For anyone still using florescent, here's a trick to extend the life of your bulbs.. I learned it from a guy with a corner hardware store over 20 years ago. I have tubes well over 10 years old..
When you first buy them, before installing, mark 4 lines on the metal end with a sharpie, evenly spaced, circling the bulb. Then, hold on to the bulb on 1 end, and tap the other end on your other hand. Do this 10-20 times for each of the line marks, 1/4 turning the bulb. Flip the bulb over to your other hand and repeat. If you pull your bulbs out every 5 years, you'll possibly never replace them.. I've added 5 more fixtures in my basement over the years, and have only replaced one of the bulbs I installed. The oldest ones are over my first workbench, and have been there since 1993.. I have a note taped to the inside of my access panel for my furnace that tells me which fixtures I need to tap every fall so I don't forget.. Hopefully, Here's the reason why this works: At some point in the past, the bulbs were filled with gas, then packaged. Then they are loaded on pallets and sent to a warehouse. They will stay in this position until they reach the store. Since they aren't perishable, nobody in the warehouse bothers to rotate the stock unless they change the packaging. The gas in the tubes eventually settles. If you don't encourage the gas to be evenly distributed, you'll notice that 1 side of the bulb is dark. This causes the ballast to burn out quicker, and the connection/igniter to burn out.. If you look up at your bulbs, and follow these instructions next time, you'll see for yourself..
I understand the worries about UV fading your stuff, but if you wrap the protective tubes of your bulbs with the film they use on glass photo frames, problem solved.. I used the glass panels themselves from 3 frames for my last fixture(didn't know about the film) You can't beat florescent for working on your layout.. IF I wanted to go balls out for realistic lighting, I'd put a closet door rail on the ceiling with one of those Pier 1 paper globes, so I could have dimmable, movable 'sunlight'.. As the day sunders on, I'd slowly turn up the red, yellow, and orange bulbs to mimic sunset.. The long casting shade coming off of everything on your layout will be spectacular, and photographs much more realistic.. You may even want a second paper globe with a yellow/orange bulb for better sunsets..
Jim Zulawski
