I was working on an Arduino-based imaging system for monitoring trains where I cannot see... It turned out that the Arduino approach would not do it for me. Small display, slow frame rates. So, in a "du-oh" moment, I thought about a front/rear car monitoring system. I bought a medium price 7 inch color display with a lot more capabilities than I need, with two cameras with good low light capabilities. Rewired it a bit, added a wall wort for 12V ($2, cheaper than I could tie into my buss lines and add a boost converter), tested it under the mountain. The install is not done, but you can see the first images. I am debating putting two cameras under each mountain to avoid blind spots. You can see abandoned tracks, and my styrofoam mountains. The white sticks are IR transmitter-receiver pairs for detecting trains with Azatrax electronics. Woodland scenics foam risers under the elevated tracks.
Here is a phone image with the LEDs turned on under the mountain:
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Here is an image of the under-mountain area:
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And, here is a picture with a train coming:
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More to come. I might put a second unit under the other mountain, or install the second camera in the "west" mountain.
