@DGJONES posted:I also wish I could take the LED's out of the wonderful buildings I have purchased from Menards and Woodland scenics. I really prefer the warm glow that the grain of wheat bulbs provide in the majority of my buildings. But try to get to all those LED's that are installed. Not to mention the LED lights that went out in my Menards American Power and Light building. It is a good looking building but not so much without any lighting.
You're blaming the type of lighting for specific color choices made in manufacturing specific products. As for the LED's that went out in your building, that's not the fault of the technology, but rather the implementation of the technology. I'd bet money that the problem is not the LED's, but rather the shoddy wiring. That would happen just as often with incandescent bulbs.
I use LED's from yellow to bright white for upgrades, depending on the specific requirement and time period. For most steam, I use some really great 2700K LED's that look a lot more like the headlight that a steamer would have than the wimpy little incandescent bulb.
@DGJONES posted:As for trains, how odd is it to watch a steam engine come down the tracks with a super bright LED head lamp blinding you! Or the unbelievably bright LED headlamp in the 3rd Rail union Pacific SD diesel. This one leaves my eyes unable to refocus for several seconds after the light shines in my eyes as it comes around a curve. (Just so you know, I really enjoy watching a beautiful engine and train come around a curve toward me.)
Again, you're blaming the LED technology for the manufacturer's choices of the product.
If you like watching a beautiful locomotive and train come around a curve toward you, surely you've noticed how bright the headlights are, right? I love the look in subdued lighting of the headlight shining off the rails as the train come toward me, that looks exactly like what you'd see with a real prototype in the same circumstances.
The bottom line is I can make the LED lighting looks like the incandescent lighting, even the same brightness. However, I choose not to as sometimes the brighter headlight is soooo much better looking.
If you get to talking about passenger car lighting, it's no contest! Again, I can make the color temperature anything you like, simply by selecting the proper LED for the job. However, the difference in the quality of the lighting will be very apparent!
- Even lighting throughout the car as you would see in the real prototype.
- Power consumption of 5%-10% of the same car with incandescent lighting. This really matters with long passenger trains!
- Variable intensity to match my preference in lighting, most incandescent lighting in passenger cars is WAY too bright for me.
- Flicker-free operation, nothing annoys me more than to see a passenger train coming that looks like it's got strobe lights in every car!
Used properly LED lighting is far superior to incandescent lighting in almost every way.
Here's the color chart I speak of when talking about LED colors.
