Lighting the Layout

Regardless of whether your trains are analog or digitally controlled, or whether your accessories even use electricity, a properly designed overhead layout illumination setup can make a serious difference in your layouts esthetics (see page 58 in the book "Creative Model Railroad Design"). Overhead layout lighting should not only illuminate the scene, but also induce a sense of consistent direction. It can even be designed to dynamically change (both by dimming, or by utilizing separate lighting strips to simulate the Suns motion), in order to match your trains timetable progression from daytime, to twilight, to night.

Lighting for Layouts (*.pdf)
Overhead lighting illuminator choices (*.mp4)
Light the lower level (*.pdf)
LED lighting strips (*.mp4) = a cost-effective solution for many overhead lighting situations
Shopping for LED strips (*.pdf)
Running in the dark (*.pdf)
Hue Lighting System (*.pdf)

Model Photography

While we are not espousing limiting your hobby interest to merely building Dioramas [EXPLANATION], you probably will occasionally want to take railfan photographs of your layout. Good overhead illumination of an appropriate intensity and color temperature is crucial to making a photograph of a model appear like a photograph of a prototype.

A Model Railroaders Guide To Digital Photography (*.pdf book)
Making a cell phone do more (*.pdf)