# Police Car, Flashing Lights



## Tom Ruddell (Jan 9, 2008)

Finally found a police car with flashing lights to go with a "den-of-iniquity" scene down in the City of Poverty. After striking out in all the usual places, I found several from which to choose at www.hotslots132.com. There's a big bunch of other stuff there, too, figurewise and scenerywise, mostly in 1:32 but also some 1:18 die cast. 










Turning a slot car into a garden railway accessory wasn't all that hard, even for a guy with nine thumbs on each hand. Parts required were just a 9-volt battery and a $1.95 connector from Radio Shack. I broke off the slot power pickup and spliced the wires to the battery pickup, snapped the battery on (wrapping it in duct tape), pulled out the motor and found the battery fit nicely inside. The off-on switch for headlights, tailights, and flashing roof lights that's underneath the car worked just fine and no further wiring was needed.










When placed out on the railroad, the scene is viewed from about six feet away and I put the car up on a little block to minimize the obvious differences in scales between the vehicle and an eclectic bunch of characters on the vacant lot next to the Rave Club where teens get in at half price after midnight. The flashing lights help visitors notice that the cops are too busy arresting missionaries from Zion to respond to much worse things going on nearby.









A slot car on a garden railroad? Who'd a thunk it?

Tom Ruddell
Bethlehem Central Railroad
Midland City (Dothan), Alabama
www.gardenrailwayministry.com


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Cute scene!


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey Tom... nice to see ya here. I thought you tore down the railroad and moved?


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## Tom Ruddell (Jan 9, 2008)

Thanks, Dwight—great to be back! And speaking of backs, my bad one was the underlying problem leading to our decision two years ago to sell this big house, dismantle the railroad, and move to more manageable digs. 

Alas, but there's an old saying: "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans." We had two very good offers on the place which collapsed because of buyers' inability to sell their places. One day, while watching the Bethlehem Central movie, I grimaced at the fat guy doing the intro. Got to wondering whether if he got rid of what was looking more and more like a "Milwaukee tumor," his back would get better. So I invented a diet and, well along the path toward being 40 pounds lighter, my back started getting a lot better and Nancy got a clear signal from above: "I PUT YOU IN THAT HOUSE AND WANT YOU TO STAY THERE!" 

Ah done figgered that enjoinder included the Bethlehem Central—a garden railroad being a major reason for buying the place—so the BCR is "back in business" and with a new web site, more Bible programs, interest expressed in doing something like this elsewhere in the country, and plans to redo the BCR's Merit Badge in Railroading program for the Boy Scouts. 

Tom

Tom Ruddell
Bethlehem Central Railroad
Midland City (Dothan), Alabama
www.gardenrailwayministry.com


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

Glad to hear your health has improved Tom, and also glad the railroad was saved from oblivion. Looking forward to reading more of your posts, and I'll check out the new web site.


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## ThinkerT (Jan 2, 2008)

http://www.gardenrailwayministry.com


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## PLONIEN (Jul 31, 2008)

Tom,

Try this link for 1/24th scale die cast modern patrol cars with lights... http://www.code3customs.com/ 
Regards,

Jack


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

You can get blinking red LED's could make your own lights. Not sure about the blue though.


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Since we are considering flashing BLUE lights here, maybe I can ask a silly question.

When I was in Driver's Training classes in High School (1962-63 in Indiana) I was taught that the only vehicles that were allowed to have flashing RED lights visible from the front were "Official Emergency Vehicles"... Police cars, Fire trucks and Ambulances and only when they were acting in an "Official Status".

ALL other vehicles were not allow to show a flashing RED light from the front. Wreckers and road maintenance vehicles were to have flashing YELLOW lights to warn of their presence.

Even having a RED light mounted such that it could be seen from the front (such as accidentally mounted a magnetic stick-on "Trailer Brake-light" backward) was cause for the Police to stop you and issue a ticket for improper lighting!

I saw a flashing BLUE light on a car once that was stopped at a stop light and asked my Dad what it was. He said that some Volunteer Fire Departments were pushing for legislation to allow them to use flashing BLUE lights to warn people that they were on their way to a Fire Station in an "Emergency Status" and that other vehicles were to yield to them, but at present they were still required to obey all traffic signals; thus this particular person was on his way to a fire, so had his light on, but he had to stop at the traffic light.

Today, I see wreckers hauling merely disabled cars to a service station in full "Official Emergency 'GET OUTTA MY WAY!' Mode" and "Volunteer Firemen" chasing down Speeders and other traffic rule violators.









Just when was this changed from "FLASHING RED means Emergency -- get out of the way!", "Flashing YELLOW means Caution -- be careful when near to them.", and "Flashing BLUE means Be Nice to the guy and let him through, he might be on his way to protect/save your house!" ?????

I think that if one is modeling a Police car to represent an era prior to this change, then a flashing BLUE light would be in error.


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## stanman (Jan 4, 2008)

The ambulance on my Z-scale layout has a flashing blue light. Length of the ambulance is about 5/8". (Electronics are below the layout.)


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

All sorts of police cars/figures/lights here:
http://www.policecarmodels.com/index.html 

Not bad prices either. In the lights section there are flashing blue LED's along with reds. I might go for the old Buick by Maisto.


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## Tom Ruddell (Jan 9, 2008)

Thanks Jack, Jerry, and C.T. for your posts! 

I had looked into the Code3 and policecarmodels sites and the prospect of making up and installing a flashing light bar (which is available in blue). Opted for the Hot Slots 1:32 version because it would be easier for the guy with nine thumbs on each hand. Howsomever, revisiting the Code3 and policecars sites yesterday it's wholly predictable that the day will come when dissatisfiers will set in on the scale differential between my 1:32 police car and all those 1:24 vehicles I had to park farther down Baal Boulevard so the disparity wouldn't be as noticeable. And maybe there should be TWO or THREE police cars with flashing lights to further emphasize the irony of the scene and........and........... 

Speaking of scales—good grief, Stan, how did you ever manage to do that in Z scale????? Are you a watchmaker or microbiologist or something? That's incredibly great work!!! 

Tom Ruddell 
Chaplain & Chief Gandy Dancer 
Bethlehem Central Railroad 
Midland City (Dothan), Alabama 
http://www.gardenrailwayministry.com


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