Will he have to wear sun

That reminds me of the floor in the hotel room scene at the end of the 2001 A Space Odyssey movie, only the ceiling instead!

I put in 16 2x2 LED flat panel lights in my 15 x 33 basement layout area and my contractor asked if I was trying to get a sun tan!   I finished my own basement and installed a 2x2 suspended ceiling grid and the logical way to light the room was 2x2 LED panels.  I like the result however, the room is pretty evenly lit and I have a dimmer on it as well.

A dimmer for sure

Nice looking work, Jim. I agree that a dimmer might be nice. To avoid sunburn.But being able to dim the layout/when built, will be a plus. I've seen layouts that are totally dark and it's neat. But not easy to run trains. Having a little light like at dusk is good.

I agree with a dimmer

I agree that a dimmer would be necessary, or some way to turn on and off various panels. I also wonder if you could fit in 2 extra color LED strips per 2' spacing to allow for changing light conditions and night operations. I've heard of some guys doing that with flourescents and LED bulbs, but not full strips.

Age

As you age you need more light, old folks homes will have, what seems to younger people, too bright lighting but that is what you need to be able to see as you get older.

I just put in LED strip lights on the layout and my workbench, it is very bright on the workbench, probably blinding for someone in their 20’s but great for me!

@Jim Fitch that's a nice

@Jim Fitch that's a nice space. Would you have those lights omly on when in construction mode? 

My room uses all LEDs

I'm using the "Michael Rose" style home assembled LED strips - which is a labor of love and LED bulbs in track lighting.  This first picture is of the lighting.

This shows the scrape yard with both sets of lights on:

This shot is with only the LED track lights on:

This final shot is with the LED strip lighting only:

Hey Rick!

Excellent demonstration of lighting effect on photography. Do you have a favorite of the three and does that favorite match your favorite for in-person viewing?

Me, I'll take door #2.

Thanks, Rick

I'm tempted to pick the LED strips that Michael designed (and re-soldered for me!); however, I usually turn both sets of lights on for photography and only one set when running and I alternate that to give equal "wear" on both sets.

Rick

That looks fantastic! I've seen many layouts where the room is too dim (and 4' x 2' flourescent tubes every 8 feet count as this), and it absolutely destroys the immersion. What you have there looks exactly like a sunny day.

@Jim Fitch that's a nice

Thanks.  What other lights would I need?  Is this not sufficient?

But not being a lighting expert, I have chosen to install 2x2 LED flat panel lights and plan on using them for general layout lighting.  No plans for any fancy track lighting at this point.  The LED lighting appears to be good for the overall layout but I'll know more once I get things built and scenic'd.  At present I'm in the bench-work phase - see below.

Getting (slightly) older

As Brent stated above I've found at the young age of 50 I need much more light to see now than I did even a few years ago. I commented in another strip lighting thread that I'm shooting for 600-700 lumens per foot using 120v 4' LED linear bar fixtures. These are 5000K at 85 CRI so very close to a high-noon daylight.

Rick, more importantly....

we need to know why there is a giant Big Boy on your train layout.

I have heard more light is

I have heard more light is needed with aging.  That makes sense.  While I've been working on the bench-work, I typically dim the lights down substantially from their maximum and the room is still well lit.  If needed, I can raise brightness level quite a bit.  Right now there is one area that needs better lighting so I may add another 2x2 light there, or move an existing one over.  I tried to have enough wire installed to allow lights to move over, but in this spot, it's not quite long enough.