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The Museum
of Road Signs and Signals
and street lighting
The Village miniature
(Trooz)
Traffic light signals
The idea of integrating light signals was first mooted at Beaufays in the early 1980s. The first flashing signal, of which we have no physical trace, was lit by a small 1.2 watt filament lamp. Unfortunately, as this bulb was enclosed in a very small, unventilated space, it burnt out very quickly... So another solution had to be found.
Right from the start of the Villages imagination, ATEA signals were the obvious choice for reproduction. We will see a little later that Swarco and Westinghouse made their appearance in Trooz.
ATEA traffic lights, 1980s
Chênée, scale 1/1
ATEA traffic lights, year 2016
The Village, 1/10th scale
1-First-generation signals:
Since the filament bulb experiment was a failure, the LED was tested with very positive results. It is currently the preferred technology for designing traffic lights. Fortunately, we have kept just one example of this very old miniature signal... and it still works!
The LED was mounted on a transparent support and integrated into a small plastic reflector. The whole unit was protected from humidity by silicone injected into the light box. The disadvantage of this technique was that it took a long time to manufacture, as the silicone had to dry before the signal could be manufactured.
Look at the elaborate construction of this light box, with small separations between the lenses. This feature disappeared with the design of second-generation signals.
Finally, the suncaps, so characteristic of these signals, were made from "Béogaze" dressing tins, which had the advantage of being made of thin metal walls. The disadvantage was that they rusted, making regular painting necessary.
In Beaufays, only one crossroads was equipped, and there were also two flashing signals in dangerous places.
2-Second-generation signals:
Although the use of LEDs was a minor revolution in the Village, there was still one obvious source of dissatisfaction: luminosity, which was not excellent, and the distribution of light over the lens, which was not complete.
Around 1985, another idea emerged: to use several LEDs to try and solve these problems. Given the limited space available in a signal (a lens has a diameter of 20 mm), the choice fell on a series of several 3 mm LEDs, while respecting the voltage of 12 volts: put 4 3 mm diodes in series.
As luck would have it, the Village kept the very first second-generation signal.
We can only see 7 diodes, the eighth being hidden inside the firebox. This is the prototype! The aim was to distribute the LEDs evenly over the lens, which explains why only 7 LEDs are visible. These LEDs were also placed through the plastic surface, so holes were needed. This manufacturing approach proved to be very time-consuming and the holes made in the face let moisture in, despite the presence of silicone.
It was first deployed at Beaufays, before returning to service at Trooz in 1995. Here it is in operation in 2002 on this very poor quality video. The triangular A1d signal you can see also has a fine history, which we'll look at in another section of this site (illuminated signals).
This prototype is unique because the manufacturing technique was very quickly adapted to be a little faster. The 8 LEDs (2 x 4 in series) were placed in the lens to be covered and they were placed behind the transparent face. Silicone was always used to make everything watertight (poor quality video from 2002):
3-Third-generation signals:
It's 2010, and signals made from silicone are starting to show signs of fatigue: silicone with water and the inevitable infiltrations in the light boxes are causing some lenses to go out. So a new technique had to be found... Hot-melt adhesive was chosen as the sealant. Another advantage is that it allows signals to be produced more quickly, as it dries in just a few minutes. What's more, the hot glue ensured that the light was evenly distributed across the 20mm lens. The idea of LEDs mounted in series was abandoned in favour of 5 mm 'high intensity' LEDs placed in the centre and offset from the surface of the lens.
The hot glue technique gave very good results and prevented internal corrosion of the diode. It's worth noting that the iron used in bandage boxes for sun caps was abandoned in favour of lead. Lead was easy to work with, and corrosion was also easy to control. Its disadvantage was that it was heavy and significantly altered the signal's centre of gravity. As a result, it was easier to break in the event of an impact.
4-Fourth-generation signals:
Here we are in 2016... The Village's light signals continue to evolve. Although the hot-glue technique had been definitively adopted, the brightness of the light and its distribution on the lens still needed to be improved. It was therefore decided to use diodes distributed over 4 points placed behind a lens on which there was an imitation spider's web made of hot glue (which could be seen at ATEA, among others). It was also in 2016 that lead was abandoned for the sun caps, in favour of heated, hand-formed PVC.
Glass lens moulded into a "spider's web" shape to distribute light more evenly across the lens.
ATEA signal, 1/1 scale
Signal Village, 1/10th scale
5-Fifth-generation traffic lights:
With the help of Florent, who has been following the adventures of the Village's illuminated signage for a number of years, all the equipment will be overhauled again in 2020-21, and the COB LED will make its appearance: a thin element that's easy to work with, very evenly distributed over the lens, and exceptionally bright. The arrival of this technology will require a complete overhaul of all the Village's signals:
Complete dismantling on site. All underground cabling is also being replaced, with tinned multi-strand telephone cable being preferred for its robustness.
In the workshop, extraction of the entire electrical system from each light box (also known as a "lantern"). Placement of a coloured film over each lens.
Installation of the COB LEDs and moulding with hot glue.
Important step: test all signals before reassembly.
Finally, the signals are reassembled on their respective masts. The masts will have been cleaned and, in some cases, repainted.
Réimplantation sur le site.
Commissioning from the central controller.
6-Some special features:
6.1- The local school:
The major modernisation work carried out in the winter of 2020-21 enabled the traffic signals at the local school to be overhauled. Westinghouse equipment from the 50s and 60s was installed, with the special feature of signals for pedestrians.
Village "Westinghouse" signal, February 2021
6.2- The masts:
From the early 1980s to 2016, the masts for the illuminated signs in the villages of Beaufays and Trooz were made of plastic: a green aquarium tube for the mast and a 20 ml syringe for the base, all painted "signal" red. The white stripes were, and still are, made from self-adhesive vinyl. This technique has proved fragile over the years. In 2016, there was a radical change of approach: the masts became metallic. Copper was chosen, with a diameter of 10 mm for the mast and 22 mm for the base, the rounding of which was shaped by hand.
Plastic
Copper
6.3- The central controller:
During the mild winter of 2020-21, all the underground cabling for all the Village's traffic lights was replaced. A new control cabinet appeared in April 2021: formwork, concreting of the base of the cabinet and its installation. This part of the work was organised with Florent's expert advice.
Preparing the cabinet formwork in the workshop
Installation of this formwork on the Village site
Concreting the base
Installing the new control cabinet
Migration of the various signals to this central controller
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