Achieving darkness is fairly easy. There are a number of “tunnel occlusion” tools that will do the trick. These are basically “boxes of darkness” that can be scaled to encompass the area. They can be found on the “Object Tools” pallet under “Miscellaneous.” “Tunnel Occlusion Volume” comes standard, but I prefer the “NJ Tunnel Occlusion” from the “North Jersey Coast” route.

The problem I have found with the “Tunnel Occlusion Volume” is that once placed, it can be difficult to select again. There is a double-arrow icon that sits in the very center. This needs to be clicked on in order to select and for the scaling handles to appear on the sides and at the corners of the box. Use the flashlight tool to go down inside the box to look for it. This can be difficult to find and click if it ends up inside a scenery object in your station!

Instead of a small icon at the center of the box, “NJ Tunnel Occlusion” comes with a tall white stick that extends far above the center top of the box. This is clicked on to select. It’s easier to find, even after being placed or if underground.


The amount of fade at each end is different between the two - “Tunnel Occlusion Volume” is more gradual and “NJ Tunnel Occlusion” less so. However, if you double-click the ‘stick’ on “NJ Tunnel Occlusion” or center double-arrow icon on “Tunnel Occlusion Volume” the “Properties” pallet includes the ability to edit the fade as well as change the color. The default is black.

The biggest problem people run into is that most lighting assets are designed to only “come on” and illuminate when the scenario setting is for night.

The main suggestion has been to use one of the locomotive headlights found under “Miscellaneous” on the “Object Tools” pallet. Since these are used as part of locomotives, they are on all the time, even when set to daylight.

The problem I have had with them, however, is they tend to be too dim or not illuminate a wide enough area - they are more spotlight than a general indoor light would be. I had to use so many to realistically illuminate my platforms that my FPS dropped!

What I found works best has been the “RCAP Light - Shop” from Railworks America.

http://railworksamerica.com/index.php/rcap

It gives a broad, even, white light that illuminates the space naturally. Fewer are needed to cover the space.

When placing them, go into "Scenario Tools" and set the time to night. Click on "Drive" and then "Esc" and "World Editor." That will give you a darkened route so you can see the illumination. Even though the illumination works day or night, it is sometimes not visible unless you go through night mode.

Note that there is no visible "bulb" or lamp head, so you'll need to drop something in to complete the illusion. I used the “RCAP Light - Interior (Ind)” which is a standard looking fluorescent light box that remains bright white and looks natural with the glow.


The effect is pleasing and reasonably realistic. There may be other assets I am not aware of or that are introduced in future that can also be used (feel free to add them in comments!)