Trackside lighting

planty

Live steam, battery power
I've been thinking about lighting for a (yet to be built) station and wondered if anyone had experimented in solar power? Thinking of those LED garden lights and wondering if they could be dismantled to build the LED into a station building or platform light, using the solar panel to charge them up during the day.

Anyone tried anything similar?
 
Yes, I used these, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Chinese-L...471?pt=UK_Garden_Lighting&hash=item2314440d0f < Link To http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm...mp;hash=item2314440d0f
They work great, I used these led's http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20-WHITE-...ec_LightingLEDsStrobes_RL&hash=item588a382551 < Link To http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm...mp;hash=item588a382551 (although without any resistors) In the future I'd probably use warm white led's though.
I cut the old led string from the solar panel/battery box and make up the amount of led's I need in parallel. I have 8 within my signal box from one battery box and it was still on at 4am the next morning.
 
I use Wilkinson £1 something solar lights in conjunction with my leds bought from TM models. They work a treat, just cut off the LED from the wilko unit and wire in the new led. Most of my building are lit this way.
 
You can see one in the photo here. Lifted up to catch a bit of sun.



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Leds are polarity conscious but you shouldn't damage them if you get it wrong.The Wilko solar lights I bought ran different Leds without any extra resistors
 
I think the leds from TM models have resistors. They're sort of a sealed unit designed for carriage lighting. The wilko one's don't. I'm no expert and just fiddle until it works. For the lights on my larger station I use the wilko solar panel to charge a couple more batteries wired via a switchable battery boxThe cable is about 2 ft long so that the panel is away from the station. With the halts they sit on the roof or nearby. I just tell Mike Cullen what I need and he delivers! He's a top bloke!
 
Maplins list LEDs with built in resistors.

I'm old fashioned I'm afraid, we laid in an auxilliary 16v. circuit for building and platform lights using Miniature Edison Screw lamps, has its own transformer, from a retired phobile mone charger.
 
Put leds inside 20mm plastic angle put them on the catenary cross beams and ran them off the garden lighting transformer
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Philbahn said:
Put leds inside 20mm plastic angle put them on the catenary cross beams and ran them off the garden lighting transformer

I likes that idea:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
Philbahn said:
Put leds inside 20mm plastic angle put them on the catenary cross beams and ran them off the garden lighting transformer
images
Fabulous effect espec, as so many 1/1 stations are now using low energy lighting so the LEDs look 'right'.:bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile:
 
A better view at night and one in daylight
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