Mike - thanks. Yes the Ngineering board works very well, and as advertised. For the station, I just hard-soldered resistors to the LED wires to create my own circuit, but for these DPM buildings, wanted something a bit more compact to use, so decided to try the Ngineering Jr boards. The 4 "fluorescent" LEDs are wired to the back (non current limited) side, and I attached SMD resistors across the current pads provided, having them wired in parallel. The incandescent LEDs are wired on the front (current limiting) side. Since I am hooking up to 12V, one can only put 2 LEDs on, since they are wired in series by the board (the current limiting chip uses 5V, leaving 7V for the LEDs, which pull 3.3V each). Literally took me all of 5 minutes to wire the board, and it fits nicely in the back of the building. AND NOTE: One board handles the entire lighting for the building! If I decide to tone down the lights, I can easily replace the resistors with larger ones, and there are pads on the current-limiting side to add there, too. (current limiting chip is 20mA) In the upper picture, you can see that I connected a mini 2-pole connector to the board, which I can then plug into my 12V bus (for my workbench, I have a 12V wall wart with mini-plug on it). The connection will come up through the layout base (foam, etc), with the plug tucking up into the back of the building (I left about 1/4 inch of space behind the store's back wall). I'm doing all my lighted buildings this way, allowing for easy disconnect and removal of the building whenever I want/need to work on them (vs dropping hard attached wires through layout).
Here's the final version of the A&P. I put on the final high-resolution signage, along with detailing out the interior (A big thanks to Mike and Robin for shipping those detail parts so quickly, so I could be done before dinner, yesterday!). Now onto the drug store (DPM's Cooke's Drugs). Won't be quite so complicated, as I'm not doing any upper floor interiors, and a much smaller space. Here's an older photo, showing where the A&P sits across from the depot. I'm also thinking of adding lights to the Drive 'N Dine hamburger stand, so that the eating area is lit "at night" - since a pre-built, can't add lights to the interior easily
Sometimes, you get on a roll! Here's the Cooke's Rexall Drug store. It is on the main corner, across the street from the Hotel Cherylton Note- the fluorescent workbench light is giving it the green tint
Street Lamps installed Well - I got the new street lamps installed. These are custom built (see my thread on n-scale street lamps), not that difficult. Here we see a view of the main intersection (yes, not everything is glued down yet) In the depot parking lot (foreground), there is one of the Model Power lamps. Works well here, since a parking lot light pole is much bigger than standard sidewalk lamps The hotel, on the far corner, still needs an interior built and lighting installed. Power is not yet hooked up to the lamps or buildings with lights (drug store, A&P and depot) -- that will be tomorrow after work
Here's a view looking the other direction Grade crossing signals will be next major project, as I finish off the "far side" of the near tracks. The foreground in this photo will have the Gulf Station, a diner, and other buildings, as the street continues outward
A view looking further down the street, with the depot, A&P and Drive 'N Dine Lots of people, shrubbery, assorted other "stuff" still to put out. The Cherylton depot has proper signage now (will take better pictures once the lighting is on)
A closer view of the parking lot, drug store, bank and cafe. The cafe is undergoing renovation, so there will be the WS painters (with scaffolding) on the sidewalk
A closeup of the Hotel Cherylton and the bar next door. You can see the signal bridge beyond the bar Once I get everything "fixed" in place, I will also finish off the tops of the tunnel. Right now, those pieces are just sitting in place (no glue), hence the apparent seams and uneven fit. The hotel lobby will have people and furnishings, along with a bar/restaurant. That interior will probably be my bad weather winter project.
Here's a wide angle shot of the town of Cherylton at dusk. I was so excited to take the photos, didn't even clean up the last of the foam crumbs in the foreground!
Here's the Cherylton depot, at dusk. The station is lit, inside and out, for those commuters still on their way home
The main intersection of Cherylton. The interior of the hotel will eventually be finished and lit as well
Here's an unusual view of Cherylton, shot from the mountains with a high powered lens (well, actually, shot through the window of the shed, standing on a step ladder, with the camera and tripod perched on a small table)
