Atlas announced the LED street lights today, and SD60, and TOFC

[peteski]

That light reminds me of the top of these:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tnfLB9gQnaQ/TfHYDgvft3I/AAAAAAAAaoI/-6ZGQcgf-i8/s1600/The-War-Of-The-Worlds-13.jpg

Does yours also have a heat-ray option?   

Ya know, you might be onto something here.  When I was building my lamps I had this feeling that I was inspired by something I've seen somewhere but I couldn't quite place it.  Bingo!  You got it!  Now I know!

The heat-ray is indeed optional. For those I replace the cool white LEDs with infrared LEDs. 

Seriously though, I was looking to model a street lamp where the mast and arm appeared to be a single piece (for easy and rugged construction).  Like this one:

[towl1996]

Looks a little funky during daylight, but when the lights are dimmed...


Lee

...and the beverages have  been consumed.....Truer words have never been spoken!

[wcfn100]

RE: Street Lights

Cory or Paul if you're still out there.  The comment about the street lights being imported made me think about those high rise buildings and how they just sort of disappeared.

Are these lights going to be around going forward?  I can't afford to buy many extras or 'just in cases' but I don't want to be short one or two and then be SOL.

I understand that you can't predict the future, but how do you see these lights playing into the big scheme of things?

Jason

[Atlas Paul]

I first saw these lights about 4 years ago at Toy Fair in Germany, so the company that makes them has been around at least that long.  I feel fairly certain that they will be around a while longer.

As far as the high rise buildings, I have no idea what happened to those molds.  They were brought to us by Patal, when we were marketing their HO line of structures.  The HO tooling has resurfaced elsewhere, but I have never seen nor heard of where the N scale buildings may have ended up.

Paul

[mcjaco]

They are perfect for modular layouts as they can be removed for transport, and reinstalled within minutes during set up.

This is why I like them.  They're dumbed down with the resistor already there. For the average modeler out there, this fits the bill.  I think you guys are being a bit rough.

Honestly, I don't get too excited about lights.  Once you start putting in working street lights, you better start lighting interiors, and car headlights and tail lights too. 

[wcfn100]

I first saw these lights about 4 years ago at Toy Fair in Germany, so the company that makes them has been around at least that long.  I feel fairly certain that they will be around a while longer.

Fair enough, thanks Paul.


Jason

[Scottl]

This is why I like them.  The dumbed down with the resistor already there. For the average modeler out there, this fits the bill.  I think you guys are being a bit rough.

Honestly, I don't get too excited about lights.  Once you start putting in working street lights, you better start lighting interiors, and car headlights and tail lights too.

+1, I think this group reaction is a bit much.  It looks like a well engineered product that will have appeal.  It is clear that it is straddling the spectrum between low cost and detailed/functional. 

I'm happy to see Atlas coming out with new product.

[Bob Bufkin]

I don't think we're being too harsh on Atlas.  Gotta remember that we are a bunch of cheap bastards who would rather roll our own sometimes than spend cash.  They are near lights but I also think the price is a bit much.

[mcjaco]

I don't think we're being too harsh on Atlas.  Gotta remember that we are a bunch of cheap bastards who would rather roll our own sometimes than spend cash.  They are near lights but I also think the price is a bit much.

I think you're confusing cheap and frugal.

I consider Lee to be the best at being frugal.  He finds ways of making things work with what he's got on hand, or finding something that fits the bill at a resale shop, etc.

Being cheap is not spending dollars and complaining about anything at a certain price point, because you don't want to spend the cash.  $27 for a LED lit micro street lamp, that's sorely missed in N, is worth the cash. I say well done Atlas. 

If anyone can make these at a better price point, pony up. 

[MichaelWinicki]

This is why I like them.  They're dumbed down with the resistor already there. For the average modeler out there, this fits the bill.  I think you guys are being a bit rough.

Honestly, I don't get too excited about lights.  Once you start putting in working street lights, you better start lighting interiors, and car headlights and tail lights too.

I don't either... For pretty much that exact reason.  Once you start, you had better plan on doing everything.

And once you're done it's not like you can really run your layout with the main room lights off... I tried when I was a kid, it wasn't pretty. 

I love some lights that were unpowered, but of the correct size/scale.

[SkipGear]

It's definitely a slippery slope once you start with lighting, and I haven't even thought about street lights yet.....



Once you light the buildings, you realize that they now need interior, signs need to be lit, back porch lights, hay bales in the loft, animals in the pens....etc. etc.





***Disclaimer - HO structures - all lighting scratch built.

[peteski]

Honestly, I don't get too excited about lights. Once you start putting in working street lights, you better start lighting interiors, and car headlights and tail lights too.

Exactly - you do understand!
Some modelers (like me) enjoy lighting things up to the Nth degree.  That is why I threw in my five cents about the new Atlas lights.

Here are some other street lamps I made (no fiber optics).




And more N scale night time illumination.









  I do realize that not all the people have the ability or inclination to roll their own lamps like I do. The reason I do it is mostly because most commercially available lamps are oversize (masts are too thick).  I'm not going to deny it, the price is also a factor of course.  I can make my lamps for a dollar or two a piece (in cost of parts) and they are closer to being in-scale.  I realize that I'm not including the cost of labor here.

To me Atlas lamps look over complicated (I'm sure that all of this adds to the price).  I also don't buy them being removable as a really useful feature. The LED is in the base (and it will most likely never burn out anyway).  Most street lights are also installed in urban areas and they are protected by the buildings around them. They don't need to be removable for protection.

I guess that since I won't be buying the Atlas lamps anyway, I shouldn't be criticizing them. But that wouldn't be any fun! 
To be fair though, looking at the night time photos from the Atlas website, some of their new lamps do seem to cast some light on the ground below them.   But at a $20 a pop I wouldn't be buying them anyway.

[rswinnerton]

See, I need lights and lots of them. The final plan for the layout calls for orange and blue rope lights (on computer controlled dimmers) to run behind the scenery backdrop. The ceiling will have regular lights with sunlight warmth bulbs and a second set of lights with a dark blue gel. The plan goes that as the fast clock approaches a set time (say 6pm) the 'sun' lights slowly start to fade as the orange lights behind the backdrop come up to represent sunset. Then the blue rope lights come up as the oranges go down and the room lights transition from sunlight to the dark blue lights. Then the orange ropes go out, followed by the blue ones. At that point, all that's left is the blue room lights to give some light to the room. As the lights are going down, all the layout lights are coming on at varying times.

Some of the highlights I hope to have include:
-Coal mine covered in fibre optic pinpoints of light representing manway and operations lights, yard floodlights, office lights, and assorted flashers and strobes on equipment.
-Residential section with house lights, street lights, porch lights, traffic lights, etc
-Commercial / Industrial section with street lights, building lights and blue flag lights on the track on industrial sidings

And of course, crossing lights, yard lights etc.

That's why I can't afford expensive lights.
Russ

[Sokramiketes]

Yes, they are pretty bright, but so are your typical soda vapor cobra heads downtown.  I like the way it provides a nice wash of light over the buildings nearby, not just a pool of light on the ground.

Lee

Just a point of order, streetlights of that type, by design, are meant to light the street and not everything surrounding them.  People don't usually like them shining in their windows at night so there are specific lighting patterns and cutoffs that are employed.

[sizemore]

The S.