I don't know why an 18 minute video about traffic lights in Victoria got recommended to me, but you've clearly put a lot of research into this so I'm gonna watch it
@@sbmetro165Same here... The presentation kept me watching. You did really well with the narration, I'll subscribe and check out what else you choose to cover.
Great, I'm going to have an accident at work today because I'll be too busy looking at traffic light. And I drive down Princess Street in Kew multiple times a day.
40 years working at VicRoads and its variants, 25 years in signals... and I learnt more about the signal hardware history in this video than during all my time designing their operation. Mighty good job... 👍
It's great to see a fellow niche infrastructure enthusiast. My niche interest is passenger ropeways (there have been 500 in Australia) and while I know nothing about traffic lights, it's great to see someone else documenting things that otherwise would be ignored.
Driven past the yellow light on Princess Street loads of times, never noticed it before. After watching this, I cannot unsee it! Thanks for pointing this one out!
Mate, this is one of the weirdest yet awesomest video's I've seen. Got me all tingly on vintage traffic lights. Love ya work and keep it up. Some insane research in this. And appreciated!!!.
I’ve lived in Melbourne my whole life (42 years) and never had even thought about traffic lights having different variants. As with a few other people I’ve got no idea how this was recommended to me. You’ve obviously done a lot of research and presented it well as I watched it right through.
On a flight back to Victoria I sat next to a guy who was incharge of all traffic lights. It was interesting to find out the money being saved by changing to LEDs. He also mentioned the heating elements put into road bridges to stop black ice. They also have monitors aimed at the surface to sample temperatures. Interesting video well done.
Yes. We have those temperature gauges for black ice on the Calder freeway round Gisbourne, Woodend, Harcourt. And also near me on the Midland highway outside Daylesford. They are connected to lights that will flash when temperatures drop below a certain temperature (2 or 3 degrees).
What a strangely interesting video. Thanks for all your research and effort. There was a set of Marshallite traffic signals at the intersection of Gaffney and Cumberland roads Pascoe Vale in the late 60's. I crossed this intersection going to school many times and they left a lasting memory.
I’m glad you liked it! Yeah I actually used a pic of that intersection in the video, I didn’t label the location though but if you look close enough you can see the road sign
Good work, I don’t think anyone has ever gone this far in-depth to Australian traffic light history. Hopefully it will act as a good resource and if anyone has more info regarding lesser-known companies they may come forward.
You just got me to click on this video, watch it all the way through, and now I'm invested in traffic light variants. Great stuff, keep up the good work!
The first time I really noticed and started to care about traffic lights was when my favourite set was replaced with LEDs a number of years ago. I didn't even realise I had a favourite set until it happened. It was the crossing at a school in Ballarat, and the green light on one of the sets had a particular depth to it which I loved, it looked really dark except for a highlight in the middle which I'd never seen on any other lamp. It probably wasn't very practical for drivers but I loved it, it reminded me of a jewel, and I have memories of seeing it as a child as it always marked that we were almost home after going away on holidays. I felt a particular twinge of sadness when one day it was gone, replaced by those terrible LED lights with the multiple diodes. I always note and appreciate a set of incandescent lights as a result. Excellent video, friend!
I’m glad you enjoyed the video! It’s a shame I haven’t been interested in traffic lights long enough to where I notice them being replaced, but I like going to my childhood locations in old streetview to check out what used to be there. I’m lucky most of the ones near my house are still original! Also if you ever want to see some older lights in Ballarat there are some on the intersection of Sturt and Dawson St!
Wow I noticed those after starting to pay more attention to traffic lights… after watching your video. How on earth do you find out about specific sets of old traffic lights in random country towns?!? P.S. This is probably one of the best videos I’ve watched all year, great job!
Varying traffic light technology is something I always notice everywhere I go but 99.99% of people wouldn't care if I spoke to them about it. So this was the perfect nerd video to watch with my dinner tonight. Thank you!
Thank you for this video on the vintage traffic lights across Melbourne and Victoria. Wish that we kept a few more over the years. Actually, I prefer older traffic lights (70s/80s/90s) than the modern ones. Today, we have far too many traffic lights across town, imo double the traffic lights we had 20 years ago; and they are smaller than what they used to be. I don't have a problem with the LED lights just more concerned with the size of the boards that they are on. If memory serves me correctly, there are some black and white pictures near the elevators at Geelong Plaza with the street scene around the plaza years ago with the older lights of the time. Growing up in the north east I'm happy that the unique lights at Greensborough mostly have stood the test of time, presumably the ones at Grimshaw St & The Circuit. I remember those from my childhood. Like you, as I go thru life I keep my eyes on the look out for new and old traffic lights and appreciate the old ones before they are all gone!
Excellent video! Thank you for creating this. One of my strongest memories from visiting Melbourne as a kid is looking at all the different traffic lights and signals. I'm the proud owner of an Eagle pedestrian crossing signal!
Was not expecting to watch a video about traffic lights, let alone see footage of Sale! Thanks for the recommendation RUclips. Great video! It was fascinating learning about such a overlooked part of history.
I am glad you mentioned Parrco as I used to work for them in the early 80s , During my time there we made ticket machines for parking etc... I have seen all the patterns for the old foundry castings... The factory was in Brunswick.
1:44 The Marshalite signals were absolutely brilliant, I had the pleasure of meeting the Son of the inventor, and no they didn’t cause a spate of accidents, the opposite was actually true. Not saying that there wasn’t the odd “time trial” from the local hot rod crew. Unfortunately, they were unable to adapt to the traffic conditions, and changing the cycles also required new clock faces
I suspect that you are right. I doubt they would have been any more confusing then any other new system. I would suggest that until people became used to the idea of the 3 lights the Marshalite signals would be more intuitive. of cause once traffic light became popular the next time they wanted to change the signal arrangement they, it would make more sense to change to lights
I can’t believe I just watched an 18min video on traffic lights. You should be a contestant on Hard Quiz. Will definitely pay more attention to traffic lights in the future.
Haven't been through there for a while, but I recall the traffic lights in Horsham had the slowest (incandescent) illumination that I've ever seen - it was like they were running on a lower voltage.
This is a magnificent video! I’m a driving instructor and I work in most of the areas in this video. I’ve never thought about traffic lights beyond their function but I’ll be paying more attention to the different variations from now on. Thanks for a wonderfully researched and informative video.
