Product Review - Woodland Scenics Just Plug System

I decided to add some electrification to the town of Pembroke in order to give it a little life.  Originally, none of my buildings have had lighting, and in fact, the only lighting was provided by a couple of street lamps I had picked up years ago and mounted to the scale sidewalk.  So when Woodland Scenics introduced their Just Plug system, I was intrigued and anxiously waited for it to hit my local hobby store. It looked like a simple process to light and building, and was basically a plug and play type of hardware.  Fast forward to present day, when I finally opted to make the purchase.  So after designing my electrical network and determining how many Light Hubs, individual lights, etc., I was ready to place my order.

Opened the mailbox Friday to find that two packages had arrived containing each of my new purchases.  So I quickly got to work that evening and began the installation process.  Ten minutes into it, I found my first real problem with the system.  After looking at the supplied instructions and going back to their web page, I realized that no where can you find the size of the drill bit or hole size you are going to need to pass the connector pin through the layout and underneath to the awaiting Light Hub. By the way, it requires a 3/8-inch drill bit.  The light itself is fairly large (approximately 3/8-inch squared), which is actually good for giving more illumination, but the pin at the other end of the wire is roughly the same size as the light.  Unfortunately the instructions are not the best and no way to see this before you purchase. Grade = C-

So for any existing structures without a removable floor or roof, you need to create a mega hole cut into your nice expensive structure.  Fortunately, each of my buildings have been built from scratch or kit and I left space to mount a floor at a later date, when I will install detailed interiors.  Of course you could always try to cut off some of the wiring, run the two thin wires through a small hole and reattach them to the light but this sot of defeats the idea of plug and play.  Grade D+

So after drilling my mega-sized hole and attaching the light to the building, as well as mounting the Light Hub to the underframe of the layout, I realized that the connector pin actually mounts to the top of the Hub, not the underside of the box.  So you need nimble fingers to press the connections into the box when your box is actually mounted high on the side frame so that it is out of sight.  We are model railroaders aren't we, and used to small wires and small spaces.  Perhaps Woodland Scenics will engineer and top vs bottom connection in the next version. Grade C+

Plug in front and pass through hole above "dg" in Bldg

It's probably just me, but I feel like the connection plug is very flimsy and just a little bit of extra force will break it and the delicate wires inside.  I have no confidence that if I ever want to remove the wiring plug that I'll be able to do so, as the connection os so tight. Grade C

Light Hub - tough to place wire/plug into hole when you can't see the receiver top

Once all of the lights were installed, I will say that the system nicely lights up the scene and the little bulbs are very powerful.  The dimmable bulbs is also a nice feature, although I found that that controls between Light Hubs were a little quirky and not as sensitive as I would have liked.  Still trying to figure out why adjusting one dimmer results in the next door dimmer have momentary lapses and losing power. Grade A-

Full brightness with the diffuser screen in place

Lights dimmed, still with diffuser screen in place

Pricing....the system isn't cheap but is affordable for the average hobbyist if you plan well.  The simplest system requires a Light Hub, power supply (can be DC) and lights.  So you have roughly $45-50 easily invested.  Through in multiple Light Hubs and you'll need an Expansion Hub as well. My biggest problem is that individual lights are about $4.50-5.00 each and only sold two per package. I think that WS is making a huge profit here and would have preferred that they offer a package with a minimum of 4 or 8 units with a price of may maybe $2-3 per unit.  Throw in the cost of the building light diffusing kit and some extension wiring to reach those distant spaces away from your hubs, and you see that the price creeps higher and higher quickly.Wait we haven't thrown in the cost of the individual street lights yet.

Lighting attached to ceiling of first floor

Overall I like the system and the plug and play concept. I'm really looking forward to installing some street lamps.  Unfortunately I think that it does have some shortcomings and the price is slightly on the steep side.  Overall grade = C.

Summer Ops Session

Like many model railroaders, I tend to work on small, isolated projects during the summer if I can find some free time.  I usually try to finishup any large projects for the KLR in early May, as I know that my time becomes spent more and more with yard work, maybe some railfanning and other summertime recreational activities.  By about the 1st of June, engines have been put away and I start making a list of upcoming projects that I'll start as soon as the cooler months roll around.

However, one of my local friends now finds himself splitting his time between northeast Ohio in the late spring to early fall, and Arizona the remaining months.  Before his move, op sessions on the Ontario Central were held at various times throughout the year.  Now the op sessions are once per month, starting in June.  While it may not be the traditional time for operating a model railroad layout, it does make for a nice diversion from yard work. The last op session I attended was very small in attendance, with only one other regular operator present.  However, it turned out to be a great session, as we were both able to run our trains and we simply did away with a time clock.

Pulling loaded boxcars from the warehouse

Arrival of the paper mill turn...it's going to be a busy day for the crew

I chose the paper mill turn, which is a train I have run before.  I really enjoy this train, as it gives me ideas on how I might switch out my own paper mill. It usually takes about 2.5-3 hours to get to the paper mill and do all of the switching. It's one of those jobs that keeps you very busy, and you don't actually realize the amount of time which has elapsed, as your having that much fine doing it.  And isn't that what model railroading should be all about? So thanks Bram for holding the summer op sessions, and I look forward to the next one.