Traffic light in 1071-1075

[mitsguy2001]

By the way, in looking at the pictures from Episode 1056, the traffic light appears to be completely off.  The yellow and green lights are both off.  The red light is not visible, but that one was almost never used.

Back then, was it normal for the traffic light to always be off during an episode, rather than green?  Or, was it perhaps flashing yellow, and that picture was when it was off?

[mitsguy2001]

No, I distinctly remember the yellow light flashing in 1066-1070 (no idea about 1721).  I think what you are thinking of is that Tim said that sometimes (such as in 1001) the studio lights reflect off of the green light, making it appear to be on.  I wonder if maybe that was why the traffic light was changed?

But i thought you said it was green, at least on 1066 if not 1067-1070. Didn't you say so in reply #17 of this thread?

http://neighborhoodarchive.com/forum/index.php?topic=789.15

Or did i just misunderstand you? And yes, it was indeed green on 1721 (but probably not 1722-1725) because someone else said so and Tim made a note of it on that episode's article.

I'm sorry, that was a typo.  I will correct it.  The traffic light was flashing yellow during the opening of 1066 (and all later episodes), and steady green during the actual episode (and all later episodes).  It seems that in the black and white episodes (at least some of them), the light was always yellow, even during the episode.  When did it switch to green?

The flashing green in 1721 is bizzarre, since in the US, flashing green traffic lights have no meaning.  Was there some explanation for that?  Or was it a production error?  Or maybe the yellow light burned out?

Do we know yet when the traffic light during the epsidoes became green rather than yellow?  I had assumed 1001, but my latest observation from 1056 shows that might not be the case.  Maybe it was 1066, the earliest episode I remember.

[cjsebes]

Hey, all. I just wanted to chime in on the traffic light mystery and give you my two cents as a collector of traffic signals.

That strip of photos that were posted appear to be the same traffic signal. To me, it looks to be a Marbelite TE-19408. These were very common, being manufactured from about the late 1950s through the mid 1970s. It's not uncommon to find some still in service today around New York and New Jersey.

It's likely the same light the entire time through all episodes. The visors were likely changed out or cut down as they are easily removable with four screws holding each one on. Those visors are known as tunnel visors. I doubt the signal was swapped out. The hinges and doors seem to be the same in all of the photos.

I hope this helps. BTW, here's mine in green with cutaway visors.

[mitsguy2001]

Thanks.  I wonder why they changed the visors.  Do you think that the traffic lights in the black and white seasons are also the same?

[cjsebes]

I believe it's the same one. If you look at the location of the hinges on the left side of the traffic light, they're the same, even on this screen grab from the black-and-white days.

[cjsebes]

I've been trying to collect the episodes that show Mr. Rogers interacting with his traffic light. I don't want the whole episode... just the interaction with his signal. I have a couple of them, but have documented all of the episodes. (At least I think I've documented them all.) If anyone can help me get those clips, I'd be forever grateful.

http://www.mytrafficlights.com/photos/MrRogersTrafficLightInteractions.pdf