I recall, just and vaguely the traffic lights in Geelong. Maloop street had a centre fixture like a war memorial style. On each of the four faces it had the three colours Red, Yellow and green but each colour was made up of horizontal neon tubes. The number of tubes lit was proportional to the time remaining, so it started with all the tubes lit, as time passed one tube would be switched off until no more remained. Then the next colour would be lit up. As an 8 year old i was fascinated by then and would insist we would go around the block to see them again.
@@peterpandem9540- You would have failed getting your drivers licence back in the day, if it relied on the traffic light colour question. The are not and never have been Yellow. _Have another crack…_
Great video! Living in NSW and having only started to be interested in traffic lights, road signs etc for the last few years, I've always enjoyed visiting Melbourne because of your wide variety of lights.
Wow I learned a lot from this! I live near a set of incandescent lights on a pedestrian crossing, I'm not too sure if they're Altridge or AWA but I always love seeing them! One of the signals have been replaced with an LED sadly, but the other 3 are still standing! It's at Old South Rd, Old Reynella, SA.
@@RailsOfTheSouth ooh nice I’ve actually been to that pedestrian crossing, they have super rare Siemens lights which are only found in South Australia! I’m glad you enjoyed the video!
Never thought i would be so engrossed in something that i always get stopped at, your research and travels around the place to get your footage must have been time consuming and very rewarding. Terrific video and very well presented, well done
@@steveweatherly1965 Thanks for watching I really appreciate it! Yes definitely very awarding and it was awesome going to all of the traffic lights in person to see them
I kinda miss those old ticking ped buttons before the PB5. Awesome video. I keep wondering more about the way they're programmed and sequenced these days.
Great video! I've been driving since 1981, and have noticed a few changes: The backboards were not that common. Never knew why the sequence was changed from Red, Red/Amber, then Green, to Red straight to Green. Arrows were not very common back then. Seems most intersections have them now. Some of the newer motorists don't seem to know what to do, when faced with a right hand turn at a non-arrow eqiupped intersection.
It isn't helped by the fact that it's not something included in learner tests, at least in Victoria. So if the instructor doesn't personally think of it then the learner never will
In Traralgon there's an intersection with a side road that does not have arrows. However, most traffic turns rather than continue straight through. They've had to put up a sign reminding drivers to give way to oncoming traffic.
The reason for the change is obvious when you compare it to the current sequence which offers a more distinctive status and increases the overall respect drivers give to the now more stoic Amber light.
@@FromThe3021 the reason probably has more to do with the rise in popularity of automatic transmissions and likely simplifying the signal controllers once red and amber arrows started being introduced. I can remember when the 'red+amber before green' (opening amber) was common in Victoria. But I do not recall ever seeing 'red+amber before green' arrow sequences used. Although it probably occurred somewhere in the early days.
Very well done I learned a hell of a lot watching this video. When I was young in the mid to late 90's driving around Melb and seeing a lot of the older style traffic lights [yellow painted black] that still had the Walk/Don't Walk signals, sadly they've all seemed to disappear these days but there's still one older traffic light I regularly see at the corner of Blackburn & Whitehorse road, I think its a AWA light you can see chips of the old yellow paint. I better look up your interesting vintage traffic light map to check out other fascinating older lights, thanks very much once again!
Fascinating and informative video. Well done guys. As a Melbourne local its interesting to know just how many different types and such there are about the place (eg i go through the ones at Woori Yallock pretty regularly).
How interesting! I really like your obvious passion for something that most of us just ignore everyday. Well done mate! Something you may like to check out would make a great video. At the corner of St George's Road & Melbourne Road in Norlane is a house right on the corner. It's got 2 large palm trees on either side of the front yard. It's on the KFC side of the highway. This home has tucked away in it's driveway behind a tree their very own personal traffic light! As their driveway goes onto this very busy intersection of the highway into Geelong and St.Georges Road, they have a personal traffic light and sensor on their driveway. When they want to leave their driveway, the sensor detects their car has been sitting there a while (so it doesn't set it off when they drive in), all lights go red from the highway into and out of Geelong, Cox Road, St Georges Road and Bacchus Marsh Road and they get a green light to proceed out of their driveway. It's very cool! It's kind of hidden behind a tree but it's there. I'm sure if you approached the owners they'd let you film about it. A home with their own personal traffic light...that's a cool video idea I reckon. That would make a fun video! Keep up the great work! Craig - Geelong :)
The Emergency entrance to the Royal Hobart Hospital has the same sort of system to make two sets of lights go red at the intersection so you can get out.
Cool. I’ve made a few of these observations over the years in Melbourne, but you have helped me understand a lot more. I drive past a few of these regularly in Camberwell, Kew and Hawthorn. Thanks !
I'll confess that I never really had any interest in traffic lights beyond that they exist and performed a function. You have certainly opened my eyes as to how this necessary infrastructure has changed and evolved over the years & I now regard them in a different light (to use a bad pun). Congrats on a well-researched & put together video, you are obviously very passionate & it shows. Cheers mate.
Very interesting video mate!! I visited Melbourne not long ago and as a Sydneysider it immediately struck me the amount of halogen traffic lights still in use. I did not know the first traffic lights used to look like clocks 😳
I remember that the Nepean Hwy CLOCK TYPE Lights were still working in the late 1960s. Drivers liked them because you could see 👀 how long before the Lights were going to turn/change. Wish they still used them. It might avoid so many Accidents.
@@MelodyMan69 ooh yeah never really thought about that. Would love some sort of timer to see when to go. I just study the traffic light pattern usually.
Hey MelodyMan69, in the UK when red traffic lights are about change to green the amber light comes on warning drivers the lights are about to change, a better way for drivers when driving, here in Adelaide, many drivers when waiting at red traffic lights will daydream/zone out etc and when lights change they are delayed in taking off.
We had some of those in Lilydale (suburb of Melbourne)... They were fitted to a pedestrian crossing. Would light up with the amber before green, but it's been a long time since I've been through that area and had to stop at them to see if they have been updated.
@@Cameron_Bell The red + amber "get ready" is the standard basically everywhere in Europe, possibly because manual transmissions are still the norm there. Therefore you need a little bit of extra time to shift from neutral to first before you can get going. Even more in the UK where you're also supposed to have the handbrake on when stopped (this is not taught in mainland Europe AFAIK). But manual or not, I really wish Australia implemented it too because as you said, some drivers take a few seconds to get going even with an automatic. My interpretation as to why is less charitable: they're playing with their phone. Then on the other end of the spectrum you have the "creepers" who try to guess when the light is about to go green, creeping forward by half a metre every time they think the light's about to change. By the time it finally does, they're already well into to the intersection. It is also useful in case you are approaching a red light. If it changes to red + amber while you are still far away, you may judge that you don't need to brake, or at least not as much.
