Classic 16" New York City Pedestrian Signal

[M3019C LPS20]

A while back, I acquired an original, worded pedestrian signal, in which had originally seen service in the city of New York.
Manufactured by the Winko-Matic company in 1989, this pedestrian signal has its original glass lenses ("DONT WALK" and "WALK") and louver intact. Below, are some pictures of it shortly after I received it.











For its age, the pedestrian signal is amazingly great shape (even though considered as "off-the-street" condition), and I realized its original color is practically the same color as my N.Y.C. Marbelite LPS-20 is (when placed next to it). Naturally, I inspected the inside, and the reflector assembly and lenses are in good shape as well. Everything was surprisingly easy to remove. No wear and tear, too. My curiosity led me to view the inside of the actual housing itself, and it was quite dirty (along with a nest inside of it). Though after a good cleaning, I noticed the common characteristics, in which make this an authentic New York City signal, such as the use of a marathon terminal block, for example, in which is still in use today from what I understand.

Like my New York City LPS-20 from Marbelite, there is a decal within the housing that has a statement, in which reads "PROPERTY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK," a year of manufacture (1989 as I mentioned), name of company, and some serial numbers. Below, is a picture of what this decal looks like within the actual housing itself.

For its age, the pedestrian signal is amazingly great shape (even though considered as "off-the-street" condition), and I realized its original color is practically the same color as my N.Y.C. Marbelite LPS-20 is (when placed next to it). Naturally, I inspected the inside, and the reflector assembly and lenses are in good shape as well. Everything was surprisingly easy to remove. No wear and tear, too. My curiosity led me to view the inside of the actual housing itself, and it was quite dirty (along with a nest inside of it). Though after a good cleaning, I noticed the common characteristics, in which make this an authentic New York City signal, such as the use of a marathon terminal block, for example, in which is still in use today from what I understand. See picture below of this kind of terminal block.



Like my New York City LPS-20 from Marbelite, there is a decal within the housing that has a statement, in which reads "PROPERTY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK," a year of manufacture (1989 as I mentioned), name of company, and some serial numbers. Below, is a picture of what this decal looks like within the actual housing itself.




And here's another decal I found that is on the lenses. Similar to the other decal (as far as what is printed on it).



Its history is mainly unknown at this time; however, what I do know is that the gentleman that I purchased this from bought it at a garage sale 15 years ago. With this said, I would like to imagine that this pedestrian signal was in useful service somewhere in New York City for a short period of time, and, due to whatever reason, it was most likely removed from service prior to the conversion of the hand and man, in which first began in 2000. This short period of time in service (as I guess) might explain why the pedestrian signal is in very good shape.

In any case, I am very happy to own this great piece of N.Y.C. traffic control memorabilia, and it is currently wired to my G.T.E. e/m signal controller. It operates along with the other N.Y.C. pedestrian signals I have as well. I'll post some pictures of the display soon.

[M3019C LPS20]

Here are two pictures of it wired to my signal controller. My two other pedestrian signals in the picture saw service in the city of New York as well.





Though not a complete set of all of the pedestrian signals that were and are in use in New York City, my set here shows a transition from one pedestrian signal to the next. A 27 year time period is shown. From 1975 to 2002. In order, from right to left, the Marbelite LPS-20 was manufactured in 1975, and its kind was removed from the streets of the city of New York by around 1985 or so. The next pedestrian signal that appeared in the picture was the Winko-Matic VI 2L AG pedestrian signal, in which, based on what I have seen in photographs, made its debut in the boroughs around 1982. Mine here was manufactured in later years. 1989 to be exact. By 2000, New York City D.O.T. first began the conversion to the hand and man, and all original 16" pedestrian signals that were in use were retrofitted. The process took about four to five years to complete. The last pedestrian signal shows my 2002 Cooper/AtLite L.E.D. hand and man insert, in which I placed in an empty Winko-Matic pedestrian signal housing.



Below, is a video of the set-up in operation.