# headlight brightness



## lurch (Dec 27, 2007)

I run my trains a lot at night. I use very bright LEDs to throw a very long beam of light. I feel this is more real. I see reviews in the magazines about wrong color / brightness. Does anyone know just how powerful the real steam and diesel engines were? I now that it is "my" railroad but just wanted to know how others feel / deal with this. Thanks and have a great Thanksgiving!


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## Ron Hill (Sep 25, 2008)

I would like to know what kind of engine do you run at night? If you run USA, please tell me how you converted the dim incandescent bulb to a bright LED. And can you list the part numbers you used. I have been asking for a while about converting them to match the bright LED used on Aristo-Craft trains and no one could tell me. Thanks. 
Ron


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## lurch (Dec 27, 2007)

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I went onto Ebay and searched "LED" and bought 100 for about $10.00. I got them in bright white and in bright yellow. They came with resistors included. I use them in all my steam and diesel engines, I run LGB, Aristo, Bachmann. They can be installed in place of LEDs in most engines. I use them in place of incandescent bulbs using the supplied resistors. My recent Bachmann engine ( 2-6-6-2 Logger) came LED equipped but not bright enough for me! hope this helps some. My advise is just bite the bullet, get over the fear and just jump in because after you go bright you can not go back.


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

I use the "Warm white" ultra bright 5m LEDs and have been very happy with them.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

If you are really concerned about getting them bright, buy ones that specify the light output, and run them at max current. 

Regards, Greg


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## Jim Agnew (Jan 2, 2008)

I use the RAm Track super bright LEDs see http://www.reindeerpass.com/ram.aspx


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## Tom Parkins (Jan 2, 2008)

Prototype steam locomotive headlights were not all that bright. Most were 32 volt incandescent bulbs. Backwoods, short line engines may not even had that much. Modern diesels with ditch lights obviously light up much more. 


Current FRA Regulations:

229.125 - Headlights and auxiliary lights.
_
(a) Each lead locomotive used in road service shall have a headlight that produces a peak intensity of at least 200,000 candela......_
_...... Each headlight shall be arranged to illuminate a person at least 800 feet ahead and in front of the headlight._

I'm not sure how you scale light intensity. 1/29 of 200,000 candela = almost 7000 candela. ( 1 candela = light of a candle) 


Typical white LEDs that we might use would have an intensity of 4-5-6000 mcd (milli candela or about 1000 less than a 1/29 scale of the real thing)
Illuminating a person at 800 feet would scale to illuminating a scale person at about 28 real feet. I don't think that will happen. Obviously headlight intensity does not scale down by 1/29, just like we don't use 1/29 scale weight of rolling stock. 


***********

One of my more interesting experiences was running a passenger train on a 1:1 standard gauge Pacific tender first in the middle of the night. We ran at near 60 mph. Needless to say the tender back up light was pretty dim. The whistle post are all on the wrong side. And I was on a totally unfamiliar piece of railroad. There was a pilot whose words were essentially "You don't have to steer this thing, just run the engine". Talk about a thrill!!!! Oh yeah, later we go into emergency because some intoxicated passengers don't feel like riding all the way to the next station and pull the emergency brake as we go by their home. 

Tom


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## Paul Burch (Jan 2, 2008)

Here is a very handy link for calculating current limiting resistor value.
http://metku.net/index.html?sect=vi...eng#single


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

Let's see here - 800' in 1:20.3 is nominally 40'. My back yard ain't that big! Thank goodness I model the kerosene/oil era. No need to blind my neighbors with my headlights.  

...Oh yeah, later we go into emergency because some intoxicated passengers ... pull the emergency brake as we go by their home.
Had that happen on the Ski Train trip I took a few years back. Guess whose car got a flat spot on the wheel as a result. Ugh...

Later, 

K


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## jake3404 (Dec 3, 2010)

I thought Kevin's latest columns in GR magazine answer this question pretty good. I'd look those articles up Lurch. He deals specifically in lighting your railroad for night running. The latest was lighting your locomotives and railcars.