16:20 - That 1 in South Melbourne on City Road (where it says No Idea) brings back fond memories. My grandparents used to own the factory on that corner of city road and I recall using those lights many times as a kid in the 80s/90s and those unique crossing buttons. I am somewhat happy to still see them there.
Also I'm surprised to see how many intersections I recognise here. Especially the Woori Yallock 1 :). I must know Melbourne/Victoria better than I thought!
There used to be a set of lights at the intersection of Rosamond Road and Mitchell Street in Maidstone that was the only set I ever saw in Melbourne that showed red and amber together just prior to turning green (as is the standard in the UK). This was some years ago as they no longer are programmed to do this. Also if you check out Wellington Street in Collingwood there is a set of pedestrian wigwams that have backlit signs. These are the only ones I have seen in Melbourne.
Have never thought about traffic lights before or noticed any difference between them all. Fascinating video. I might have to start checking out traffic lights. 😂
The 300mm signals used to be the primary lanterns, with the smaller 200mm lanterns being used for secondary signals. Some intersections did not follow the rule, but in the 70’s that was the style.
good job buddy Love history around melbourne never thought I would learn so much about traffic lights i will now not look at them in the same way :) I had to laugh when you mentioned the button press to cross the road....My brother and me use to always fight over who was going to press it when we were young loved to see it light up fun times lol
I didn’t know that Keysborough still had the old pedestrian crossing signal buttons 😮 how many times I have driven past here and I never would’ve known. I used to live in this suburb and work in Braeside which is further up Cheltenham Road lol 😜 small world
Thank you. This was fascinating. I have the same obsession with street blades / road signs. Hoping someone might do a similar video like this on that category! Cheers.
I remember seeing the older square crossing buttons everywhere when I first moved to Canberra in 2001 - I'm pretty sure they were retrofitted with speakers too - though they all disappeared (along with the very square pedestrian lights that still said Don't Walk/Walk) along with the other incandescent lights. They were cool because they had the light on them that the PB/5s didn't have (outside VIC). I like how Victorian PB/5s have the light, and I don't understand why it wasn't adopted elsewhere.
This is the video that I didn't know I needed! Going interstate I always wondered why our traffic lights were so unique. How long did it take to research, and how on earth did you find real life examples when there are so few remaining for most of them? Also, what about tram T lights and point signals?
@@MaxProduction16 I’m glad you enjoyed the video! The research part did not take too long a lot of general research was done by my friend Redhen334 (in the description) and I compiled it all, so most credit to him although I did do a lot of research on earlier stuff. I’d say overall it took a week or two to get to the stage of filming. I’ve definitely racked up thousands of hours on google maps and I started a map of older traffic lights a few years ago. So it definitely took ages to find a lot of the examples! But there are still some I’ve missed which have been shared by other people. But most of the locations I scouted myself. There is also a dataset by the Victorian government. Showing the location of every traffic light in the state, although I didn’t use this too much. The tram traffic lights are mostly the same brand as usual lights such as Aldridge, however for points signals they also sometimes use their own special brand called Elektroline (I think it’s something like that), so yeah!
There's one other set still with yellow traffic lights over than the one mentioned at Kew. There's a pedestrian set on Raleigh St in Westmeadows where the overhead ones haven't been painted black. However the target boards have fallen off in recent years.
I remember the clock faces on the road down to Frankston. The single hand slowly moved clockwise thru the green, amber and red clock face colours. When the hand passed into red, you stopped. Green go.
South Australia had plenty of Eagle signals up to the mid 2000s. They were yellow/black together and had combinations of 8-inch with 12-inch on the side. There were also 2-segment 'Turn Left/Right With Care', 'No Left/Right Turn' and even 'Tram Only' signals. Pedestrian signals had worded lenses too. The last remaining ones were in use on Valetta Road in Kidman Park, Jetty Street in Grange and Winston Avenue/Edward Street intersection in Melrose Park up to the mid/late 2010s. I managed to obtain one in 2012 and repainted it to how it looked in the 1970s!
Around the early 90's AWA was contracted by the city of Bandung to install traffic lights and SCATS control system, the lights still exist but the original controllers are replaced around late-2010s. Some intersections get completely replaced, some are also abandoned, most lights are retrofitted with LED too. They used to come with PB/5 buttons but they didn't last.
@@sbmetro165Tell you a fact, Victoria does use traffic lights with white edges on the back boards, but only on temporary ones where it is near a construction. All other permanent ones remain using the solid black back board.
fellow traffic light lover!!! Thoroughly enjoyed your video. Here in the UK, the most popular from the 70s to the 90s were the iconic 'Mellor' style made by Plessey, PAGE, and some super duper rare PEEK Mellor signals. They were widely replaced by more modular and easier to maintain Microsense and Siemens newer designs. There's still a fair few old Mellors knocking about, especially around Liverpool, Oxford, London areas but I believe the bulbs they use have been out of production for a good while now so they're quickly being replaced which is kind of sad really, but LEDs are obviously a lot more reliable; nowadays they're still made by PEEK and Siemens
@@lerelo I’m glad you enjoyed! I definitely want to go to the UK sometime for the trains as well as the traffic lights! Thanks for the info too I’ll probably have a look at some photos
The intersection at the corner of the Blackburn North shopping centre also used to have Eagle Signal lights but they were all replaced with modern LED ones in 2015-2017 by what I remember! :)
With the photo of the Aldridge CLS LED signal you took, I also found there's a different looking Aldridge CLS LED module made in 2016 and therefore I call them Version 1 since those are made before the 2nd version was made in the late 2018s. Here are the interesections that have the 1st version: - Bridge Rd & Church St, Richmond - Princes Hwy & Sturt St, South Melbourne - Twickenham Cres, Gibdon St & Barkly Ave, Burnley (this location also uses British pedestrian signal symbols)
There was a wonderful old cast iron 1930'ish light and signal box on Reynard St in Coburg . I seem to remember it was made in England , but the council removed it a few years ago
Awesome video! I’m a recent addition to Melbourne and I have noticed a variety of signals here, so good to have a comprehensive explanation. One thing I also remember is that signals in Victoria used to have a red-yellow phase before the light turned green, like they have in the UK. It seems to be before my time but my friend and I did find one light that did this on a visit in 2006. Do you know if this was widespread and/or when they stopped this phasing?
I'm curious about the lights at Doncaster bus depot on Doncaster Rd. The 2 different pedestrian crossings don't make any noise at all and I wonder if that's due to them being old or if there's a different reason.
