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Places that have extremely old signals

Started by traffic light guy, June 09, 2018, 11:02:01 AM

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traffic light guy

I need some good stuff, I'm talking at least 40 years old. 4-Way signals, crouse-hinds art decos, worded pedestrian signals. What are some cities that still have ancient artifacts, any suggestions. Ian has named a few places for me, anyone else know of places that have some ancient artifacts. I know that Trenton is the king of old signals


US71

#1
Quote from: traffic light guy on June 09, 2018, 11:02:01 AM
I need some good stuff, I'm talking at least 40 years old. 4-Way signals, crouse-hinds art decos, worded pedestrian signals. What are some cities that still have ancient artifacts, any suggestions. Ian has named a few places for me, anyone else know of places that have some ancient artifacts. I know that Trenton is the king of old signals

Kansas City, MO has an Art-Deco signal
https://flic.kr/p/5oyDRE

The railroad museum in Cameron, MO has an old GE 4-Way that still operates when the museum is open.
https://flic.kr/p/25kxkDx
(there is a donut shop about half a mile north that has some older railroad signals)

There is a Darley flasher in Norborne, Missouri.
https://flic.kr/p/nS5H22

There is an autobody shop near Trumann, AR that has an old Darley that's still functional.
https://flic.kr/p/26fdhGQ

Clarksville, AR has an old 4-Way flasher
https://flic.kr/p/4v165y

Baxter Springs, KS has an old flasher, but I don't think it works anymore
https://flic.kr/p/a1Hyqr

Hamburg, AR has the state's last 4-way (to my knowledge)
https://flic.kr/p/YtkyQf

Oklahoma has lots of old 4-ways, mostly along the business routes
Hugo, Pawnee, Perry, Miami, Idadel

Some older post signals, as well in Muskogee
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

freebrickproductions

Athens, AL; Gadsden, AL; Fort Payne, AL; and Florence, AL all have plenty of old signals (especially the first three).
It's all fun & games until someone summons Cthulhu and brings about the end of the world.

I also collect traffic lights, road signs, fans, and railroad crossing equipment.

(They/Them)

index

#3
https://www.google.com/maps/@36.3931014,-78.9858105,3a,60y,23.02h,100.16t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1skJgIM-r_rfJbSCkpE3cDFA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656


Roxboro, NC used to have this old signal. It was unfortunately replaced with a four way stop.
Burlington, NC might have quite a few old signals but I'm not sure they're that old.
I love my 2010 Ford Explorer.



Counties traveled

steviep24

The Albany, NY area still has a lot of really old signals.

roadman65

NYC, although they have replaced their signals over the past 6 decades, still love the old double guy mast arms that went out long before bell bottom pants did.  So even though they are not old (unless NYC still has some left that are mast arms or signal heads from the 1950's) the style is still 1940 or 50 ish.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

index

These look to be old...


https://www.google.com/maps/@35.6121225,-77.3803391,3a,45.3y,144.93h,118.02t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sQfxwp-7qL_-hOevjeXDDjg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656


I know Greenville, NC has a lot of 8 inch signals that appear rather old, and I believe it's also home to the only 8-8-8-12 signal in North Carolina. I also believe it has one or two all 8 inch doghouses left. I could be wrong, though. I know for a fact I've seen them in NC though.
I love my 2010 Ford Explorer.



Counties traveled

jakeroot

I can't seem to get the Youtube app to work on my phone, so I can't share my video for the time being. But here's some photos from the South Tacoma Way/Wilkeson St intersection in Tacoma, WA. Almost certainly one of the oldest signal setups in my area. All 8-inch signals (except for a relatively new PEEK arrow), and two-section ped heads with all word displays. Neither is common here, and all 8-inch displays are almost unheard of outside Seattle.

Three of the ped heads are clearly Eagle's, but not sure what the other one is. Also no idea who made the 8 inch signals. The are definitely not LED retrofits, like nearly all other signals in Tacoma.












jay8g

Seattle has a lot of very old signals still around. This beacon is probably one of the oldest, and Pioneer Square also has quite a few very old installations, some of which don't even have pedestrian signals (very uncommon in Washington). This intersection has a full compliment of two-box word pedestrian signals, which not super common around here anymore (but certainly not unheard-of, even outside Seattle).

freebrickproductions

#9
Quote from: jakeroot on June 10, 2018, 02:29:42 AM
I can't seem to get the Youtube app to work on my phone, so I can't share my video for the time being. But here's some photos from the South Tacoma Way/Wilkeson St intersection in Tacoma, WA. Almost certainly one of the oldest signal setups in my area. All 8-inch signals (except for a relatively new PEEK arrow), and two-section ped heads with all word displays. Neither is common here, and all 8-inch displays are almost unheard of outside Seattle.

Three of the ped heads are clearly Eagle's, but not sure what the other one is. Also no idea who made the 8 inch signals. The are definitely not LED retrofits, like nearly all other signals in Tacoma.













Second 9 inch ped is a Crouse-hinds Type R (I actually have one from the Pittsburg, PA area), and the 8 inch signals are "short-groove" Econolite signals. Nice finds!

Quote from: jay8g on June 10, 2018, 03:22:47 AM
Seattle has a lot of very old signals still around. This beacon is probably one of the oldest, and Pioneer Square also has quite a few very old installations, some of which don't even have pedestrian signals (very uncommon in Washington). This intersection has a full compliment of two-box word pedestrian signals, which not super common around here anymore (but certainly not unheard-of, even outside Seattle).

