Train room Lighting

Well, the more lights you have, the better you can control how it looks.  My lighting came with the house as the basement was already finished, so I didn't have a choice or I'd have added more lights.

I compensated by finding some really wide angle high intensity reflector bulbs for the existing fixtures.  After a few tries, I found my solution to the lighting, these 2800 Lumen LED floodlights on Amazon.   I can dim them down to barely any light or at full intensity, it's like a sunny day on the layout.

Canless recessed LED lights would be the easiest and most convenient. I would do 2 rows of 3 and have each switched separately. You can put them on a joist if needed they just clip to the drywall.

Mike,

See this page from my basement/layout building for how I did my lighting. Let me know if you have any questions.

https://ogrforum.com/topic/154...1#154307984567205041

@NJCJOE WOW, I don't believe that I saw your train room's beginning, amazing space and great lighting.

Mikki

I'm in a similar boat. I need to figure out what lighting I need. It's tricky for me because my basement ceiling is low.

So far I can say that dimmable lights are very helpful because you can dial it in juuuuust right. I bought some LED track lighting and have them on the dimmer. The track lighting means I can scoot them on the track and adjust the aim. That is helpful. I don't know what Color Rendering Index to go with. Logically, I should go with the highest CRI I can find. Some one else will have to give input on that.

One thing I wasn't expecting with the track lighting was how much it high lights the shows. I'm going to also need some sort of diffused lighting over the layout.

So that's been my experience so far. Hopefully it helps.

My train room in my new home was already nicely finished, I did not want to put a lot of new holes into it. I hired an electrician which I needed in the house anyway and this is what we came up with. The TRACK of LED lights follows the track. I can swivel the direction of or slide over each one, as well as have him add more. It is also dimmable with a remote. I did not go with the daylight LEDs even though they are better for photography. For me, they are too harsh. The only issue is that I built out just a little farther than planned so the outer edge could use more light. I have something on order which can take care of that, I hope. Oh, one other issue......it wasn't cheap! There are still some shadows that another section would take care of but it works well enough for me.

Mikki

Hi everyone thanks for all the insite! I have to say I think @NJCJOE joe hit it right on the nail. Just what I was thinking about, but didn't know and didn't remember from his build thread. Perfect!

Joe do you remember where you got them from?

@NJCJOE Hi Joe, just wanted to let you know that I found them and at $89 for 12 is right down my price range!

Thank you so much for your help!

@mike g. posted:

Hi everyone, some of you know I am building a new train room which is 16' X 20'.

What I am looking for is advice on ceiling lighting. My first thought is dimmable LED light, but not sure what type or spacing. I know there are several folks in the know of this kind of stuff so any help would be great! Below is a snapshot of the future layout.

@mike g.

Mike:

Let me start by saying that you have a GREAT layout plan!!!!!

I am not a lighting expert by any stretch of the imagination but, that has never stopped me in the past. The way the layout it situated around the walls plus your yard in the center seems as if it is perfect for track lighting. Also, I suspect that there are track lighting systems that use LEDs for illumination that will not add to the ambient summer heat.

Yet another of my hair-brained ideas is to have the main on/off light switch on the wall as you enter the room and, wherever your main train controls are located, have the output wires from the main wall switch go through a secondary dimmer switch to control daylight and nighttime lighting effects while operating the trains.

Keep posting your progress. We all are eager to see your finished(?) product.

Be aware that incandescent and LED wattage ratings are NOT the same! A dimmer rated for 600 watts incandescent is only rated for 150 watts when connected to LEDs. That means you need multiple dimmers with LEDs. Pay attention to the actual wattage of the LEDs and the output lumins. More expensive LEDs typically have higher output.

Note that the wattage considerations above do not apply if the dimmers are replaced with standard switches.

Chris

P&O