Very informative video! I can see there has been a lot of effort and dedication put into this video! Would you ever consider doing a history and guide to street lights in victoria? I know it may not really be your thing but there are so many different ones out there like there are traffic lights and would be interesting to know the history.
I think the oldest ones are at the Kew traffic school. There were some very old ones in the Docklands from America before it was all developed and the Railways had some too in their yards for cars and trucks.
Fun fact. When Alice Springs received its first set of traffic lights in late 1984 every junction from then were all Aldridge 12 inch lights up until sometime in 2009. I could speculate that the reason all junctions had 12 inch lights was probably the supply since the town council can just buy 1 type of signal and not worry about size differences. Even the last incandescent signals in Alice Springs and the whole of the Northern Territory were 12 inches. Why they choose 12 inch as the only signal they bought is still a mystery
I remember as a kid seeing the old clock style traffic lights on the Nepean highway when we went on family trips to Mornington. I always thought that most of the LED traffic lights were retrofitted LED assemblies the replaced the old tungsten/halogen reflector and lens assemblies. What reinforced that in my mind was after traffic lights were upgraded to LED I swear that there a split second on no lights being on as the reaction time in switching them as LEDs react instantly where as halogen has a reaction time. I would presume that around this time the control electronics would of changed from relay based to networked microprocessor controlled units that replayed relays with mosfets ( or some other electronic component ) Anyway great video …
I should add I pass two ‘give way to pedestrians’ lights on my way to work on traffic light turns (ones a t-intersection and the other is kind of one in that straight ahead is a dead end so 90% of the traffic will turn left or right). One on the corner of Glenhuntly Road and Orrong Road, Elsternwick. And another in Monash on corner of Blackburn Road and Normanby Road.
This video appears to focus on the actual traffic light fittings rather than the operational functions of the system , such as coordination and timing . My experience with driving on Melbourne's roads was of extreme frustration with the absolutely atrocious coordination of the signals , and constantly being stopped by nearly every red light . Is this poor management or are traffic lights being deliberately set this way in an attempt at traffic calming ? The worst , most frustrating trip was along White Horse Road towards Ringwood from the west - every single red light ! The last time I visited Melbourne was in 2003 , so hopefully this situation has improved since then . Interestingly , I didn't notice many red lights in this video , with most displaying green ! The phasing of traffic signals in Sydney can be far from perfect , but at least it is reasonable , whereas the best experience with traffic lights was in Adelaide , also in 2003 . Regarding the signal manufacturers , I believe that Philips was/is a key player in Sydney . PS : Thanks for the accolade , however this was inadvertently removed when I edited out mistakes after reading my comment again .
It may be old info but for a while the Marshalite signals in Chelsea were driving a pedestrian crossing across Nepean Highway - connected to more modern three-color heads. They would have been operating into the early 80s if my memory serves me right - just long enough for me to personally have to stop my car at them. There are some old incandescent heads at the corner of Burwood Hwy and Glenfern rd. They are visible on google maps, and were still there as of my last trip down that road within the last month. Around 1984-1986, a Mentone company called Dyco Products used to make and sell portable traffic lights for use during roadworks. Second hand heads were purchased and modified to use 12 lamps. The heads used were 8 inch, but they also ended up with a few 12 inch heads that were broken up, then turned into a 4x4 light display that was running patterns as an attention grab for exhibitions.
I remember the Marshal clock traffic lights as a kid in the ‘60s. There were also normal traffic lights that operated with them. They would be stationary until you pressed a button. If you pressed it too quickly, the hands would start slightly then stop. Eventually the hands were vandalizef and the clocks were removed and reinstated many years later.
I don't know why an 18 minute video about traffic lights in Victoria got recommended to me, but you've clearly put a lot of research into this so I'm gonna watch it
@@leilawoodford5574 Thanks! Hope you enjoyed!
Oh I know exactly why it got suggested to me 😂 well done mate, subscribed.
@@sbmetro165Same here... The presentation kept me watching. You did really well with the narration, I'll subscribe and check out what else you choose to cover.
Great, I'm going to have an accident at work today because I'll be too busy looking at traffic light. And I drive down Princess Street in Kew multiple times a day.
40 years working at VicRoads and its variants, 25 years in signals... and I learnt more about the signal hardware history in this video than during all my time designing their operation. Mighty good job... 👍
I’m glad it helped you so much! Thanks for the support
It's great to see a fellow niche infrastructure enthusiast. My niche interest is passenger ropeways (there have been 500 in Australia) and while I know nothing about traffic lights, it's great to see someone else documenting things that otherwise would be ignored.
Share your knowledge you selfish bastard!!!
Driven past the yellow light on Princess Street loads of times, never noticed it before. After watching this, I cannot unsee it! Thanks for pointing this one out!
I never thought I would watch a video about the traffic lights in a city I rarely even go to
@@PatSmashYT I’m really glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!
Mate, this is one of the weirdest yet awesomest video's I've seen. Got me all tingly on vintage traffic lights. Love ya work and keep it up. Some insane research in this. And appreciated!!!.
@@TheShedSesh I’m really glad you enjoyed!
I’ve lived in Melbourne my whole life (42 years) and never had even thought about traffic lights having different variants. As with a few other people I’ve got no idea how this was recommended to me. You’ve obviously done a lot of research and presented it well as I watched it right through.
@@martyjohnson3718 I’m glad you enjoyed! Hopefully it’ll be an extra interesting thing to look out for when you’re out everyday!
Wow, I'd forgotten all about those pedestrian crossings with the little rubber buttons. I can still feel the concentric circles on top of the button.
On a flight back to Victoria I sat next to a guy who was incharge of all traffic lights. It was interesting to find out the money being saved by changing to LEDs. He also mentioned the heating elements put into road bridges to stop black ice. They also have monitors aimed at the surface to sample temperatures. Interesting video well done.
Yes. We have those temperature gauges for black ice on the Calder freeway round Gisbourne, Woodend, Harcourt. And also near me on the Midland highway outside Daylesford. They are connected to lights that will flash when temperatures drop below a certain temperature (2 or 3 degrees).
225 comments on Victoria Traffic lights. As a Victorian that has never seen your channel before and had it recommended, congratulations.
Haha thanks it’s definitely a first for me with any of my videos
@@sbmetro165well you got a subscriber from me out of it.
What a strangely interesting video. Thanks for all your research and effort.
There was a set of Marshallite traffic signals at the intersection of Gaffney and Cumberland roads Pascoe Vale in the late 60's. I crossed this intersection going to school many times and they left a lasting memory.
