Siemens Helios pedestrian signal head

In 1965, industrial designer David Mellor created a new, standardised traffic light head (see AIBDC : 009359) for the Ministry of Transport. At the same time he designed a new pedestrian signal consisting of a small green walking figure to denote when it was safe to cross the road, and a stationary red figure to illustrate when it was not. This pedestrian signal head incorporates that original design but it is encased within an updated body, injection moulded in polypropylene (PP) by Siemens. In the original Mellor design, each light had a hinged opening at the front that provided access to the bulb but the transformer unit was located behind and required more time and effort to maintain. This modular design houses all of the internal componentry within one box that opens via two sliding clips at the front, thereby simplifying the process of installation and fault repair. The boxes are clipped together and holes in the mouldings provide passage routes for cabling. The Helios pedestrian signal head was commonly used on UK roads circa 2000-2010, when the optical system was updated to LED, consuming less power, reducing energy costs and considered to be safer as since the LED bulb could produce the required colour, all the lenses could now be clear and the lamp would always appear unlit when not in use. This example is equipped with tungsten halogen bulbs and coloured acrylic lenses and was gifted to the museum by Yunex Traffic who supply, install and maintain traffic signal and control equipment for the BCP council.

moulded: "Siemens" (revese)

AIBDC : 009359