Pure Mellor junctions

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AndyB
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Pure Mellor junctions

Post by AndyB »

I've noticed on my travels that there are now very few junctions with 100% Mellors in NI - almost every junction has a Siemens Helios signal head somewhere, either because of the addition of a green arrow phase or casual replacements of either signal heads or the entire pole. A few sites which had Peek Elites installed, presumably because they were the subcontractor, have needed casual replacements provided by Siemens (the maintenance contractor).

This is about the only one I can think of within a few miles of home.

Is the position similar in GB?

I've deliberately excluded Pelicans, Puffins and Toucans because with only 2-4 poles, they are statistically more likely to not have had heads and poles replaced.
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Re: Pure Mellor junctions

Post by Skipsy »

I think it's a bit more common to find pure mellor jncs outside of cities in GB, but here's one in Hammersmith Bdwy:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.49218 ... 384!8i8192
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Re: Pure Mellor junctions

Post by Skipsy »

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Chris Bertram
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Re: Pure Mellor junctions

Post by Chris Bertram »

Skipsy wrote: Fri Oct 18, 2019 23:53 And another in Wimbledon:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.42049 ... 384!8i8192
Those junctions show just how ugly Mellor signals look without the backing boards, IMHO.
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traffic-light-man
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Re: Pure Mellor junctions

Post by traffic-light-man »

Most that immediately sprung to mind seem to have all got a non-Mellor casual replacement or two by now...

However, I've had a think, and here's a few in Liverpool:

Myrtle St/Grove St

Hardman St/Hope St

Wavertree Rd/Overton St

Harbord St/Overton St

Mather Avenue/Booker Avenue

Liverpool Road/Kingsway, Huyton is quite a stronghold.

This pair of junctions on Huyton Lane, Huyton, though they have had puffins retrofitted, if that still counts. They didn't replace far-side Mellors, mind.

And to round up, somewhat astonishingly, this one at Mather Avenue/Rose Lane still has it's full compliment of 44 Mellor heads. Some are casual replacement Plessey/Siemens lanterns replacing the GEC ones, but still, it's a full round up.

I'm sure there's a lot more that'll come to mind now that it's been mentioned!
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Re: Pure Mellor junctions

Post by Rambo »

Thought i would bump the thread!

I've never really taken much notice of traffic signals in my local area however i have noticed three sites in Warrington that are still using virtually all Mellors . Do these signal heads not meet current regs any more?
This is one along the A56 at Lumb Brook with a few of the heads missing borders.
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traffic-light-man
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Re: Pure Mellor junctions

Post by traffic-light-man »

Rambo wrote: Fri Mar 05, 2021 19:39Do these signal heads not meet current regs any more?
They are still compliant, yes. If they're fitted with 300mm green arrows or ped heads, they're not compliant for installations this side of 2003, but the 300mm aspects are deemed compliant if they were installed before 2003, are temporary (not portable) or are a casual replacement like-for-like.

I'm not sure how many authorities re-use old Mellor signal heads for casual replacements or temporary sites though, so you're likely to see a non-Mellor head get used for those purposes these days.

I was planning on mentioning a largeish 1983-vintage installation that still retained all of its Mellor heads, but two poles have been wiped out in RTCs within the last year, so they're now sporting new halogen Dynniq Elites.

Another one I travel through regularly is this one, which has a full compliment of GEC Mellors with the exception of two Page Mellors. Although it's a relatively young site, Liverpool CC have been wiping out lots of their GEC Mellor stock (for some reason) over the last few years, so I'm surprised this hasn't had the heads replaced.

This is another one which is still holding on to all of its original Mellor lanterns, and like-wise for the linked Pelican in the distance.

It'll be interesting to see how late Mellors stick around. It only took 30 years give-or-take for the Tin/SGEs to bite the dust. I suppose what skews the comparison this time is that there are areas that were using Traffic Systems Co-op where there will be some Mellor sites that are younger than a significant amount of Helios/Elite sites elsewhere. Comparatively, when the Mellor was introduced by the UK's only two signal head manufacturers of the era (Plessey and GEC Elliott), I think it was probably a case of waiting for the Tin/SGE stocks to run dry and then swapping to the Mellor.
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Re: Pure Mellor junctions

Post by Rambo »

traffic-light-man wrote: Sat Mar 06, 2021 09:34
Rambo wrote: Fri Mar 05, 2021 19:39Do these signal heads not meet current regs any more?
They are still compliant, yes. If they're fitted with 300mm green arrows or ped heads, they're not compliant for installations this side of 2003, but the 300mm aspects are deemed compliant if they were installed before 2003, are temporary (not portable) or are a casual replacement like-for-like.

I'm not sure how many authorities re-use old Mellor signal heads for casual replacements or temporary sites though, so you're likely to see a non-Mellor head get used for those purposes these days.

I was planning on mentioning a largeish 1983-vintage installation that still retained all of its Mellor heads, but two poles have been wiped out in RTCs within the last year, so they're now sporting new halogen Dynniq Elites.

Another one I travel through regularly is this one, which has a full compliment of GEC Mellors with the exception of two Page Mellors. Although it's a relatively young site, Liverpool CC have been wiping out lots of their GEC Mellor stock (for some reason) over the last few years, so I'm surprised this hasn't had the heads replaced.

This is another one which is still holding on to all of its original Mellor lanterns, and like-wise for the linked Pelican in the distance.

It'll be interesting to see how late Mellors stick around. It only took 30 years give-or-take for the Tin/SGEs to bite the dust. I suppose what skews the comparison this time is that there are areas that were using Traffic Systems Co-op where there will be some Mellor sites that are younger than a significant amount of Helios/Elite sites elsewhere. Comparatively, when the Mellor was introduced by the UK's only two signal head manufacturers of the era (Plessey and GEC Elliott), I think it was probably a case of waiting for the Tin/SGE stocks to run dry and then swapping to the Mellor.
thanks for the detailed reply. I will be looking out for more of these Mellor sites when i'm out and about.
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Arran
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Re: Pure Mellor junctions

Post by Arran »

There's This In Longlevens just off the A40 / A417 roundabout that causes long queues as the traffic control system, i believe, is the origional
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Re: Pure Mellor junctions

Post by MotorwayGuy »

Arran wrote: Fri May 12, 2023 15:22 There's This In Longlevens just off the A40 / A417 roundabout that causes long queues as the traffic control system, i believe, is the origional
Looks like the ped signals and buttons were replaced around 2015. Strange they would not replace the traffic heads as well.
traffic-light-man wrote: Sat Mar 06, 2021 09:34 Another one I travel through regularly is this one, which has a full compliment of GEC Mellors with the exception of two Page Mellors. Although it's a relatively young site, Liverpool CC have been wiping out lots of their GEC Mellor stock (for some reason) over the last few years, so I'm surprised this hasn't had the heads replaced.
This primary head there has the hoods that are usually used on secondary ones.
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Re: Pure Mellor junctions

Post by Arran »

This Set in Tewksbury, for morrisons is still going as of yesterday, although the set on the A38, A438 junction seems to be getting removed, although there's still a signal in a tree abandoned
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