Traffic signal

[Nutty 5.0]

I just ordered one (Used obviously) and it has a sequencer to flash just like on the street. Oddly enough I did a search and didn't find any posts on this. Curious if anyone else has one or more and how you mounted it.

Mine is the 12" light which comes to about 42" high!

 

[35mastr]

I used to collect the real ones. After they were kncked off the pole from a accident. I would just rewire them with regular sockets and set up a delay timer inside. Like somthing simular that they use in Christmas lighting.

But that was too many beers ago. I havent seen any down in awile.

 

[Nutty 5.0]

This is a real one too that was retired, so I'm told due to most areas going to LED's for lack of maint. and energy savings. They're all over online. I thought it would be a great addition for the garage.

So George, they're already 110v? And the sockets need changed for what reason? Just curious as I was looking at getting one that wasn't ready for plug and play.

 

[35mastr]

Its been awhile,But if I remember the bulbs that they come with are pretty big in the socket dept. I just would replace the sockets with normal 110 ones and rewire it to work off a toggle switch that I either hid on top or on the bottom of the light. Depending on the height the light was placed.

 

[Rolling_Thunder]

My sons father inlaw work on those kind of things. He probably has 50 behind his house! They fixed one up for me 2 years ago for Xmas! It hangs in a corner of my garage!!!

 

[Nutty 5.0]

Rolling Thunder, how did you hang it?

 

[cobymedic]

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=509049#post509049

He might be able to help you, he just posted these pics not that long ago.

 

[35mastr]

You can either hang them with a small chain or mount it with a lenth of tube to a pedastal stand.

 

[SILVERPLATE]

The wall on the left is CBS block. I just drilled a couple of holes thru the case and attcahed to wall with TAPCON's. Since my light is in a corner I only attached it on the left side. It is not very heavy at all. I also have a walk/don't walk but in storage due to the lack of sapce.

 

[Ramblur]

Mines not mounted right now but I did put a sequencer in it that I got on
ebay reasonable. I also wired a motion detector in the circuit before the
sequencer so it only works when somebodies in the area.

 

[Nutty 5.0]

Thanks guys. Lots of good info!

 

[Kevin54]

I mounted mine by going through the center of the top and the center of the bottom and then used two deck screws to fasten it to the wall going into the stud. Also if you run regular lamps, they seem to blow on a regular basis. I had three CFL's and have not blowed one. I did not have a sequencer in mine so all of the lights stay on at one time. Witha regular lamp I think the heat would cause them to blow.

 

[Rolling_Thunder]

Rolling Thunder, how did you hang it?

I used a chained wrapped around a ceiling joist to hang mine! At least for now! Still havent installed my ceiling!

 

[dragracer98]

You can either hang them with a small chain or mount it with a lenth of tube to a pedastal stand.

Mine is mounted similar to what George is talking about. When I got my signal it had a screw in bracket attached to the bottom of it, where it was once mounted to a pole. I took the bracket off and not wanting to drill any holes in the light, I attached a small square piece of wood over the hole left by the bracket. I used a piece of 1/4' plywood on the bottom of the light and a flat piece of metal inside of the light. I used metal due to the lack of space inside the light. A bolt through the middle with a large flat fender washer on the plywood and a large fender washer and nut on the inside of the light. Think of building a sandwich. Then I went to Lowe's and purchased a piece of galv pipe that is 1-1/4" D x 60" H and a pipe flange to fit. Mounted the pipe flange to the plywood on the bottom of the light . Screwed in the pipe to the flange and mounted the whole thing in a cast iron umbrella stand that I had. The pipe fits great and even has a screw knob on the side of the stand to tighten it down. I need to take it back apart to paint the pipe, but that will only take a few minutes . Just one of those projects on the "to do" list. I have the light in the corner of the garage and I would say that it is probably a foot from the top of the light to the ceiling. I do like the ones on here mounted to the wall. My signal was hanging in St Louis,MO when Route 66 went through there. Since the light does have some history, I didn't want to drill any holes in it. Sorry I don't have a pic, camera died and haven't replaced it.

Randy

 

[Terry Kennedy]

I just ordered one (Used obviously) and it has a sequencer to flash just like on the street. Oddly enough I did a search and didn't find any posts on this. Curious if anyone else has one or more and how you mounted it.

I have a railroad signal which is similar, but weighs a lot more since it is intended to be pole-mounted.

It is screwed to the top of some 4" black pipe, as that is the way it was originally mounted.

Old-time railroad signals use lamps that are incredibly hard to find (you have to order enough for the manufacturer to do a special run, so all the museums using these signals batch their orders).

Depending on the age of the traffic light, you may find a variety of lamp types. In the 70's a more complex shape was used (rather than the standard A19) which supposedly focused the light better. There were also some dual-filament lamps (to reduce the risk of a dark signal). Later on, LED retrofits were manufactured, some as screw-in replacements and others requiring a rewire.

If you're using the light for decoration, any lamp that will fit should do, since it won't be experiencing the vibration and temperature extremes the fixture would normally have. You may want to go to a lower wattage as the stock lamps are pretty bright up close. Also, you don't care about clear vs. frosted (traffic lamps are clear).

 

[Axis11]

I hung mine with a few bolts through a tube, then hung it from hooks into the ceiling joist.

I stripped the old paint and repainted mine, replaced the old gasket around the doors, and switched my wiring to DC, the local electrical store had bulbs that ran on DC current.

I plugged an old tyco train transformer to the light that comes on when you use the garage door opener; then used two of these home security beam sensors mounted in the ceiling with some relays to trigger the lights as I pull in to the garage.

So the garage opens and the light is green to pull in; trigger the first sensor and it changes to yellow; trigger the second sensor when you are in enough to close the door and the light changes to red.


Now I know I could have hung a tennis ball by a string to achieve the same thing, but where's the fun in that?

 

[tcianci]

SOOOOO cool!

 

[durbancic]

Axis, rofl, that is awesome! my wife would love that hehe

 

[cobymedic]

Axis that is friggin SWEET!! You have to do a write up on that.

 

[The Hot Rod Grille]

Here are some pics of mine. The 4-way Crouse-Hinds traffic light and the 4-way Crouse-Hinds caution light both have the rare "eyebrow" lenses and are hung from the ceiling with original C-H brackets. The Crouse-Hinds single traffic light is hung on the wall with a cast iron plant hanger from Home Depot. The Dont Walk/Walk light and the Railroad crossing light were restored to look and work as originally intended. All lights are equipped with control circuit boards from a company called "Lights To Go" and operate using 120 volt, 25 watt clear bulbs. I'm currently in the process of restoring a neon Dont Walk/Walk light from the 1940's. I'll post pics when it's finished.

Jim

 

[e-tek]

Axis11 wins most ingenious and most work into a park-o-matic!! Great work.

Hot Rod Grill - do you have a thread of your garage?

 

[Nutty 5.0]

Awesome stuff guys!

 

[N8]

I hung mine with a few bolts through a tube, then hung it from hooks into the ceiling joist.

I stripped the old paint and repainted mine, replaced the old gasket around the doors, and switched my wiring to DC, the local electrical store had bulbs that ran on DC current.

I plugged an old tyco train transformer to the light that comes on when you use the garage door opener; then used two of these home security beam sensors mounted in the ceiling with some relays to trigger the lights as I pull in to the garage.

So the garage opens and the light is green to pull in; trigger the first sensor and it changes to yellow; trigger the second sensor when you are in enough to close the door and the light changes to red.


Now I know I could have hung a tennis ball by a string to achieve the same thing, but where's the fun in that?

Thats fantastic!