A most unusual Appliance!

[firedome]

Just picked this up in Westchester Co, a completely new endeavour in restoration for us! Future decor for the garage, it's circa 1941 Crouse Hinds 4 way signal, it will be pole mounted ala the olden days, and repainted in its' original dark green. The company was, and still is, in Syracuse, and now a part of the Cooper conglomerate.

 

[rp2813]

That thing must weigh a ton!  I have a single type that I think likely had the scalloped visors over the lenses originally.  I wish I could find three of those for it.

 

Do the lenses have the "STOP," "CAUTION," and "GO" verbiage on them?

 

[revvinkevin]

It will be repainted in it's original dark green

 

 

Very cool, but how do you know the "original color" was dark green?   In that vintage photo you posted it looks like the color is light enough to be the yellow it is now, not dark enough as a green would be.

Kevin

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

OMG! I love it! Congratulations!

 

 

[firedome]

Kevin: the original Hunter Green color

reveals itself when you open the lens doors, as the inside was never repainted. Safety regulations at some point led many towns to repaint them yellow, this one was done with a brush! There was a green one just like this pole mounted on the corner of my Grandma's street in the '50s in Melrose Mass.

Ralph: as to the weight - yes it's pretty heavy, all cast aluminum, no stampings! It needs pretty heavy duty fittings to be cable span suspended when not mounted on a pole! No Command (Stop, Go, etc) lenses on this one, but they did come that way sometimes, very scarce to find now. There's quite a following for old signals and signs, eMail me thru AW.o Ralph and I think I can put you in touch with the visors that you need for your single-way.

My wife actually practiced Family Medicine in Barre VT where the 2nd picture was taken about 60 years later! The light is long gone unfortunately.

 

[supersuds]

Neat!

It would be cool to have one of those semaphore signals like you see in movies (Sunset Boulevard, for instance) that say STOP and GO on the semaphore arms AND a gong that sounds when the signal changes.

 

[rp2813]

When I was a kid, they still had old STOP/GO signals at a few intersections in San Francisco along with modern day types.  They weren't semaphores though.  I think they revolved and the command appeared in a horizontal window.

 

Roger, I'll check my single-way more closely and send you some pictures.  I think it may be a later type on and older style mount, and the cylindrical visors may be period correct.

 

Here in town, all the signals downtown used to have "command" lenses and they were mounted on relatively short fluted posts.  They disappeared during a multi-billion dollar redevelopment effort some 30 or so years ago, and the more historic areas that survived would now have a little more charm if they had saved them.

 

 

[philr]

That's a great find Roger! I really like old traffic lights!

 

[beekeyknee]

Roger,

You could get a whole bunch of them, hook them up in your living room and it would be just like a Bewitched episode. You'll need a nosy Gladys Kravitz to come over and peek in the window and squeal. lol.

Brian

 

[davey7]

Friends of my parents had a flashing stoplight (or maybe it was a RR signal) inside their glass front door. They were at the end of a T-junction and it was quite obvious from a long distance. People always thought it was a burglar alarm though.

 

[rp2813]

GE "Grooveback" Signal

Roger, I found a page on line with pictures of a GE single-way like mine, outfitted with the scalloped visors.

 

I have a short section of conduit (pipe) as well as the large decorative finial that would have fastened to the top of the signal post, but don't own a pipe wrench large enough to provide the necessary leverage to detach those pieces.  I'd be willing to get my hands on a large wrench and part with the finial assembly if that would help in facilitating a deal for the correct visors.

 

I've provided a link to the page where the pictures below (except the finial) were originally posted.

 

Thanks for any further advice you can provide,

 

Ralph

[this post was last edited: 1/12/2015-16:37]

http://www.kbrhorse.net/signals/ge02.html

 

[tolivac]

There was a store here that sold surplus traffic light fixtures--some of them had the retrofit LED lights!Guess should have bought one-another light for my "flashoholic" collection.Now in my area these types of lights hard to find .

 

[firedome]

Re: vintage traffic signals...

Those rotating command signals are super rare and desirable, as are semaphore types. both extremely scarce and even serious collectors rarely have one of those. Davey the flashing beacon your friends have are just the right size for in-the-house installation... great addition to any decor!

Ralph I'm having problems with my compy sending outgoing eMail so I'll send you one via the wife's, the 14 yr old iMac is really showing it's age lately. Willis Lamm is sort of a trailblazer and guru among hardcore signal collectors, everybody knows him and his huge collection at his ranch out in NV. He has a great trove of info on his website. GE Groovebacks are neat vintage signals, and well worth a good restoration.
Will help out however I can. All this stuff we play with is fun vintage Americana. Old signals and signs are rapidly disappearing but important icons of days gone by, just like our "regular" household appliances.