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The Museum
of Road Signs and Signals
and street lighting
Le Village miniature
(Trooz)
Road signs
The main challenge in creating a miniature village was to reproduce road signs (known as "vertical signs") on a scale that didn't exist and in accordance with Belgian rules and symbols. What's more, none of these signs were (or are) sold on the village scale, and neither are the Belgian signs. So it was in Beaufays that the first panels left the workshop. Like all the elements of the Miniature Village, making the signs was a succession of trials and techniques.
1- The very first village sign:
The village of Beaufays, the predecessor of Trooz, began with a long dirt track lined with wooden light poles treated with "carbonil".
The first sign to appear was a C3 signal, nailed to the first wooden post. It had a diameter of 6 cm and was made from non-reflective matt vinyl adhesive film. The signal was supported by a plastic surface (silver film used for medical X-rays). Unfortunately we have not kept this signal, but here is its representation:
2- The first mass production:
Very quickly, with the construction of concrete pavements, it became necessary to think about slightly more sophisticated and reflective signage. Two decisions were made: to use a metal base and to use retro-reflective adhesive films.
-Where to find the metal support? At the hospital, with the metal boxes from Biogaze:
Thin metal, can be cut with stretcher scissors.
-Where can I find reflective adhesive films? At a worksite equipment dealer, for example.
Once the material had been decided and assembled, it was time to manufacture... Let's take the A15 signal as an example:
1- Cut out and glue on a 45 mm white triangle
2- Glue a small 7 mm wide red strip around the edge.
3- Draw the symbol in negative, cut it out and place it in the triangle.
As the white and red reflective tape is not superimposed but placed side by side, the cuts had to be extremely precise. A scalpel was used... And still is today. As we didn't have today's means of reproduction, we had to redraw the symbols by hand.
Here are a few examples of panels on metal supports preserved in today's village:
Signal A31. It is unusual in that it is made from non-reflective film, but we don't know why. Is it a metal-backed copy made before the advent of retroreflective films? Special feature: reproduction of the complex symbol.
Signal C43, 65 mm in diameter. In addition to the difficulty of reproducing the font, placing the white and red stickers side by side presented a challenge.
Signal A51. Easy to reproduce on the surface, but complicated in practice because the exclamation mark had to be perfectly symmetrical vertically.
Type V signal. Probably not the most difficult signal to reproduce.
These are just a few examples of the signs manufactured in the 80s. You have to realise that research resources were not as well developed as they are today, and that in order to reconstruct these signs on a scale of +/- 1/10th, it was necessary to go out into the field, take measurements, establish dimensions and imagine the drawing of the symbols in miniature.
But ...
Two problems have arisen with these panels on metal supports:
-The lack of cans of Biogaze to make these supports.
-Rust on these panels, which are subject to local weather conditions. It is visible here only on the back of this panel, around the perimeter:
3- The second generation of signals:
To solve these two problems, it was decided to use a plastic substrate made from 1 mm thick PVC. This is still the method used today.
This B9 signal (priority lane) was designed on this plastic support. Note the side-by-side reflective sticker design which is still maintained at this stage. This sign measures 46 mm square. With this method, all signage in the village of Beaufays, then Trooz, was no longer hampered by a lack of materials. No particular care was taken with the backs of the signs, which were simply covered with a green sticker.
4- Lettering:
This was certainly the biggest challenge to solve... How do you make signs with text, in miniature and weatherproof?
We're not sure how we came up with the idea, but using "transfer letters" quickly became the obvious choice. Remember, they used to come in pockets, in different sizes:
Technically:
First, the substrate had to be prepared with two superimposed layers of adhesive. Then the letters to be transferred were placed harmoniously and precisely on the adhesives. Then each letter was cut out with a scalpel, and all that remained was to remove the top layer of adhesive to reveal the bottom layer. This technique was used to create the additional distance and direction signs:
Ce signal F27 de grande taille (200 mm sur 150 mm) pour l'époque est constitué des deux couches d'adhésifs: le blanc est réfléchissant, le bleu est mat (et facile à couper au bistouri). En ce temps-là, l'adhésif bleu réfléchissant n'existant pas encore. Une fois le lettrage bien disposé, les découpes étaient progressivement réalisées pour laisser apparaître le résultat final. Nous n'avons jamais évalué le temps nécessaire pour ce travail, mais plusieurs heures devaient être prévues. A l'observation du panneau, vous pouvez constater que la police de caractère ne correspond pas exactement à la police usuelle des panneaux belges.
5- The care taken with the back of the signals:
Quite soon after the Village of Trooz was built, an effort was made to design the signals by adding stiffeners. The aim was to respect the appearance of the Belgian "Ponts et Chaussées" signs, which have a specific shape.
B1 sign from 1977, photographed in Tilff in 2020. Note the rear structure, known as the "stiffener", which is stamped and bolted to give the sign its solidity.
The Miniature Village signals were probably designed in the same way between 1996 and 2000, and this method is still used today.
6- Making a road sign today:
With time, we now have a complete repertoire of all the Belgian symbols (1975 to 2024-26) used for our signs, at a scale of 1/10th of the village. The lettering is produced using a printer, but the letters are still cut out using a scalpel.
Step 1:
Depending on the needs of the Village, determine which signal is to be produced.
Step 2:
Bring the image of the signal back to the 1/10th scale of the Village. Make a stencil and file it in the technical repertoire. This stencil is printed on the "cache" tape used in painting (paper adhesive). This printed proof will be used to cut out the various elements with a scalpel.
Step 3:
Make the cut-outs and mount the panel on its plastic base. The panel shown here measures 60 mm in diameter. It is made with retro-reflective (blue and white) adhesives.
Step 4:
Turn the panel over and stick on the stiffener.
Step 5:
Place the coloured edging on the edges of the panel. Here, the edge measures 2 mm. All that remains to be done is to paint the back of the sign with the "fir green" colour.
Step 6:
The last step is to check that the final result is as expected. The panel still has to be glued to its copper post, called a "barrel", which is also painted "fir green".
7- Temporary signage in the Village:
The Village is equipped with signs that can be deployed on the site to indicate works, close roads, etc.
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