I’m glad you liked it! Yeah I actually used a pic of that intersection in the video, I didn’t label the location though but if you look close enough you can see the road sign
Good work, I don’t think anyone has ever gone this far in-depth to Australian traffic light history. Hopefully it will act as a good resource and if anyone has more info regarding lesser-known companies they may come forward.
@@redhen334 thanks :)
I remember sometimes kids would put chewing gum in the button recess. Those buttons got pretty gross over time.
You just got me to click on this video, watch it all the way through, and now I'm invested in traffic light variants. Great stuff, keep up the good work!
The first time I really noticed and started to care about traffic lights was when my favourite set was replaced with LEDs a number of years ago. I didn't even realise I had a favourite set until it happened.
It was the crossing at a school in Ballarat, and the green light on one of the sets had a particular depth to it which I loved, it looked really dark except for a highlight in the middle which I'd never seen on any other lamp. It probably wasn't very practical for drivers but I loved it, it reminded me of a jewel, and I have memories of seeing it as a child as it always marked that we were almost home after going away on holidays.
I felt a particular twinge of sadness when one day it was gone, replaced by those terrible LED lights with the multiple diodes. I always note and appreciate a set of incandescent lights as a result.
Excellent video, friend!
I’m glad you enjoyed the video! It’s a shame I haven’t been interested in traffic lights long enough to where I notice them being replaced, but I like going to my childhood locations in old streetview to check out what used to be there. I’m lucky most of the ones near my house are still original!
Also if you ever want to see some older lights in Ballarat there are some on the intersection of Sturt and Dawson St!
@@sbmetro165 I'll have to check them out next time I drive through town!
Wow I noticed those after starting to pay more attention to traffic lights… after watching your video.
How on earth do you find out about specific sets of old traffic lights in random country towns?!?
P.S. This is probably one of the best videos I’ve watched all year, great job!
Varying traffic light technology is something I always notice everywhere I go but 99.99% of people wouldn't care if I spoke to them about it. So this was the perfect nerd video to watch with my dinner tonight. Thank you!
Thank you for this video on the vintage traffic lights across Melbourne and Victoria. Wish that we kept a few more over the years. Actually, I prefer older traffic lights (70s/80s/90s) than the modern ones. Today, we have far too many traffic lights across town, imo double the traffic lights we had 20 years ago; and they are smaller than what they used to be. I don't have a problem with the LED lights just more concerned with the size of the boards that they are on.
If memory serves me correctly, there are some black and white pictures near the elevators at Geelong Plaza with the street scene around the plaza years ago with the older lights of the time. Growing up in the north east I'm happy that the unique lights at Greensborough mostly have stood the test of time, presumably the ones at Grimshaw St & The Circuit. I remember those from my childhood.
Like you, as I go thru life I keep my eyes on the look out for new and old traffic lights and appreciate the old ones before they are all gone!
Super fascinated by the give way to pedestrian lights, would love to see more of these as I remember them as kid!
Excellent video! Thank you for creating this. One of my strongest memories from visiting Melbourne as a kid is looking at all the different traffic lights and signals. I'm the proud owner of an Eagle pedestrian crossing signal!
Was not expecting to watch a video about traffic lights, let alone see footage of Sale! Thanks for the recommendation RUclips.
Great video! It was fascinating learning about such a overlooked part of history.
Ah! So I wasn't the only one to recognise Guthridge Pde. 😆
I forgot about the button crossing.. thanks for a great video.
Great video! I have always been a big fan of our traffic lights in Melbourne. I still have my 1990 AWA halogen fitting.
The RUclips video essay I didn’t know I needed. Amazing.
Amazing video! Very informative!!! Nice to see documentation of traffic lights
I am glad you mentioned Parrco as I used to work for them in the early 80s , During my time there we made ticket machines for parking etc... I have seen all the patterns for the old foundry castings... The factory was in Brunswick.
I have one of their Neon pedestrian lanterns, albeit just a shell. No neon lights inside. Pretty rare to see anything by them anywhere now.
1:44 The Marshalite signals were absolutely brilliant, I had the pleasure of meeting the Son of the inventor, and no they didn’t cause a spate of accidents, the opposite was actually true.
Not saying that there wasn’t the odd “time trial” from the local hot rod crew.
Unfortunately, they were unable to adapt to the traffic conditions, and changing the cycles also required new clock faces
I suspect that you are right. I doubt they would have been any more confusing then any other new system. I would suggest that until people became used to the idea of the 3 lights the Marshalite signals would be more intuitive. of cause once traffic light became popular the next time they wanted to change the signal arrangement they, it would make more sense to change to lights
The Marshall lights could be adapted to changing traffic conditions by having a colour LED screen behind the hand. Now there's an idea!
I can’t believe I just watched an 18min video on traffic lights. You should be a contestant on Hard Quiz. Will definitely pay more attention to traffic lights in the future.
lets be honest youtube KNOWS i i have the tism and that's why i was recommended this! great content very informative and well made!
Haven't been through there for a while, but I recall the traffic lights in Horsham had the slowest (incandescent) illumination that I've ever seen - it was like they were running on a lower voltage.
This is a magnificent video! I’m a driving instructor and I work in most of the areas in this video. I’ve never thought about traffic lights beyond their function but I’ll be paying more attention to the different variations from now on. Thanks for a wonderfully researched and informative video.
I recall, just and vaguely the traffic lights in Geelong. Maloop street had a centre fixture like a war memorial style. On each of the four faces it had the three colours Red, Yellow and green but each colour was made up of horizontal neon tubes. The number of tubes lit was proportional to the time remaining, so it started with all the tubes lit, as time passed one tube would be switched off until no more remained. Then the next colour would be lit up. As an 8 year old i was fascinated by then and would insist we would go around the block to see them again.
This would have been in the late 1950s
@@peterpandem9540- You would have failed getting your drivers licence back in the day, if it relied on the traffic light colour question. The are not and never have been Yellow.
_Have another crack…_
Great video! Living in NSW and having only started to be interested in traffic lights, road signs etc for the last few years, I've always enjoyed visiting Melbourne because of your wide variety of lights.
Wow I learned a lot from this! I live near a set of incandescent lights on a pedestrian crossing, I'm not too sure if they're Altridge or AWA but I always love seeing them! One of the signals have been replaced with an LED sadly, but the other 3 are still standing! It's at Old South Rd, Old Reynella, SA.
