Layout lighting - Epping MRE

I received an email from a rather well-known US model railroad identity asking me about the layout lighting Peter Lewis used on his A-Tractiv Effort layout. Since I often take photos of layout lighting as a personal interest, I had some photos to send to him.

I then started to think that perhaps I could write a post on layout lighting at model railway exhibitions, using the Epping Model Railway Exhibition as a starting point for an ongoing look at the issue. After all, in a previous post I was quite critical of poor layout lighting at the Sandown exhibition.

There are really two perspectives on the layout lighting issue at exhibitions. The visitor wants to be able to see the layout displayed so that he/she can actually see the trains, buildings, and scenery as easily and realistically as possible. Th exhibitor wants to use layout lighting to show the layout as well as can be, within the constraints of time, cost, portability and ease of setting up (and down) at exhibitions. The biggest challenge is providing even light across the entire layout on display and to minimise shadows (and still within those exhibitor constraints). It's a tough ask.

The following photos show examples of layout lighting from most of the layouts at the Epping Model Railway Exhibition last weekend. Layout lighting is usually a subjective issue, so I just want to illustrate the types of layout lighting on show last weekend. I will, however, exclude my personal comments on layout lighting for photographic purposes since most visitors to an exhibition aren't there to take photos of the layouts.

The first photo (above) is of the layout, Dungog. The layout used hooped lights in a rather art-deco looking light shade. I don't recall the lamps being obtrusive as the photo might indicate and the layout lighting seemed adequate for viewing purposes. By using single lights in fixed positions one must be careful in trying to provide an even light across the display area.

Geoff Small (Smaldon Curve) used spotlights attached to an overarching frame. The spotlights are in fixed positions but the heads can swivel to adjust the focus of light on the layout.

Another form of spotlighting was in the shape of this under-cabinet light unit attached to a tubular post on the Myallie Yard layout. There were two of these fixtures on the small loco-depot based layout. I have seen these under-cabinet lights at the local hardware store but I am not convinced they provide sufficient even light.

A common form of layout lighting, especially on layouts at home, are fluorescent tube lights. You can see the double fluorescent tubes used here on the Ober Franken layout. The tubes cover the full length of the front of the layout and therefore provide a consistent and more even coverage of light, something that spotlights often find difficult to do. In this case, the tubes are part of an overarching frame over the top of the layout.

The N scale South Bend layout is 7.5 metres long and therefore offers both lighting challenges and set-up challenges. The layout uses fixed positioned lighting (fluorescent, I think) within a boxed light shade.

The previous layout examples featured lights that were fitted to posts of some kind and "hung" over the displayed portion of the layout. The next two examples show how the lighting is part of the actual layout structure within a "showcase" type of presentation. The first layout is the HOm Bergun and the second layout (with two photos) is the HO scale A-Tractiv Effort which is fully enclosed, the front panel being clear Plexiglas. Note the double fluorescent tubes used under the front fascia on A-Tractiv Effort.

The layout lighting on these two layouts was bright, even, and integral to the actual showcase design. I certainly find this type of lighting, when it is well done, to be of high quality. However, I don't know whether this type of lighting in a showcase design is more difficult to build and move around than the light and post method employed by the other layouts at Epping. Perhaps an exhibitor could give me some thoughts.

I do know, from helping set up layouts at exhibitions, that layout lighting is not a simple thing to do. The planning and construction methods are important but perhaps compromised in terms of ease of transport and setting up. Layout lighting is, as you can see, as varied as the layouts themselves. And layout lighting for exhibition layouts is different to layout lighting styles for home model railway layouts.

Layout lighting is an interesting topic and something I will return to every now and then in the future.

New Zealand Model Railway Convention - Part 2

Well, I'd better catch up with my report of the New Zealand Model Railway Convention from Christchurch at Easter (a few weeks ago now).

Day 2 was on Saturday 3rd April. The morning started with a number of concurrent clinics. The clinics included "modelling with CAD" and "NZ scenery". I went to the clinic on layout design by Iain Rice. This presentation followed on from Iain's presentation the previous day. I made some notes during the session in my usual dot point format which I will use here.

Layout design:

• design for realism and visual effect
• take a natural viewpoint (the way the layout will be viewed compared to how we view the prototype - the two are not the same)
• design with consistency when it comes to standards and quality (without a consistent display, variation to standards and quality become obvious and detract from the display)
• accurate observation of the prototype and layout are critical, especially vegetation
• use natural colours - colour intensity recedes with distance; restrained colours more appropriate than stark, bright colours; requires superb observation and translation to model; and backdrops are important to finish off scenes

Iain then went on to describe some methods to employ when planning a layout.

• Need to look at the combined relationship between layout height, viewpoint & backscene
• Need to pin down the horizon. In real life, the horizon is the eye level to the edge of the visible earth. Therefore, we need to account for the horizon on our model the same way, paying attention to the position of the skyline above (hills) or below (valleys) the horizon.
  

The functions of the backscene:

• cut out distractions and focus attention on the layout
  
• give the impression of distance and depth to a layout
• establishes the horizon (viewing perspective)
• contains the scene
• complements the model display

Lighting:

• layout lighting enhances the way a layout is observed by the viewer
• lighting affects the way colour on the layout is perceived (i.e. prototype v. model colours)
• light at back of scene to kill off shadows from light at the front of the display

Composition of layout design:

• need for the right balance between the position of vertical and horizontal scenic elements
• needs to be visually appealing
• suggests the use of view blocks to focus a viewer's attention in order to showcase a particular scene or to "discourage" the close examination of a scene or scenic element. Thus, view blocks can direct a view or block a view.
• the span of vision for humans is 3' (36 inches) for a view 4' 6" (54 inches) wide - that's what my notes say!
• visual compression - not always possible to reduce a scenic element (e.g. a building) to an exact scale reduction because the object is often too large for the available space. Or it may not look right on the layout, irrespective of what the 1:1 scale might suggest. In these situations, try compressing the object proportionately by 80-90% and then make to scale (i.e. reduce the proportion of the actual object to be scaled for modelling purposes).

Visual planning aids:

• perspective sketching is helpful (and Iain is quite skilled in this type of art)
• a "planning model" may help visualise your plan. The idea would be to do mock-ups, either in the same scale as your layout or smaller to check positioning and whether it looks right
• establish visual balance for enhanced composition

The clinic I went to next was on room and layout lighting. The clinic was given by a local Christchurch lighting specialist and focused on the different types of lighting, light bulbs and tubes that could be used for a layout and layout room. An early decision that affects lighting is to decide the purpose of the room in which your layout lives. Is the room totally for the layout or are there other purposes? A room just for the layout will have a different emphasis on room lighting than a room with multiple purposes.

The main learning point for me was to look for daylight fluorescent tubes rated at 4200-4800K. Fluorescent tubes still offer better quality lighting for the money than alternatives (such as halogen or LEDs for room and layout lighting). Interestingly, Iain Rice recommended "cool white" lights at 4200K as well.

The second half of the day was spent on a layout tour. I saw layouts at five different homes in the north Christchurch area. The five layouts included three English, three US, and one NZR 1:64 (S scale) layout. And if you can add up, let me explain that a couple of the homes had more than one layout! Scales represented included N, HO, OO, S, and G scale garden railroading.

I really appreciated the time the layout owners gave to host the tour, provide information and respond to questions, and for their obvious delight in running trains! And thanks to our driver who took four of us around in his car. The afternoon was very enjoyable indeed.

The next blog posting will have Day 3 and some photos...stay tuned!