Could anybody help me sove my problem in lighting a double deck layout.
Thank
Curt Dennis [:)][:)][:)]
I’m sure there will be better answers, but I think the two common ways of lighting a doubledecker are mini-fluorescents under the top deck and a valance or Christmas tree lights - one layout had white, red and blue strings - white for daylight, red (and orange?) for sunset / sunrise and blue to simulate night.
I just saw LED Christmas “bulbs” this year - use much less power and don’t get hot like regular bulbs. I might try those under a valance on a shelf layout I’ve started working on.
Our own Joe Fugate runs an excellent web site with lots of tech articles. One of them is on this very subject. Here’s a link;
http://siskiyou.railfan.net/model/constructionNotes/lighting.html
Don’t forget to click on the home page and check out all the other articles he’s got on there. It’s some good reading.
Another option that I have not tried, but am interested in trying are rope lights. They’re typically available in many larger department stores (Walmart, Target, Meijer’s) around Christmas.
The problem with rope lights (we installed them in our closets) is that they provide very yellow light, and the amount of light per foot of length is relatively low. You’d probably need to loop the rope to get sufficient light on the layout in any one spot.
Other than that they’re great!
i use 25 Watt halogen disk lights used fo undercabinet lighting. They do produce heat but after 3 hours of use it was fine. they are designed for undercabinet lighting and are perfect for deck lighting. they are also low profile.
The above link is out of date. Please now use:
http://siskiyou-railfan.net/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.14
On my last layout, I use aimable can incandescent lights for the upper level and general room lighting, and C7-sized Christmas lights for the lower level, spaced about 12" apart. While not a perfect solution to lighting the lower levels, I preferred it to flourescents for a few reasons. Flourescents cost more, don’t give off realistic light (unless you get into MORE cost), aren’t dimmable (unless you get into MORE cost), and take up a LOT of overhead space, which is at a premium on multilevels. As a test, I added compact mirrors behind a few of the bulbs, which improved brightness.
Don’t use rope lights: I’ve seen a few layouts that tried to use them, and the lighting was horrible, splotchy and dim.
Note to all. Incandescent is fine at low wattages. A 100 watt bulb produces over 500 degrees of heat. Enough to burn your place down especially as we tend to use so many lights. Personally I prefer flourescent as I can put coloured sleeves on them for different lighting arrangements. Hope this helps.
Stephen