@kj356 posted:This track certainly looks like it would be fun for train shows or the kids on a home Christmas layout. Very nice lighting effect.
It had me thinking about creating something like this for my public Christmas Train village layouts for future years. For a much cheaper and quieter option (Fastrack is noisy and expensive) my local LED light shop had bags of LED lights 24VDC 30 feet 100 LED's in mixed and various solid colors for $2 bag. To do something like Lionel did I would use a track that already has both outer rails isolated from each other; (like the K-Line Track, or Atlas track I currently use for quick set ups at train shows.) For each section of track that I want to light when a train is on it; I put plastic pins on both ends of one of the outer rails, attach a strip of these lights a few bulbs between the ties, the ties sitting on tin foil, the lights run through a full wave bridge rectifier (to change AC to DC) to a wire connection one wire to center rail and other to the insulated outside rail.
Speaking of making your own lighted track, just noticed yesterday on the auction site that there's a seller who is offering lighted FasTrak with various colored LEDs. He's rolling his own and selling them by the piece. Saw red, green, blue, maybe some others. According to the "Sold" numbers, he's doing quite well with these. Probably had a holiday season bump.
