howmus wrote:I am using CFLs placed every 2 foot or so for layout lighting behind a valence. I plan to put in dimable rope lights (probably a light blue) for night operations. For that I have heard they work well. For daylight operations they are not bright enough unless you use a lot of them or have a very shallow "stage".The best variety and pricing I have seen for lighting is here: http://www.1000bulbs.com/ Look up the rope lighting, they have just about everything imaginable.
I am using CFLs placed every 2 foot or so for layout lighting behind a valence. I plan to put in dimable rope lights (probably a light blue) for night operations. For that I have heard they work well. For daylight operations they are not bright enough unless you use a lot of them or have a very shallow "stage".
The best variety and pricing I have seen for lighting is here: http://www.1000bulbs.com/ Look up the rope lighting, they have just about everything imaginable.
http://www.1000bulbs.com/ Thanks, that is a good site. They have high output LED's (8 watt vs 3 watt) as well as reflector channels that might help in bouncing all the light down to the layout.Anything would be better than my 2 double tube 4' florescent fixtures
ericboone wrote: Milwhiawatha wrote:Heres the deal about rope lights. You can get good effects with rope light like day light look at my layout its bright. And I was wrong its only one strip of white and onw strip of blue. And look how it lights it up. Add additional white and you will get a brighter sunnier day effect.What type of rope light did you use? Are they traditional bulbs or LEDs? If you don't mind sharing, what is the cost per foot?
Milwhiawatha wrote:Heres the deal about rope lights. You can get good effects with rope light like day light look at my layout its bright. And I was wrong its only one strip of white and onw strip of blue. And look how it lights it up. Add additional white and you will get a brighter sunnier day effect.
What type of rope light did you use? Are they traditional bulbs or LEDs? If you don't mind sharing, what is the cost per foot?
I think I paid 3.00 for a 6ft section as for style I do believe they are actual traditional bulbs. But do they light the layout up.
Its up to the individual person tho but as you can see my layout pic has no upper lights on and its looks pretty good.
GraniteRailroader wrote:Here's the problems with LEDs....They are directional. Their off-axis lighting is quite poor without using optics and diffusers.
Here's the problems with LEDs....They are directional. Their off-axis lighting is quite poor without using optics and diffusers.
The difference between the rope-light LEDs and the led heads they put under cabinets is the wattage, color, and the heatsinks.
Until LED technology progresses to using more then just strips of leds one after another, your best bet is to stick to "traditional" means of lighting.
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secondhandmodeler wrote:I would think that the key to using rope lights is making sure you get the LED versions. Most of the rope lights out there are not LED's.
2nd hand hit the nail on the head!! 90% of the rope lights out there are incandescent bulbs which give very little illumination - they are made to be used as decoration. There are new LED strips out that are used for kitchen under-cabinet lighting. They cost a lot more, but put out plenty of light for layout purposes.
I am just starting layout construction and hope to soon get to the point where I can test try some different lighting options.
I was thinking I would go for 12 or 24 volt Xenon festoon lights for their low profile, dimability, and slightly better than incandescent efficiency.
While very efficient, fluorescents are probably out because even the dimmable ones don't fully dim and are expensive.
LED rope lights are out because to get enough light, you need several per linear foot of layout and /or they are still pricy. In five years, this may be different and I'll look into converting.
I've wrestled with lighting concepts and looked at rope lights, I don't think I can get the intensity I need with those.
I want a good sunlight effect. My modules will have..
a frosted ceiling plexiglass, and above will be blue and white lights. The frostyness will spread the light out. I want to get the day/night effect so they must be dimmable. Cutup blue and white christmas lights means I can use 12 volts and make a dimmer. This may not effectively light the layout, but for a night effect, dimming the white and leaving blue full is perfect. Then, strategic placed spotlights aimed right at the layout not even hidden for the sunlight. Perfect and dimmable 12 volt tungsten lamps for dimming. EZ circuit for dimming.
thats my plan anyways, testing later...
The seperation between the two decks are 2 feet. I have 2 sets one near the back of the deck and one in the front then in the middle I have the blue running
I do have track lighting ontop which are reveal 65w floods which really dont shine under the layout much I also have track lighting for my night blue bulbs.
This picture is just the rope lights on
here is a shakey picture but it shows the rope lighting.
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
railroadyoshi wrote:Milwhiawatha, you have a valid point. What is the deck separation? Do you use the rope lights in conjunction with other room lighting? I guess different methods just work better for different applications.
I'm interested in the answer also. I have thought about using rope lighting also but my lower level is very shallow and I thought it would be too much.
Well unlike everyone else I like the rope lights I ran two individual lines of them under my double decker (still working on installing them all. And it gives me the effect I want. I wanted more of a cloudy day scene but its a little brighter. I also have a row of blue rope lights for night time. I think it looks great. But thats one persons opinion.
I gave 'em a try for my double decker, but found they didn't produce enough brightness for what I wanted. I ended up using continuous cabinet ligt bars which are perfect for my Allegheny & Cumberland.
I've tried it, and I don't recommend it.
My valance is mounted 2 ft above the tracks, so this played a role in the effectiveness of the lights for me. However, my shelf was also only 1 ft deep, so that basically negates the height.
I am a fan of Joe Fugate's shadowbox method, so I like to keep the room lights off when I operate. I took the ultra-bright rope lights I had bought (the best I could find at Home Depot), and spanned them above the railroad. I was planning to run 3 of them, giving each 4inches horizontally to cover. The light barely reached the tracks. To see how much light I would really need with ropes, I folded them a bit, and even 6 lines of rope wasn't enough for adequate light.
Instead, I went with flourescent tube lights. They are wonderful. An 18 inch no-buzz, low heat fixture with bulb from the Home Depot costs $10 a piece.
Here's the result: