First Garden Layout

Garden Railroading
1

Putting in my first garden set, almost there with the track only thing yet to do for the track is to make a curved trestle. That is not the reason for the post, another idea I was thinking about.

It will be a relatively narrow but long run on the side of the house between a first and second level of a retaining wall. I plan on installing the usual , rural orientation, station, etc. Has anyone ever tried kinda like a kitbash between “G” scale buildings and the inexpensive solar powered garden accent lighting? Not only would you have lighted buildings for evening runs but as in my case since they would be right outside the family room they could also serve as accent lighting. Another plus would be no wiring to move if you want to make some building location changes.

2

Hi dougdagrump

It has been done before there was an article a long time ago now in GR mag

I cannot remember if they used a solar light for the electrics or bought a small pannel and battery from an electronics supplier.

Important you must have the pannel aligned correctly for your location in the world to get maximum efficiency out of it.

So you may have to pull a smart Alec trick and make it look like a solar hot water system to get the right alignment.

The panel must not be shaded for long periods of time.

There would be quite a lot that could be solar powered on the GRR provided you can get efficient small enough panels and batteries

The batteries are not that cheap but the panels are not that expensive

regards John

3

John, What really sparked the idea are the ones that were in use there before I started laying out the track. I had picked up a twelve light set at Lowes, really low end stuff $39, all plastic housing and lens with about a 2.5 to 3 inch square PV panel on top powering an LED bulb. Roof pitch and siting would be a key to the amount of solar exposure, currently they get enough that they are on all night and only shut off when the sun comes up (much better than expected).

4

I buy cheap WalMart solar lights. The battery packs unscrew and the battery and panal come right out. I build the panel into the roof trusses and lay fial roof around it. This seems to give a perfect soft amber colored light which stays on all night.

5

Keep in mind that solar panels will stay on longer during the summer months and may glow brighter during that time as well. During the winter months, it may or may not be as bright. I would imagine being in SoCal that you will experiance better solar results than I would in Michigan. Our short, overcast days during the winter provide us with very little usable light to recharge the batteries.

Mark

6

Doug:
Remember, solar lights need a clear view of the sun. Have a look at what I did with some solar accent lighting sets from Wal~Mart.
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