Fastrack_Switch_Lantern_Color.txt
Paul Romsky
21 DEC 2014 

I just purchased my first Lionel O-Gauge Fastrack Switches today.
They work great and are of a very high quality.
However, the white LED in the rotating switch lantern is very bright and the red/green lenses in the lantern are very thin. This causes the lantern colors to appear white and orange rather than green and red respectively.
 
I could have changed the current limiting resistor inside the switch that connects to the LED, but the lenses on the lantern are so thin that dimming the LED probably would not have helped much.

To achieve a more realistic look, I made a small modification to my lanterns:

I started with a small amount (about a gram) of super glue gel on a sheet of paper. Using a tooth pick, I mixed in a small drop (about half the volume of the gel) of red food coloring. The key was to mix the correct proportions to obtain a deep translucent color in the glue. Working quickly with toothpicks, I spread the inside of the lantern's red lenses with this mixture. I was careful not to get any glue on the green lenses, the white pyramid reflector inside the lantern, or the lantern base. I did this until the space behind both red lenses were full with the translucent red super glue gel.
I then did the same to the green lenses using the same technique but using green food coloring instead of red.

It took about 2 minutes for the glue to set.

I put the lantern back on the switch and used a little spot of hot glue to keep the lantern from falling off (being careful to only keep the glue on the lantern base and on the tabs on the switch base where the lantern rests). Care must be taken when doing this or the lantern will bind and prevent proper operation of the switch. The lanterns do not snap on very well and are prone to come off easily and get lost (especially with cats), so gluing them on was a requirement for me. The white LED should last a lifetime, so there is no need to remove the lantern in the future. However, if the need should arise to remove it, I can gently pull the lantern off because I used only a tiny spot of hot glue on the base.

Now my Fastrack switch lanterns have a more realistic green/red color.

End