@@RailsOfTheSouth ooh nice I’ve actually been to that pedestrian crossing, they have super rare Siemens lights which are only found in South Australia! I’m glad you enjoyed the video!
@@sbmetro165 No problem! I might have to visit there again and take some new photos!
Never thought i would be so engrossed in something that i always get stopped at, your research and travels around the place to get your footage must have been time consuming and very rewarding. Terrific video and very well presented, well done
@@steveweatherly1965 Thanks for watching I really appreciate it! Yes definitely very awarding and it was awesome going to all of the traffic lights in person to see them
This is an excellent video that is actually very interesting. Thank you for the detail and great editing :)
@@VictorianTransportSpotter Thanks so much! I’m really glad you liked it
I've been waiting for someone to do a video in this style for these
I kinda miss those old ticking ped buttons before the PB5.
Awesome video. I keep wondering more about the way they're programmed and sequenced these days.
Very nice video! Thank you for all informations.
I know only, Braums use Swarco LED modules today.
Great video! I've been driving since 1981, and have noticed a few changes: The backboards were not that common. Never knew why the sequence was changed from Red, Red/Amber, then Green, to Red straight to Green. Arrows were not very common back then. Seems most intersections have them now. Some of the newer motorists don't seem to know what to do, when faced with a right hand turn at a non-arrow eqiupped intersection.
It isn't helped by the fact that it's not something included in learner tests, at least in Victoria. So if the instructor doesn't personally think of it then the learner never will
In Traralgon there's an intersection with a side road that does not have arrows. However, most traffic turns rather than continue straight through. They've had to put up a sign reminding drivers to give way to oncoming traffic.
The reason for the change is obvious when you compare it to the current sequence which offers a more distinctive status and increases the overall respect drivers give to the now more stoic Amber light.
@@FromThe3021 the reason probably has more to do with the rise in popularity of automatic transmissions and likely simplifying the signal controllers once red and amber arrows started being introduced. I can remember when the 'red+amber before green' (opening amber) was common in Victoria. But I do not recall ever seeing 'red+amber before green' arrow sequences used. Although it probably occurred somewhere in the early days.
I remember a red->red/amber light around Eltham about 20 years ago. Last one I've seen.
Very well done I learned a hell of a lot watching this video. When I was young in the mid to late 90's driving around Melb and seeing a lot of the older style traffic lights [yellow painted black] that still had the Walk/Don't Walk signals, sadly they've all seemed to disappear these days but there's still one older traffic light I regularly see at the corner of Blackburn & Whitehorse road, I think its a AWA light you can see chips of the old yellow paint. I better look up your interesting vintage traffic light map to check out other fascinating older lights, thanks very much once again!
@@mattw9005 Wow yeah I’ve found the light at Blackburn, crazy how I missed this! I’m glad you enjoyed the vid
This is a stunning video! Absolutely fascinating look into the history and modern day presence of oft overlooked infrastructure!
I must considered thoroughly well put together video Job done good work thank you
You make life interesting
Fascinating and informative video. Well done guys. As a Melbourne local its interesting to know just how many different types and such there are about the place (eg i go through the ones at Woori Yallock pretty regularly).
How interesting! I really like your obvious passion for something that most of us just ignore everyday. Well done mate! Something you may like to check out would make a great video. At the corner of St George's Road & Melbourne Road in Norlane is a house right on the corner. It's got 2 large palm trees on either side of the front yard. It's on the KFC side of the highway. This home has tucked away in it's driveway behind a tree their very own personal traffic light! As their driveway goes onto this very busy intersection of the highway into Geelong and St.Georges Road, they have a personal traffic light and sensor on their driveway. When they want to leave their driveway, the sensor detects their car has been sitting there a while (so it doesn't set it off when they drive in), all lights go red from the highway into and out of Geelong, Cox Road, St Georges Road and Bacchus Marsh Road and they get a green light to proceed out of their driveway. It's very cool! It's kind of hidden behind a tree but it's there. I'm sure if you approached the owners they'd let you film about it. A home with their own personal traffic light...that's a cool video idea I reckon. That would make a fun video! Keep up the great work! Craig - Geelong :)
The Emergency entrance to the Royal Hobart Hospital has the same sort of system to make two sets of lights go red at the intersection so you can get out.
Very interesting video. I walk around melbourne cbd every day during lunch so ill be sure to start looking closer at the traffic lights.
Cool. I’ve made a few of these observations over the years in Melbourne, but you have helped me understand a lot more. I drive past a few of these regularly in Camberwell, Kew and Hawthorn. Thanks !
16:38 - Can confirm those buttons on Greenwood Drive are still there. Great video! Super helpful.
I'll confess that I never really had any interest in traffic lights beyond that they exist and performed a function. You have certainly opened my eyes as to how this necessary infrastructure has changed and evolved over the years & I now regard them in a different light (to use a bad pun). Congrats on a well-researched & put together video, you are obviously very passionate & it shows. Cheers mate.
Very interesting video mate!! I visited Melbourne not long ago and as a Sydneysider it immediately struck me the amount of halogen traffic lights still in use. I did not know the first traffic lights used to look like clocks 😳
I remember that the Nepean Hwy CLOCK TYPE Lights were still working in the late 1960s. Drivers liked them because you could see 👀 how long before the Lights were going to turn/change. Wish they still used them. It might avoid so many Accidents.
Overseas I have seen countdown timers alongside normal traffic lights (which I really like), they only exist on pedestrian signals in Australia.
@@MelodyMan69 ooh yeah never really thought about that. Would love some sort of timer to see when to go. I just study the traffic light pattern usually.
Hey MelodyMan69, in the UK when red traffic lights are about change to green the amber light comes on warning drivers the lights are about to change, a better way for drivers when driving, here in Adelaide, many drivers when waiting at red traffic lights will daydream/zone out etc and when lights change they are delayed in taking off.
We had some of those in Lilydale (suburb of Melbourne)... They were fitted to a pedestrian crossing. Would light up with the amber before green, but it's been a long time since I've been through that area and had to stop at them to see if they have been updated.
@@Cameron_Bell The red + amber "get ready" is the standard basically everywhere in Europe, possibly because manual transmissions are still the norm there. Therefore you need a little bit of extra time to shift from neutral to first before you can get going. Even more in the UK where you're also supposed to have the handbrake on when stopped (this is not taught in mainland Europe AFAIK).
But manual or not, I really wish Australia implemented it too because as you said, some drivers take a few seconds to get going even with an automatic. My interpretation as to why is less charitable: they're playing with their phone. Then on the other end of the spectrum you have the "creepers" who try to guess when the light is about to go green, creeping forward by half a metre every time they think the light's about to change. By the time it finally does, they're already well into to the intersection.
