No model railway station is complete without platform lighting. Here’s how to do it in five simple steps and a video walkthrough.
Here’s how MR-Engineer, John (chambs123 on Youtube) does it and as he reveals, it’s remarkably simple once you know how.
Platform Lighting In Five Simple Steps
For those who like to print out these guides for later reference, the steps John uses are:
- Drill holes in the platform to the diameter of the light base.
He works to a 2.1mm hole but your lights may be different so measure first with callipers. - With a larger diameter drill gently clean up the holes.
- Push the wires through the holes and insert the lamp posts.
- Anchor the wires to the underside of the platform with hot glue.
- Solder the lamp wires together and then to the power feed wires.
That’s it. Your platforms can now be positioned and illuminated.
For the power supply, John uses a 9v battery to test them. A 12V DC supply can be used for a more permanent solution as covered here.
This will work for any standard model railway lights, such as these.
Tools used
- Hot Glue gun
- Drill, such as this one
- Digital callipers such as these or these, which are cheaper and I find just as good for most uses.
- Soldering Iron (I recommend the Antex x25 for the reasons discussed here)
Extra Tip
Add extra ambience to your station with little figures and kiosks. I still remember the newspaper stalls that inhabited the stations I visited as a child and having one, such as this Evening Post newspaper kiosk, on an OO scale station adds such much authenticity to your layout.
Andy is a lifelong modeler, writer, and founder of modelrailwayengineer.com. He has been building model railways, dioramas, and miniatures for over 20 years. His passion for model making and railways began when he was a child, building his first layout at the age of seven.
Andy’s particular passion is making scenery and structures in 4mm scale, which he sells commercially. He is particularly interested in modelling the railways of South West England during the late Victorian/early Edwardian era, although he also enjoys making sci-fi and fantasy figures and dioramas. His website has won several awards, and he is a member of MERG (Model Railway Electronics Group) and the 009 Society.
When not making models, Andy lives in Surrey with his wife and teenage son. Other interests include history, science fiction, photography, and programming. Read more about Andy.