Okay all, I've FINALLY, settled on a trackplan that I like, and now comes the subject of lighting, I'm going to have a drywall ceiling and I'm planning to use either track lighting or a idea that Pelle Soeborg used for his layout, flourecent lighting behind a valance, I'm also thinking about using LED lighting, which would be the best to use,????? My layout will be 18ft x 19 ft, Thanks
Trainsrme1
Depending on your budget, this can be a significant item. Taking into account any light you get from outside, what color the backdrop and floor will be, etc. Understanding how well you want to create times of the year and times of day into night, etc. I have seen layouts that use light to imitate a lightning storm at night for example.
But for most of us just good lighting that can be varied in intensity will suffice. I like to mix various flourescent and incadescent lights to get a broad spectrum. Obviously incadexcent bulbs use more energy and generate more heat. Controlling the lighting can help with energy use, for example putting your incadescent vs flourescent lights on different switches.
Richard
I offer a repeat of my comments on a recent thread about lighting:
"As noted by others, there are a number of variables to consider. But for what it's worth, let me describe what I have recently done in preparation for my layout.
My ceiling is 9' high, 5' above the planned layout height of 4'. The room wall and ceiling color (on drywall) is a very, very light off-white; therefore, of high reflectance. In order to facilitate doing detail work, I aimed for about 100 foot-candles on the layout. But I wanted the option for lower light levels at times, requiring either dimming or split-switching. (If you are so inclined, you can find simple guides online to help you calculate how to achieve certain light levels. You can obtain-also online-the lighting characteristics of various light fixtures using various lamps. Manufacturers also can help you by performing calculations if you contact their reps-online or in person-and tell them your requirements.)
To make a long story a little shorter, I found that 2-tube high-output fluorescent fixtures with highly reflective housings would work if they were hung about 3' above the layout. But split switching the individual fixtures and especially dimming them in addition to providing good-looking housings (I don't want to have to build a valance or use industrial fixtures) proved very costly.
The solution I chose is comprised of 75W halogen floods in recessed highly-reflective cans (you could do a similar installation with track lighting) spaced 2' on center and controlled by a dimmer. (Depending on how many lights you have, you might need more than one circuit and more than one dimmer). Calculations indicated that this will produce close to 100 foot-candles on the layout. The lights are installed, and although I have not measured the actual foot-candles, the lighting appears to be more than adequate and quite even.
Dante
PS. Yes, I know that fluorescents are cooler and less expensive to operate, but the additional cost for the fluorescent fixtures I would have needed and that were acceptable to me was prohibitive."
Of course, if you build a valance, an inexpensive, plain, industrial fluorescent lamp-holder will work; however, dimmable or split-circuit fluorescents are relatively expensive.
I like to operate my layout in various levels of darkness. I've put a lot of modeling effort into illuminating structures with detailed interiors, installing street lamps on the sidewalks, and filling passenger cars with, well, passengers. So, it's important to show those off.
Dimmers are my choice for controlling the level of lighting. I use ordinary incandescent bulbs. Compact flourescents would be nice, but most of those are not dimmable, and regular flourescents don't offer that option at all.
If you can, you might want to consider flourescent lighting for "full daytime" or when you're working on your layout, and a separate set of dimmable lights for running. When you're doing trackwork or scenery, bright lighting is a must.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
There's lots and lots of ways to do lighting.
You could really write a small book on lighting, but here goes:
You can use:
1. Flourescent tubes
2. CFL's (Compact Flourrescent bulbs)
3. Incandecents. (12 Volt and 120Volt variety)
Night scenes use blue bulbs. These are hard to find in CFL version, but are available via amazon or a google search.
One of the greatest problems I find is shadows cast on a backdrop from lighting shoved toward the front of the fascia. This is to prevent the bulb from blinding the user. But a diamond plate light diffuser panel (like used in shop lights) will take care of this problem. It will also hide wiring above. Only do this with tubes! Other sources could melt/warp the plastic.
CFL's and Flourescent tubes provide "limited" spectrum output and are often labeled as cold. Special CFL bulbs can be dimmed if labeled as such. But their dimming range is "limited." I tried a few and didn't like them or the buzzing they produce.
Incandecents (old filament bulbs) provide the "warmest" light. (Closest to sunlight) They are broad spectrum. Halogen bulbs are a favored choice by interior designers. They do get very hot however. ALSO congress has mandated that incandecents be phased out slowly. I believe 2016 is the cutoff year for all incandecent bulbs. Starting next year you can't buy 100 watt incandecents any more.