It is also useful in case you are approaching a red light. If it changes to red + amber while you are still far away, you may judge that you don't need to brake, or at least not as much.
16:20 - That 1 in South Melbourne on City Road (where it says No Idea) brings back fond memories. My grandparents used to own the factory on that corner of city road and I recall using those lights many times as a kid in the 80s/90s and those unique crossing buttons. I am somewhat happy to still see them there.
Also I'm surprised to see how many intersections I recognise here. Especially the Woori Yallock 1 :). I must know Melbourne/Victoria better than I thought!
@@gav240z Unfortunately that button is long gone, I just used it as an example of what used to exist, sorry :(
There used to be a set of lights at the intersection of Rosamond Road and Mitchell Street in Maidstone that was the only set I ever saw in Melbourne that showed red and amber together just prior to turning green (as is the standard in the UK). This was some years ago as they no longer are programmed to do this.
Also if you check out Wellington Street in Collingwood there is a set of pedestrian wigwams that have backlit signs. These are the only ones I have seen in Melbourne.
There was a set on Pearson St in West Brunswick that did the same thing also. No longer though sadly.
This is fantastic. I'm so glad I'm not the only one who cares about this sort of thing
Very interesting video, great research and editing props to you!
Thank you for this interesting history. I remember waiting for the old clock face traffic lights in the 60’s as a child, as lm sure others do too.
Have never thought about traffic lights before or noticed any difference between them all. Fascinating video. I might have to start checking out traffic lights. 😂
This is actually quite interesting. Great video.
@@hazptmedia thanks!
The 300mm signals used to be the primary lanterns, with the smaller 200mm lanterns being used for secondary signals. Some intersections did not follow the rule, but in the 70’s that was the style.
good job buddy Love history around melbourne never thought I would learn so much about traffic lights i will now not look at them in the same way :) I had to laugh when you mentioned the button press to cross the road....My brother and me use to always fight over who was going to press it when we were young loved to see it light up fun times lol
As a kid I remember the clock type traffic lights on the Nepean Highway.
Wow. Thanks for a REALLY interesting video! Cheers
Happy 1,000 subs!
Thank you for this brilliant video
I didn’t know that Keysborough still had the old pedestrian crossing signal buttons 😮 how many times I have driven past here and I never would’ve known. I used to live in this suburb and work in Braeside which is further up Cheltenham Road lol 😜 small world
Thank you. This was fascinating. I have the same obsession with street blades / road signs. Hoping someone might do a similar video like this on that category! Cheers.
I remember seeing the older square crossing buttons everywhere when I first moved to Canberra in 2001 - I'm pretty sure they were retrofitted with speakers too - though they all disappeared (along with the very square pedestrian lights that still said Don't Walk/Walk) along with the other incandescent lights. They were cool because they had the light on them that the PB/5s didn't have (outside VIC).
I like how Victorian PB/5s have the light, and I don't understand why it wasn't adopted elsewhere.
in 1966 the Nepean Hwy clock type also had the conventional 3 light system. There was another at Edithvale and I think Carrum as well.
Very detailed video! Good job!
This is the video that I didn't know I needed! Going interstate I always wondered why our traffic lights were so unique. How long did it take to research, and how on earth did you find real life examples when there are so few remaining for most of them? Also, what about tram T lights and point signals?
@@MaxProduction16 I’m glad you enjoyed the video! The research part did not take too long a lot of general research was done by my friend Redhen334 (in the description) and I compiled it all, so most credit to him although I did do a lot of research on earlier stuff. I’d say overall it took a week or two to get to the stage of filming.
I’ve definitely racked up thousands of hours on google maps and I started a map of older traffic lights a few years ago. So it definitely took ages to find a lot of the examples! But there are still some I’ve missed which have been shared by other people. But most of the locations I scouted myself. There is also a dataset by the Victorian government. Showing the location of every traffic light in the state, although I didn’t use this too much.
The tram traffic lights are mostly the same brand as usual lights such as Aldridge, however for points signals they also sometimes use their own special brand called Elektroline (I think it’s something like that), so yeah!
There's one other set still with yellow traffic lights over than the one mentioned at Kew. There's a pedestrian set on Raleigh St in Westmeadows where the overhead ones haven't been painted black. However the target boards have fallen off in recent years.
@@marksanders5285 Wow thanks so much for this! This is an awesome find definitely need to check this out at some point!!
Great Video SBMetro!
I had this in my recommended many times and upon checking it out I found it very engaging and informative!
@@jonahsrailwaychannel8958 glad you enjoyed!
Proof that someone, somewhere will make a video about the dullest of dull, congratulations sir, it had to be done.
I remember the clock faces on the road down to Frankston. The single hand slowly moved clockwise thru the green, amber and red clock face colours. When the hand passed into red, you stopped. Green go.
Simple solution, paint all the new traffic lights and poles to the same vintage yellow as the old ones, that will restore “some” of that old vibe.
Morning mate. Imo this channel would be a right sensation with the Dull Mens group on Facebook.
South Australia had plenty of Eagle signals up to the mid 2000s. They were yellow/black together and had combinations of 8-inch with 12-inch on the side.
There were also 2-segment 'Turn Left/Right With Care', 'No Left/Right Turn' and even 'Tram Only' signals.
Pedestrian signals had worded lenses too. The last remaining ones were in use on Valetta Road in Kidman Park, Jetty Street in Grange and Winston Avenue/Edward Street intersection in Melrose Park up to the mid/late 2010s. I managed to obtain one in 2012 and repainted it to how it looked in the 1970s!
Around the early 90's AWA was contracted by the city of Bandung to install traffic lights and SCATS control system, the lights still exist but the original controllers are replaced around late-2010s. Some intersections get completely replaced, some are also abandoned, most lights are retrofitted with LED too. They used to come with PB/5 buttons but they didn't last.
@@anindrapratama Oh yeah I think I saw photos of that, it’s pretty interesting. They used slightly different designs to Australia
In other states of Australia we see traffic lights with white frame line
I think that’s in every state of Australia except for Victoria.
@davidlurhfan2005 This is true
@@sbmetro165Tell you a fact, Victoria does use traffic lights with white edges on the back boards, but only on temporary ones where it is near a construction. All other permanent ones remain using the solid black back board.
