LEDs that look like incandescent lamps

[lionelsoni]

I have replaced the headlight and backup light on my Rail King big boy, where I had previously installed regular white LEDs. The new lights look great. The backup light, which requires the tip to be cut off from a 3-mm LED, is a little whiter than the headlight, from loss of some of the plastic; but the plastic is colored throughout, not just on the surface, and the difference would not be noticed if I did not look for it.

For anyone who wants to put a lens on a big-boy headlight:

(My recollection is that there was originally no lens.) I had to break the plastic lens that I had previously installed, to get the old LED out. In a great stroke of luck, I discovered that the 3-hole punch where I work was exactly the right size, .28 inch, and made a replacement from a piece of a 3-liter Coke bottle. It is a lot neater and shinier than the one it replaces, which I had laboriously filed from a thicker piece of plastic.

Now, on to the other locomotives!

[lionelsoni]

I have replaced the headlight and backup light on my Rail King big boy, where I had previously installed regular white LEDs. The new lights look great. The backup light, which requires the tip to be cut off from a 3-mm LED, is a little whiter than the headlight, from loss of some of the plastic; but the plastic is colored throughout, not just on the surface, and the difference would not be noticed if I did not look for it.

For anyone who wants to put a lens on a big-boy headlight:

(My recollection is that there was originally no lens.) I had to break the plastic lens that I had previously installed, to get the old LED out. In a great stroke of luck, I discovered that the 3-hole punch where I work was exactly the right size, .28 inch, and made a replacement from a piece of a 3-liter Coke bottle. It is a lot neater and shinier than the one it replaces, which I had laboriously filed from a thicker piece of plastic.

Now, on to the other locomotives!

[lionelsoni]

White LEDs are now available with a color that matches incandescent lamps.

I have used a few white LEDs for headlights and am very happy with the brightness and focused beam, but disappointed by the bluish color. White LEDs are actually blue, with a phosphor added to produce the red and green parts of the spectrum. However, for whatever reason, there is a little too much blue left in the final mix. This doesn't matter for most purposes, but they don't look quite right simulating an incandescent locomotive headlight.

I came across a fellow selling LEDs encased in amber-colored rather than clear plastic at a show last Saturday. The colored plastic removes much of the blue. They are still very bright and produce just the right color of light.

He had 3 and 5 mm LEDs for $1.50 each. His website is http://www.richmondcontrols.com; and he says he will ship anywhere. I bought a handful of his "golden white" LEDs and will now be tearing into a few locomotives to replace their headlights.

[lionelsoni]

White LEDs are now available with a color that matches incandescent lamps.

I have used a few white LEDs for headlights and am very happy with the brightness and focused beam, but disappointed by the bluish color. White LEDs are actually blue, with a phosphor added to produce the red and green parts of the spectrum. However, for whatever reason, there is a little too much blue left in the final mix. This doesn't matter for most purposes, but they don't look quite right simulating an incandescent locomotive headlight.

I came across a fellow selling LEDs encased in amber-colored rather than clear plastic at a show last Saturday. The colored plastic removes much of the blue. They are still very bright and produce just the right color of light.

He had 3 and 5 mm LEDs for $1.50 each. His website is http://www.richmondcontrols.com; and he says he will ship anywhere. I bought a handful of his "golden white" LEDs and will now be tearing into a few locomotives to replace their headlights.