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## lurch (Dec 27, 2007)

The LEDs i have in my locos have a 10 degree beam and yes they put out an 18 inch circle of light at about 30 feet. I love when they go over an 8 foot bridge that faces toward a block wall and it looks like a movie projected on the wall.With the 10 degree beam it does not bother anyone watching the trains pass. Yeah they are bright but I love how they light up the buildings and trees and I just sit and imagine what it would be like to be a passenger on the train and waving to the folks we pass.


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## Ron Hill (Sep 25, 2008)

So what you are saying that these LED's come ready to install? I can unsolder the incandescent bulbs and install these in place and no problems arise? That is great. Most USA trains have two headlight bulbs. Is there a problem replacing two LED's in their place? 
Thanks, 
Ron


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## Ron Hill (Sep 25, 2008)

Lurch, your website link did not work. 
Ron


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## bnsfconductor (Jan 3, 2008)

You will have to solder a resister in series to the LED's but other then that it's a straight forward conversion. You might even be able to find LED's that have resisters already built into them too. 
I've got super bright white LED's on my GP9 and it looks great. 

Craig


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## Ron Hill (Sep 25, 2008)

Since we have a Radio Shack in town, is there a LED and resistor number that would work? Or could you give me the supplier, LED and resistor part numbers you used? I had a electronics model railroad guru that could not give me the information ya'll are giving me. Amazing! 
Thanks, 
Ron


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

A 1,000 ohm, 1/4 watt value is a good resistor to use with track power.


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## bnsfconductor (Jan 3, 2008)

If you can do math, it's fairly easy to figure out exactly what size resister you need. Here's a website that will help 
http://www.the12volt.com/ohm/ohmslawcalculators.asp 

And then each resister has a color coded band that signifies what type of resister you have. Fairly simple electronics project, and an easy way to learn how to solder if you haven't already. Don't forget to buy some heat shrink too. 
I 'think' I used 5mm bright white LED's in my locomotives. 

Craig


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## blueregal (Jan 3, 2008)

http://led.linear1.org/led.wiz Ron that calculator will not only give you resistor but show you how to wire up too. Regal 

Thanks also to Greg E. for giving me this, hope it helps someone else too.


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## izzy0855 (Sep 30, 2008)

I installed two Streamlight Vantage Lux 240 lumens LED's into my E8, that are smoke cutters PCB's and shine a beam of about 60ft. It's a show stopper! In addtion to the six in front, there are over 18 Red LED's underneath and two in the back from brake lights. Here's the link to my website: http://cordlessrenovations.com/?page_id=2200 









Rick Isard
Cordless Renovations, LLC
RCS America


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## JackM (Jul 29, 2008)

(a) Each lead locomotive used in road service shall have a headlight that produces a peak intensity of at least 200,000 candela...... 
...... Each headlight shall be arranged to illuminate a person at least 800 feet ahead and in front of the headlight. 

I'm not sure how you scale light intensity. 1/29 of 200,000 candela = almost 7000 candela. ( 1 candela = light of a candle) 


Typical white LEDs that we might use would have an intensity of 4-5-6000 mcd (milli candela or about 1000 less than a 1/29 scale of the real thing) 



Radio Shack carries white LEDs that put out 7000 mcd. 

Last year, I purchased some 5mm LEDs from www.theLEDlight.com ( SS5W4UCCC) that put out about 18000 mcd. They do a nice job in my Aristo GP-40. But - is mcd the same as candela? 

JackM


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Let me google that for you...; 
"The unit of measure commonly used to describe LED intensity is the millicandela (mcd), 1000 millicandela equals 1 candela. Candelas measures how much light is produced as measured at the light source." 

From superbrightleds.com 

John


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

I think I shared this last year... 

In the Christmas light section at Walgreens, they have strings of 50 warm white LED's for $5.00 per set. I've found that they work wonderfully for this type of application.


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## jake3404 (Dec 3, 2010)

Thats what I use Stan. I cut up a LED chirstmas light set I got on clearance last year. I know I didnt pay more than $5.00 for it.


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

They sure work great, Jake...


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

They are nice and inexpensive. If you are looking for the brightest or best "beam" then buying them from a distributor will give you that higher "quality". 

All depends on what you want as a result. 

Greg


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