Hello! I am working on a diorama with a small z scale train… this is basically as deco, meaning i’m not at all a model train modeler, or looking for a historically correct representation - this is "just for fun"! So I managed to get a Marklin z 8864 diesel locomotive. And I’d like to run it (and photograph it!) at night. And I would LOVE to find a way of adding a small light (or two!) to it (no dcc here!). I’ve been looking at micro leds with micro-battery, or even glow-in-the-dark paint, but have found nothing really convincing so far. Would any one of you gentlemen and ladies of experience have an idea for this? I’d prefer a minimally invasive solution so as not to ruin this lovely tiny loco! Thank you for any ideas, and patience towards this strange idea! Bests, Pat
Hi Pat, welcome to Trainboard. Most locos already have a headlight inside, so I assume you mean a light in the engineer's cab. They usually have the motor in the cab of Marklin locos, but you can wire 2 LED's in parallel reverse polarity, twist the anode of one to the cathode the other and cathode to anode with the other wires, then put a 1K ohm resistor in series with one leg and connect the ends across the motor terminals. You need to use wired SMD LEDs to get them small enough to fit, but Amazon carries them.
Photographing a train in the darkness will be challenging. If it's in motion, you'll usually get a streak of light and not much else. You'll have the best results with the train stopped with dim supplemental light (and/or light from lamp posts and buildings) applied to a night scene using a time exposure. You'll not be able to have the train stopped and have the headlight lit without DCC.
