'Vintage' lane control, secret signs and tin signals

[traffic-light-man]

While searching for something completely non-roads related, I stumbled across the image below. It's labelled as Commecial Road in 1970s (I assume Portsmouth given other images on the page.)

It's from this blog which looks like it's to do with historic images of the area but isn't particularly clear.

I just thought it was worth a share for its views of old lane control and secret sign equipment, as well as the gantry mounted tin heads. There's also some interesting street lighting going on, too!

[Bryn666]

I'm guessing this was widened as part of the M275 Rudmore flyover works in the 80s?

[traffic-light-man]

I'm guessing this was widened as part of the M275 Rudmore flyover works in the 80s?

I've done a wee bit of digging, and matching up the ends of the road names on that sign on the left, the dockyard school on the right and the bend in the distance with some old maps, I think the location is roughly here, looking south. Now 'Mile End Road' on the approach to the M275, as you said.

[traffic-light-man]

I thought I'd pop this in here as it's on-topic.

I've been trawling through the Manchester Archives photographs which are available on Flickr, mostly from the City Corporation's Engineering Department. There's some quite remarkable photographs at various stages throughout the life of some interesting equipment.

Here's the Upper Brook St tidal flow system, with a great level of detail for the strange tubular lanterns.

This view of the same system shows a different style of arrow, while this shot and the following one seems to show the arrows going off with the red signals. The signals are also still wearing their stripes, but have the '60s yellow backing boards fitted.

There are some brilliant views of a part-time one-way system outside Oxford Road station. Here you can see the large secret signs for two-way or one-way operation. And in this shot, you can see the secret signs for 'no entry' and the NRT on the signals. This part of the set is worth a flick through.

Lastly, this shot of the Manchester Airport road tunnels caught my eye. Some form of secret sign prior to the tunnels and a fantastic set of two-aspect SGE wig wags (there are more pictures of these elsewhere in the set).

Edited to fix a link

[Chris Bertram]

I thought I'd pop this in here as it's on-topic.

I've been trawling through the Manchester Archives photographs which are available on Flickr, mostly from the City Corporation's Engineering Department. There's some quite remarkable photographs at various stages throughout the life of some interesting equipment.

Here's the Upper Brook St tidal flow system, with a great level of detail for the strange tubular lanterns.

This view of the same system shows a different style of arrow, while this shot and the following one seems to show the arrows going off with the red signals. The signals are also still wearing their stripes, but have the '60s yellow backing boards fitted.

There are some brilliant views of a part-time one-way system outside Oxford Road station. Here you can see the large secret signs for two-way or one-way operation. And in this shot, you can see the secret signs for 'no entry' and the NRT on the signals. This part of the set is worth a flick through.

Lastly, this shot of the Manchester Airport road tunnels caught my eye. Some form of secret sign prior to the tunnels and a fantastic set of two-aspect SGE wig wags (there are more pictures of these elsewhere in the set).

Nice old-style "NO LEFT TURN" box sign in the third photo.

[WHBM]

Oxford Road in Uxbridge, out to the M40, used to have a pre-lane control signals setup, just done with repeated signs. It's an S3, with direct 1930s frontages, but the signs just said something like "Centre Lane inbound only 7am-9am, outbound only 4pm-6pm". I never got how that worked with right turners into the frontages. It probably came after the M40 opened in the 1960s.

When Edinburgh Princes Street had signals installed in 1972 (until then the junctions had full time policeman control !) there were some unusual Secret Signs that came on and off with different phases of the signals, to prevent right turning at slightly staggered junctions. I think they were done with mechanical shutters rather than illumination.

An interesting separate discussion from this era is what was the last junction to have full time (or at least all-day) police control from an officer standing in the middle. There was one in Durham I recall into the mid-1970s, which something tells me was traffic wardens rather than police.

[traffic-light-man]

Nice old-style "NO LEFT TURN" box sign in the third photo.

Yes, I'd thought that too. Surprised to see it still there given the secondary has a Worboys NLT in the square box (as opposed to the retro-fit signs for the old rectangular boxes).

When Edinburgh Princes Street had signals installed in 1972 (until then the junctions had full time policeman control !) there were some unusual Secret Signs that came on and off with different phases of the signals, to prevent right turning at slightly staggered junctions. I think they were done with mechanical shutters rather than illumination.

There is (or was) a PIF on YouTube showing Albert Bridge in London with Pre-Worboys prism signs. There are stills shown here and here.

An interesting separate discussion from this era is what was the last junction to have full time (or at least all-day) police control from an officer standing in the middle. There was one in Durham I recall into the mid-1970s, which something tells me was traffic wardens rather than police.

That is indeed an interesting question. I know there was a drive to remove the ones in Liverpool in the 1960s, and that's when the first traffic control computer (Plessey XL9) was installed. I was surprised that bobbies controlling traffic were still a fixture that late on, to be honest.

I remember on match days well into the '90s, you would often see traffic constables controlling selected junctions, but usually using the control panel on the traffic signals cabinet. It certainly wasn't 'routine' as in the original style of traffic control you mention.

[Bryn666]

The junction of King William Street and Church Street in Blackburn had police control until 1971 as well when the shopping centre extension removed the junction (it was replaced with signals).

[Owain]

Now I'm wondering if the tidal flow on the A470 North Road in Cardiff has changed at all since I was a boy ('80s)?

It doesn't look like it, although I guess the signage I knew would have been more like that in the photo in OP (i.e. no orange flashers).