@@davidlurhfan2005 there’s also a single pedestrian crossing with the white edges near Souther Cross Station
fellow traffic light lover!!! Thoroughly enjoyed your video. Here in the UK, the most popular from the 70s to the 90s were the iconic 'Mellor' style made by Plessey, PAGE, and some super duper rare PEEK Mellor signals. They were widely replaced by more modular and easier to maintain Microsense and Siemens newer designs. There's still a fair few old Mellors knocking about, especially around Liverpool, Oxford, London areas but I believe the bulbs they use have been out of production for a good while now so they're quickly being replaced which is kind of sad really, but LEDs are obviously a lot more reliable; nowadays they're still made by PEEK and Siemens
@@lerelo I’m glad you enjoyed! I definitely want to go to the UK sometime for the trains as well as the traffic lights! Thanks for the info too I’ll probably have a look at some photos
Yeah this popped up as a recommended video to watch.
I really appreciate the information. Well presented. I have subscribed.
The intersection at the corner of the Blackburn North shopping centre also used to have Eagle Signal lights but they were all replaced with modern LED ones in 2015-2017 by what I remember! :)
With the photo of the Aldridge CLS LED signal you took, I also found there's a different looking Aldridge CLS LED module made in 2016 and therefore I call them Version 1 since those are made before the 2nd version was made in the late 2018s. Here are the interesections that have the 1st version:
- Bridge Rd & Church St, Richmond
- Princes Hwy & Sturt St, South Melbourne
- Twickenham Cres, Gibdon St & Barkly Ave, Burnley (this location also uses British pedestrian signal symbols)
There was a wonderful old cast iron 1930'ish light and signal box on Reynard St in Coburg . I seem to remember it was made in England , but the council removed it a few years ago
Very interesting stuff!!
i have one of those old 70s Durasig traffic signals! they are very interesting old signals and mine is an incandescent model, awesome video!
Also always noticed the clear LED lights on Westall Road as we would always go through there when visiting my grandparents! :)
Awesome video! I’m a recent addition to Melbourne and I have noticed a variety of signals here, so good to have a comprehensive explanation.
One thing I also remember is that signals in Victoria used to have a red-yellow phase before the light turned green, like they have in the UK. It seems to be before my time but my friend and I did find one light that did this on a visit in 2006. Do you know if this was widespread and/or when they stopped this phasing?
Can confirm... That Bendigo one on corner Mitchell x Myers st is an eagle signal pedestrian. You inspired me to go for a walk 😂
When grew up, in Chelsea, the traffic lights were like clocks, with a sweeping hand.
I'm curious about the lights at Doncaster bus depot on Doncaster Rd. The 2 different pedestrian crossings don't make any noise at all and I wonder if that's due to them being old or if there's a different reason.
Very informative video! I can see there has been a lot of effort and dedication put into this video! Would you ever consider doing a history and guide to street lights in victoria? I know it may not really be your thing but there are so many different ones out there like there are traffic lights and would be interesting to know the history.
Maybe I’ll look into it a bit, that’s something I never really pay attention to but I’ll definitely keep an eye out!
I think the oldest ones are at the Kew traffic school. There were some very old ones in the Docklands from America before it was all developed and the Railways had some too in their yards for cars and trucks.
Yeah I've been meaning to go there
Cool video, mate!
i believe that bendigo does still have some aldridge traffic lights dotted around the cbd and strathfieldsaye
Fun fact. When Alice Springs received its first set of traffic lights in late 1984 every junction from then were all Aldridge 12 inch lights up until sometime in 2009. I could speculate that the reason all junctions had 12 inch lights was probably the supply since the town council can just buy 1 type of signal and not worry about size differences. Even the last incandescent signals in Alice Springs and the whole of the Northern Territory were 12 inches. Why they choose 12 inch as the only signal they bought is still a mystery
I love traffic lights too. I believe there are some yellow ones at cnr Raleigh st and Riddell st in Westmeadows
I remember as a kid seeing the old clock style traffic lights on the Nepean highway when we went on family trips to Mornington.
I always thought that most of the LED traffic lights were retrofitted LED assemblies the replaced the old tungsten/halogen reflector and lens assemblies.
What reinforced that in my mind was after traffic lights were upgraded to LED I swear that there a split second on no lights being on as the reaction time in switching them as LEDs react instantly where as halogen has a reaction time.
I would presume that around this time the control electronics would of changed from relay based to networked microprocessor controlled units that replayed relays with mosfets ( or some other electronic component )
Anyway great video …
I should add I pass two ‘give way to pedestrians’ lights on my way to work on traffic light turns (ones a t-intersection and the other is kind of one in that straight ahead is a dead end so 90% of the traffic will turn left or right). One on the corner of Glenhuntly Road and Orrong Road, Elsternwick. And another in Monash on corner of Blackburn Road and Normanby Road.
This video appears to focus on the actual traffic light fittings rather than the operational functions of the system , such as coordination and timing . My experience with driving on Melbourne's roads was of extreme frustration with the absolutely atrocious coordination of the signals , and constantly being stopped by nearly every red light . Is this poor management or are traffic lights being deliberately set this way in an attempt at traffic calming ? The worst , most frustrating trip was along White Horse Road towards Ringwood from the west - every single red light ! The last time I visited Melbourne was in 2003 , so hopefully this situation has improved since then . Interestingly , I didn't notice many red lights in this video , with most displaying green ! The phasing of traffic signals in Sydney can be far from perfect , but at least it is reasonable , whereas the best experience with traffic lights was in Adelaide , also in 2003 . Regarding the signal manufacturers , I believe that Philips was/is a key player in Sydney . PS : Thanks for the accolade , however this was inadvertently removed when I edited out mistakes after reading my comment again .
It may be old info but for a while the Marshalite signals in Chelsea were driving a pedestrian crossing across Nepean Highway - connected to more modern three-color heads. They would have been operating into the early 80s if my memory serves me right - just long enough for me to personally have to stop my car at them.
There are some old incandescent heads at the corner of Burwood Hwy and Glenfern rd. They are visible on google maps, and were still there as of my last trip down that road within the last month.
Around 1984-1986, a Mentone company called Dyco Products used to make and sell portable traffic lights for use during roadworks. Second hand heads were purchased and modified to use 12 lamps. The heads used were 8 inch, but they also ended up with a few 12 inch heads that were broken up, then turned into a 4x4 light display that was running patterns as an attention grab for exhibitions.
I remember the Marshal clock traffic lights as a kid in the ‘60s. There were also normal traffic lights that operated with them.
They would be stationary until you pressed a button. If you pressed it too quickly, the hands would start slightly then stop.
Eventually the hands were vandalizef and the clocks were removed and reinstated many years later.