Train room color temperature lighting

I'd buy one or two to experiment.  

See if you can get 4000k.  Like you found 5000 and above can be too garish. 3000 may be too warm(yellow).

We have  4000 kelvin dimmable R-40's in our kitchen.  I know it is not a train room, however when the lights are dimmed the color rendering  stays very true, just not as bright.  We have 5000 K in our bed room and if it were me I would   try the 4000 as suggested above.

RRMan,

Lutron makes a nice dimmer specifically for LED dimmable bulbs.

I have the 5000k Par 30, 65w. I find them harsh at full brightness. I do like them at less than full brightness. Still good detail (oops will show), but not like a clear summer day.

I believe a mix of the temperatures will provide the result that you want. I do prefer the daylight over the warm white for the layout lighting.

I had done most of my layout high-lighting with the smaller spot/flood lights 30/40/50 watt. Incandescent.  The whole world changing rapidly, I acquired spares some time ago.  At the time low voltage lights (12 VAC) could do a better job of spot lighting, but the basic delivery system would be different/ more expensive. .  

Track lights with a couple of different heads, and a few small recessed  cans.

Slide show.   Click to access.

Camera walk-around.

We had done a thread some time ago.   An interesting light system,  where the flood/spots had the three primary colors. Red/Blue/Green.  You could control color and intensity of the lighting with a remote control. 

Previous Lighting Thread.   Click to access.

Keep in mind that for accurate color in photography you need a consistent color temperature.

Will LED's cause fading in the paints of the trains, live some of the conventional lighting projects do now?

Dominic Mazoch posted:

Will LED's cause fading in the paints of the trains, live some of the conventional lighting projects do now?

No, Leds do not emit UV or IR radiation. Read the following excerpt from the Northeast Document Conservation Center

• Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are semiconductor devices (materials with electrical conductivity) that can emit a specific spectrum (color temperature) of light depending on the semiconductor material used. LEDs do not emit UV or IR radiation and the light does not generate heat (although the conductor box does). They can supply light for a lower energy cost and have a longer lifespan than other light sources. There is a wide variance in color temperature and CRI and the intensity of the light can diminish over time. 

Dominic Mazoch posted:

Will LED's cause fading in the paints of the trains, live some of the conventional lighting projects do now?

Dominic,

The LEDs I am ordering says no emitted UV or IR radiation so assume that paint and the like will remain the colors they were (or have faded to).

Showing color temperature ignorance, the bulbs I am looking at come as either 3000* or 6000*K, so if I were to alternate bulbs would the blended light in effect hit somewhere around 4500-5000*K, or would there be noticeable yellowish and bluish spots on layout?  I know incandescents radiate other color temperatures around the designed one, while LED are monochromatic with no other radiated temperatures.

I run 4100K LED bulbs (48)  in the high hats in my train room.  5000k was too 'blue' and 2700k was too warm.  I use a Lutron dimming system which works well.  I will say that when you dim the bulbs to a certain point you get a noticeable flicker which can be annoying but nevertheless there is still plenty of acceptable dimming range.  The bulbs are 12 watt bulbs which are comparable to 85 incandescent.  They give off no heat.

dick

I would suggest you look at this document if you are interested in LED safety, specifically the part about Blue Light Hazard.

http://www.lightingeurope.org/...les/CELMA_ELC_LED_WG(SM)011_ELC_CELMA_position_paper_optical_safety_LED_lighting_Final_1st_Edition_July2011.pdf

Blue light hazard is a known problem with LED lighting.  It is a topic that you can Google.  Note that medically it is the evolution of a physiological experience called Purkinje Shift.

Regards,

Lou N

Heres an old post by David Minarik regarding some trainroom lighting. I was impressed with the results and whenever I stop running trains long enough to upgrade my trainroom lighting, this is what I will go with:

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/t...he-train-room?page=1

rrman posted:

Showing color temperature ignorance, the bulbs I am looking at come as either 3000* or 6000*K, so if I were to alternate bulbs would the blended light in effect hit somewhere around 4500-5000*K, or would there be noticeable yellowish and bluish spots on layout?  I know incandescents radiate other color temperatures around the designed one, while LED are monochromatic with no other radiated temperatures.

Although it may look good to your eye, unless it's a homogeneous color blend, your camera will not be able to reproduce accurate colors. Many modelers have used a combination of incandescent and fluorescent lights because they like the look. However, when doing photography you shouldn't mix color temperatures. If you set the white balance for one color temperature, the areas that are being lit by the other temperature will be off. If you put your white balance between the 2 then all colors will be off.

rrman posted:

Showing color temperature ignorance, the bulbs I am looking at come as either 3000* or 6000*K, so if I were to alternate bulbs would the blended light in effect hit somewhere around 4500-5000*K, or would there be noticeable yellowish and bluish spots on layout?  I know incandescents radiate other color temperatures around the designed one, while LED are monochromatic with no other radiated temperatures.

RR,

I think you will notice the difference.  Not sure it would look as good as all the same color temperature.

We're relighting at our club layout and we're going to try a few of each then decide on one!  Good new is that we're finally getting rid of those lousy looking CFL screw-in bulbs..... hate 'em!

Ed

Thank you all for your replies. Never too old to learn something new here!

I just had my basement finished and we used Cree TW Series 65W Equivalent 2700K recessed LEDs.  They are spaced in a 4 foot grid over the layout area.  2700K matches the tone of incandescent lights.  The bottom line with color temperature is to pick one that is pleasing to your eye.  All modern cameras will allow auto or manual adjustment of white balance, but as Dennis pointed out, this will only work if you don't mix lights of different color temperatures.

Another important factor to consider is quality of LED bulbs.  Lower quality bulbs can have an annoying buzz, flickering, or inconsistent color (measured by the Color Rendering Index CRI).  Also, the heavier the bulb, the better.  Heavy bulbs have a larger heat sink, which will prevent premature failure.

Cree bulbs have had consistently high ratings and I am very happy with the TW Series.  They are also available as regular screw-in bulbs.  You will also need a dimmer that is designed for LED use.

Here are the bulbs I used.  Funny thing, they are $25 at HomeDepot.com, but around $16-17 in the store.

Bob

I've used Cree bulbs since Jan 2013...haven't had a bad one yet. They come in the bright and yellow cast lighting with 40W, 60W. A new 100W has come out and I use it in the garage and laundry room. All are dimmable. They are heavier and more robust plus the finish on the bulb itself is not slippery, making a bulb easy to drop.

George (G3)

The Home Depot  Picture make sense now about wiring up of the fixture.

So, please this regard my massage about the wiring up of the fixtures. 

Good luck, John

Light color choices:  Daylight, similar to  sunlight, should contain most all colors. IMO, tends to be a harsh white light.    Warm,(or soft white), common choice for indoor lighting. Heavy on the red end of the spectrum.   As bulbs burn-out, it has become difficult to match existing colors, lamp profiles, wattage.  IMO, Mike CT.