time.
However, if you make a 360° slice in the insulation by hand, the groove fitment is improved and they work better. (Just don't try using one if you work on my car. That's a comon use today, but a deal breaker from lots of experiences with them. A proper splice is proper procedure.)
2 sections of small Euro screw terminal blocks jumped by 1/2" of wire are far superior, only sightly more complicated, and very reusable/ changeable in a faster, easier way in the future. Not really any larger either. Pressure is proportionally relative in a good connection. More pressure passes power easier, screws provide the most pressure.
Charlie's just using screws in the wood to hold wires is very economical and easy too. A second fastener near the post to do the actual wire holding work is nice. It leaves an easy to handle pigtail.
Creating terminal posts with machine screws is basically what's on the transformers. You could use finger nuts once the post is created.
If you move things, just plant a tree or bush, stick a sign, etc, in the old holes.
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