Model Train Lights

In this project, we are going to add led lights to HO scale model train cars. Nothing makes the passenger cars look more realistic than light coming from the windows. This will make your model train board look great with the room lights on or off.

This system pulls the power directly off the rails by making contact with the wheels. This avoids the necessity to replace batteries or turn them on and off. Just install the system in the car then forget about it, it will take care of itself.

• 4 diodes
• Led's of your choice
• 1200 uf 16volt capacitor
• 5-volt output linear voltage regulator
• 100-ohm resistor
• wires
• Solder (solder iron)
• Metal train car wheels
• Contact materials( Go look at Wheel Contact Setup in step 1 for these materials)

I tried four different ways of making contact with the metal wheels to get power from the wheels. I list these different methods in quality of rolling and quality of lighting. Watch the video in step 3 to see the lineup.

Material for different methods...

Method #1

• A small flat piece of rigid metal

Method #2

• light rigid wire, no insulation.

Method #3

• A long piece of metal with some flex to it.
• Small thin pieces of plastic.

Method #4

• A straight piece of rigid wire with some flex, no insulation.

Look at the image of the circuit and dive in or watch the assembly video and build it with me.

Watch the video to see how I took the power from the wheels to the inside of the car. I like this system better than drilling holes for wires to go through and it has minimal effect on the turning resistance of the individual wheel trucks.

I'm very pleased with the outcome of this project. Check out the video to see it for yourself. The lights look very nice and the brightness stays pretty constant. Some of my wheel connection methods add too much resistance and make the train struggle on hills. This will be something to fix in the future. Also, I did not get a good picture of it but I did add a red light in the tail of the caboose just like in the real train. I just used a Dremel rotary tool to put a hole in the top of the case just large enough to slide the red light in.

I did not look at purchasing any kits to make the connection with the wheels. This probably would work better but I wanted to get this running over one weekend.

In the end, I will put an led strip in the top instead of individual lights to achieve a better spread of light.

I also thought it would be neat to add this to an open boxcar with a light that flickers like one out of a cheap battery-powered candle. I would decorate the light to look like a campfire and add a person sitting next to it. This would look like a hobo trying to stay warm in the open boxcar. A fun surprise detail for anyone admiring your model setup.

Tell me what you think in the comments or ideas of what should be added.

Happy Making.