Campfire
First Generation
The only reason I decided to do this was because of the fireflies, since they sprang from the White River & Northern II, which had a campfire as part of the same effects device. Below is a daylight shot of the campfire.
The device had two rotating drums (copper-colored discs, below): one for the campfire, on the left, and one for the fireflies, on the right. The mechanism was designed so that the campfire drum rotated twice as fast as the firefly drum. Each drum had a series of colored GOW bulbs (LEDs were not yet cheap and plentiful) that passed the ends of the fibers as the drums rotated. Additionally, there were multiple layers of bulbs, which would be turned on or off in sequence to simulate a growing or dying fire.
Second Generation
The thing I didn't realize about this crazy old contraption when I built it is just how strikingly realistic the effect would be. But I wanted to replicate it using LEDs and electronics, and that proved to be surprisingly difficult. I began by making an outrageously complex system with 60 LEDs, divided into five banks each with different colors and flicker effects, all bonded to 60 fine optic fibers arranged in concentric rings. It was a colossal failure. My second try had 18 LEDs in three banks illuminating larger-diameter optic fibers. While marginally better, it too was unacceptable. Well, there went over 150 LEDs, yards of fiber optics, and a weekend of time.
I was at the point of giving up when I noticed the fireplace effect I created a for my cabin, which was just two flickering LEDs, was more realistic than either of the fiber optic attempts, so I began to pursue a "pure LED" approach. This too proved challenging because the LEDs would be visible, and it took six tries and a dozen more LEDs to come up with a solution, each iteration having fewer LEDs.
The final version comprises only three orange 1.6 mm LEDs arranged in a tight cluster on a tiny scrap of PC board, and wired in series with three flickering LEDs so they too flickered, with brightness carefully controlled by resistors. To enhance the effect, I ground the lenses of the orange LEDs into irregular pointed cones, and covered them with thick gel medium that I teased into flame shapes with a toothpick as it dried. Adding firewood and whatnot further improved realism.
In the above wiring diagram, the three effects LEDs are hidden; the three display LEDs are the ones that appear topside on the layout.
Note that I accidentally created the illusion of hot glowing coals around the lower perimeter of the fire: this happened when I failed to completely cover the edges of the LEDs with black paint. It looked far more convincing than the fiber optic coals I'd attempted to make previously, even the original. What a happy accident!
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On 19 October 2020 I installed the campfire in the newly-relocated campground (below), adjacent to the fishermen.
But then the layout was decommissioned, and the campfire migrated over to the White River & Northern X on 25 May 2021. Activating the campfire also started the cricket sound effect.
With the addition of the picnic table and cooking paraphernalia, the campfire scene was pretty much finished on 24 June 2021. The tents, incidentally, were made in 1987 for the campfire scene on the White River & Northern II. I've no clue how I made them or what inspired me to keep them, but I'm glad I did.
New Venue
This animation is now part of a diorama, Field of Dreams.
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Cooking Grills
I applied the same principle that made the campfire work to a cluster of cooking grills on the Saturday at the Park diorama. First, I made the grills from brass shapes: a bit of channel soldered to a little tubing, topped with a scrap of etched freight car roof walk. I threaded four 0603 amber SMD LEDs into the grills, applied some Weathered Black paint, and popped them into the diorama. Each of the 0603s is connected in series with a flickering LED. The final effect is that of glowing charcoal.
