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How to Make Your Own Model Railroad Building Lights

Model buildings for use on railroads can be constructed by hand by the owner of the model railway or bought from railroad enthusiasts. For some scale railroads, such as O,HO, N and Z, prefabricated model railroad buildings can be bought from model railroad manufacturers. Small sources of light should be used in model buildings because of the limited amount of space available within each structure, possible light sources include grain of rice bulbs and light emitting diodes. Inserting lights allows the model railroad to be run with low levels of light to give the impression of nighttime.

Things You'll Need

Prewired light bulbs
Black construction paper/cardboard
Model building
Scissors
Tape measure/ruler
Masking tape

Instructions

Lighting
- 1
  Measure the interior of the model building to be lit, including the location of windows on the building. Mark the construction paper or cardboard with the dimensions of the building and window locations. The roof of the building should also be measured and marked out on the construction paper or cardboard.
- 2
  Cut out the outline of the building from the construction paper or cardboard. Decide which of the windows is to be lit; those to be lit should be cut out and those remaining dark should not be cut out.
- 3
  Cut out pieces of cardboard to be used as divisions between rooms or floors of the building. The pieces of construction paper or cardboard should be placed together using masking tape to hold the pieces together. The outside of the mask can be covered in masking tape to diffuse the light and stop stray light escaping the building.
- 4
  Tape the wire from the grain of rice bulb to the roof of the mask, allowing the bulb to hang away from the edges of the building to avoid fire of burns occurring. Place the mask into the model building shell and place on the model railroad.
- 5
  Run the wire from the bulb and connect it to the control panel. The voltage of the bulb and wire should be matched to the power supply of the model railroad.

Model Railroads