It is possible to simulate a time of day with shadows using a point light source. But there are limitations to how you can do this.
LED bulbs are expensive They cost a little more than CFL's to operate, but have a much longer operating life. LED lights have a tendency to turn "blue-ish" as they age.
Before I built my first layout, I simulated the lighting in a freeware ray tracing program (POV-Ray) which is designed to simulate how light rays reflect/illuminate off objects.
Here's how lighting and color temperature matter:
http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/nlpip/lightingAnswers/fullSpectrum/abstract.asp
Color Temperature:
Daylight: ~5500 K
Incandecent bulb: ~2200 K
It may seem contradictory, but as the number goes down in color temperature the "warmness" of the light increases. This is because you are favoring the longer wavelength warm "red" side of the spectrum.
So a 2200K CFL (roughly the same color as a incandecent) will look warmer than a daylight 5000K CFL (which leans toward more blue). Daylight bulbs will make colors look more saturated or brighter. But it will also shift their color response towards the blue spectrum.
Buy one of each and hold them up to your models to see which you prefer. It can have a dramatic effect on how your models look. If you painted your models under an incandecent light, then you might be greatly disapointed by how they turn out under a daylight CFL, flourescent tube.
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
TrainsRMe1 Okay all, I've FINALLY, settled on a trackplan that I like, and now comes the subject of lighting, I'm going to have a drywall ceiling and I'm planning to use either track lighting or a idea that Pelle Soeborg used for his layout, flourecent lighting behind a valance, I'm also thinking about using LED lighting, which would be the best to use,????? My layout will be 18ft x 19 ft,....
Okay all, I've FINALLY, settled on a trackplan that I like, and now comes the subject of lighting, I'm going to have a drywall ceiling and I'm planning to use either track lighting or a idea that Pelle Soeborg used for his layout, flourecent lighting behind a valance, I'm also thinking about using LED lighting, which would be the best to use,????? My layout will be 18ft x 19 ft,....
If you search or go back a few pages on this forum, you'll see the subject comes up rather frequently.
Lighting is again - like your track plan, prototype, era, etc. - a very personal decision. What is "best" depends on what you want from the lighting, and the amount of effort and $$ you are willing to put into it. You have a rather large layout, and depending on its configuration, could be rather expensive to light up theater style with all kinds of variable lighting. OTOH, maybe you see the ability to get just the lighting you want as a worthwhile investment to bring out the best in your layout and models.
Lighting levels are a variable. To work on the layout, generally 100ft candles are considered a good minimum for aging eyes. This is far brighter lighting than most of us have in our houses, but it will really make a difference when doing trackwork or similar tasks on the layout. You may or may not want the same brightness when you operate. If you are doing some sort of operations where you have to read the small lettering on the cars you will need brighter lighting than if you are just watching the trains roll through scenery.
Where you place the lights is something to think about. If you stand to operate your layout, you will cast shadows on the layout if the light source is behind you. If the lights are over top the benchwork, the front of your models on the front tracks will be in the shadows. Inappropriate shadows on the backdrop are also annoying.
Another variable to consider is heat load for your train room. Does your HVAC system have the capacity or ability to handle a single part of the house with a pretty high heat load?
Looking at the lighting technologies:
my thoughts, your choices
Fred W
A few follow-up observations:
• Regular fluorescent lamps-i.e.,standard tubes-are dimmable if the fixture has the appropriate ballast. The fixtures with these ballasts are more costly.
• There are CFLs that immediately illuminate, but they are more costly than the standard.
• Strictly speaking, incandescents are not being outlawed; however, they are required to be considerably more efficient. I have read that manufacturers are working on this possibility. Here is a brief summary of the 2007 law per Wikipedia:
"In December 2007, many of these state efforts became moot when the federal government enacted the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which requires all general-purpose light bulbs that produce 310–2600 lumens of light[8] be 30% more energy efficient (similar to current halogen lamps) than current incandescent bulbs by 2012 to 2014. The efficiency standards will start with 100-watt bulbs in January 2012 and end with 40-watt bulbs in January 2014.
Light bulbs outside of this range are exempt from the restrictions (historically, less than 40 Watts or more than 150 Watts). Also exempt are several classes of specialty lights, including appliance lamps, rough service bulbs, 3-way, colored lamps, and plant lights.
By 2020, a second tier of restrictions would become effective, which requires all general-purpose bulbs to produce at least 45 lumens per watt (similar to current CFLs). Exemptions from the Act include reflector flood, 3-way, candelabra, colored, and other specialty bulbs.[29]"