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How to Wire Model Railroad LED Lights

Adding LED lighting is a great way to enhance the beauty to your model railroad layout. In a darkened room, the glow of lights emanating from miniature building adds a touch of realism. A recent innovation in model railroad LED̵7;s, are LED kits which are capable of controlling multiple LED's simultaneously. The kits can be programmed to turn lights on and off in a predetermined or random sequence. Installed in a small apartment building, the LED's will simulate the residents turning their lights on or off. Wiring up an LED kit is easy and only takes a short time.

Things You'll Need

12 volt LED lighting kit with circuit board, LED bulbs with pre-attached wire leads, and power wires
7 to12 volt DC power pack or transformer
Utility knife
Screwdriver
Electric drill and bits

Instructions

- 1
  Select a miniature building you wish to illuminate with LED bulbs.
- 2
  Following the manufacturer's directions, connect the wire leads with attached LED's to the circuit board. The leads are short pieces of wire with a connector on one end and the LED connected at the other. The circuit board, a programmable electronic device, will control the sequence and time intervals of when the individual LED's will turn on and off.
- 3
  Connect the red and black power wires to the circuit board. They will be connected to the DC power source to provide current to the circuit board and its attached LED's.
- 4
  Using the utility knife, carefully strip the insulation from the free ends of the red and black power wires. Strip the insulation back approximately 1/2 inch.
- 5
  Drill a hole in the layout table where the building normally sits. Place the LED's near the windows inside the model apartment building and slip the circuit board inside the building as well. If the building has a solid "floor" or base, drill a hole in it and feed the power leads out through the bottom.
- 6
  Lower the building back into it's original position while carefully feeding the power leads down through the hole you drilled.
- 7
  Position the DC power pack or transformer near your other DC controls such as the track power unit. Once you have done this, use the drill to make another hole in the train table immediately adjacent to it.
- 8
  Feed the power leads up from under the table and using the screwdriver, connect them to the accessory terminals--usually marked "AC".
- 9
  Turn on the transformer and the accessory switch. Your model apartment building will light up.

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