That beacon is an old Eagle 4-way. The signal on Pioneer Square that you posted is a Crouse-hinds "Art-deco" signal. The 9 inch pedestrian signals I'm not sure who made them (look to possibly be Econolite, but can't say for sure). The 12 inch worded pedestrian signals are some of those bulky Econolite pedestrian signals from the "Bullseye"-era. Nice finds as well!
It's all fun & games until someone summons Cthulhu and brings about the end of the world.

I also collect traffic lights, road signs, fans, and railroad crossing equipment.

(They/Them)

cl94

Quote from: steviep24 on June 09, 2018, 09:24:48 PM
The Albany, NY area still has a lot of really old signals.

Uh, yeah. I live here and it's hard to go anywhere without seeing one. Troy in particular has a boatload of old 4-ways, at least one of which has a command lens for the yellow.
Please note: All posts represent my personal opinions and do not represent those of my employer or any of its partner agencies.

Travel Mapping (updated weekly)

Bitmapped

Gassaway, WV has two signalized intersections. Both have ancient 4-way signals with really sloppy controllers:
Signal Service Corporation signal - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjWLtTA8Qu0
Darley with integrated timer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-NhZ3QGTos

traffic light guy

Quote from: Bitmapped on June 11, 2018, 09:51:18 PM
Gassaway, WV has two signalized intersections. Both have ancient 4-way signals with really sloppy controllers:
Signal Service Corporation signal - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjWLtTA8Qu0
Darley with integrated timer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-NhZ3QGTos

Is the yellow bulb blown out, or is that because of the extremely sloppy controller?

roadman65

Rahway, NJ used to have some pretty old ones.  Even after painting the poles to green they still were old.  I am not sure how many of them are left as along CR 613 (Grand Avenue) Union County replaced a lot of them with some of the latest Union County's own unique mast arms (part of the arm droops over the other side of the pole while sitting over the top of it rather than extend from it like normal) at many intersections.  Do not know how many of the non county roads still have the old signal poles up yet.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

thenetwork

Denver, Colorado still has a lot of 40+ year-old signals scattered around town -- A lot of 12-8-8s.


jakeroot

Quote from: thenetwork on June 13, 2018, 10:32:48 PM
Denver, Colorado still has a lot of 40+ year-old signals scattered around town -- A lot of 12-8-8s.

Has Denver been using all 12-inch signals since then? Most municipalities in Washington used 12-8-8 signals in some form until at least the early noughties. BC still installs 8-inch signals with regularity.

thenetwork

Quote from: jakeroot on June 14, 2018, 12:47:48 AM
Quote from: thenetwork on June 13, 2018, 10:32:48 PM
Denver, Colorado still has a lot of 40+ year-old signals scattered around town -- A lot of 12-8-8s.

Has Denver been using all 12-inch signals since then? Most municipalities in Washington used 12-8-8 signals in some form until at least the early noughties. BC still installs 8-inch signals with regularity.

Most of the signals in downtown and along the primary roads in the metro are full size.  Overhead 12-8-8s are found mostly along secondary streets and at intersections where secondary lights are on vertical poles.  I think it's a slow conversion that only happens when the old signals cannot be fixed, or if the intersection is upgraded/widened -- hence why you never know what to expect at any given intersection. 

Even the backplates around some signals can vary widely from none at all to solid aluminum painted black (which was par for the course on Colorado signals going all the way back to the 60s).

ErmineNotyours

Vashon Island Ferry Dock Directional Signal by Arthur Allen, on Flickr

At the ferry dock at the north end of Vashon Island.  The backing sign has been updated, but there's no reason to update the actual signals.  This style looks like the turn signal arrows pictured in the Washington State Driver's Training Guide.

360 degree image

(I thought I recently saw an intersection in Pullman, Washington with new LED fat-arrow turn signal, but I can't find a view of it.)

griffinisland

Seattle's historic Pioneer Square district still has some old signals in use :) Check these out at the intersection of 2nd and James. I will try to get some better photos of them the next time I am in that area.




Joe The Dragon

this one in Chicago still has a old electro-mechanical controller
https://goo.gl/maps/UyDf3wsCukC2

RobbieL2415

Towns in MA like to sometimes keep their old ground-mounted signals from the 1950s/60s.  This is especially true in more affluent towns (Longmeadow, Amherst, the nice parts of Pittsfield) and on the Cape (probably to keep them from getting downed by noreasters.

Rothman

Quote from: RobbieL2415 on October 22, 2018, 08:03:32 AM
Towns in MA like to sometimes keep their old ground-mounted signals from the 1950s/60s.  This is especially true in more affluent towns (Longmeadow, Amherst, the nice parts of Pittsfield) and on the Cape (probably to keep them from getting downed by noreasters.
Amherst has added overhead signals to its ground-mounted over the years.  This was most welcome at MA 116 and MA 63 some years back.  Used to just have pedestal signals there!

Amherst had also re-evaluated where its signals are, especially after the demolition of UMass' Frat Row, removing a set at the top of Fearing Street.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

mrcmc888

A pair of old ones in Newark, DE!

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.6747763,-75.7566509,3a,75y,279.18h,84.88t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sIebqGuIxldetK0ivam0KLA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

There are also several around the greater area especially in the Christiana region.  It's not at all uncommon to see lights like this hanging from crossed wires over the street.

ipeters61

Found some interesting signals in Cumberland MD when I went the weekend before last, but only had one photo:



Also, PA-23 near US-202, Bridgeport, PA
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed on my posts on the AARoads Forum are my own and do not represent official positions of my employer.
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traffic light guy

Quote from: ipeters61 on October 22, 2018, 06:51:02 PM
Found some interesting signals in Cumberland MD when I went the weekend before last, but only had one photo:



Also, PA-23 near US-202, Bridgeport, PA
Looks like a Crouse-Hinds Type R

LG-M327




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