Here is a 1/12 scale model of an electrical generator with a control panel and indicator lights. This is the style of generator that you might have found in a machine shop or important residence just after 1900 before the electrical grid had expanded into the area. This would have been belt driven by a steam engine and would probably have provided lighting while the rest of the shop tools still ran on the steam powered belting. The model was machined from a metal casting set offered by PM Research. It came with a pre-wound armature to make a real working generator. I scratch-built the control panel to look similar to one I saw at Greenfield Village. Note that in the photos below the lights on the control panel are being powered by the generator itself.
Down In The Shop 