Ideas for intersection stoplights?

[mikedemana]

See the central intersection in the above photo? If I wanted to add hanging stoplights to it, how should I go about it? Ideally, I want something stable and not going to be knocked over by careless players moving their miniatures around. I thought a pole at each corner connected by a wire to the two adjacent ones should be stable, right? Hanging from the stiff wires would be the streetlights themselves.

The whole thing would lift up off of the street so that it could be repositioned in a different place for a different game. What do you think? Is that viable, or does someone have a better idea? Thanks in advance!

Mike Demana

[Cat]

The poles would have to be sunk into the board to stand a chance of not being knocked over regularly, especially with a connecting wire between them.
 
I think the simplest to dismantle for transport and still be sturdy would be to sink and glue short lengths of metal tube directly into the boards, then just drop the poles into the tubes.
 
I've been pondering something like this if I eventually decide to add street light poles to my board.  They would look cool, but I'm not certain yet if they would cause too much hassle during play or not (and that's without wires...).

[snitcythedog]

I agree that hanging stoplights will need something attached to the board.  Another option would be for simple pole lights.  They are used all over the US and would still fit the bill.

[Burgundavia]

Could do an old-school central pillar light in the middle of the intersection. That'd be low and not able to be knocked over.

[Pattus Magnus]

It’s an interesting model making challenge. The ideas above based on having tubes in the game board to hold the corner posts seems most feasible to me. Similar idea to sailing ships with removable rigging to help game play on the deck.

That type of suspended light is pretty uncommon in western Canada, I had to think a bit about when I saw one last. I think these days they’re pretty much always a temporary fixture during road repairs, used while the permanent post-mounted lights are unavailable. I’m not suggesting that you not use them, I am assuming you want them because they are setting/ period appropriate for games set in large cities in the ‘70s and ‘80s.

[6milPhil]

I'd look at doing poles with a lot of weight to the bottom, so maybe a number of metal washers lined up to take a piece of dowel. Screw a hoop into the top of the dowel, string the wire with the lights on between the two. Look at cheap jewellery findings for all the fixings. Then you can dismantle them for storage.

Players will knock these whatever you do...

[mikedemana]

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone! I'm trying to avoid sinking anything into the board itself, as my asphalt are 12" square cork sections. The concrete is a nice, fleece mat that I picked up last year. So, I may have to look at pole-mounted signal lights.

Thanks again, everyone...

Mike Demana

[CapnJim]

Google search "O gauge stoplights".  You get this:  https://www.google.com/search?q=o+guage+stoplights&oq=o+guage+stoplights&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQRRhAMgYIAhBFGEDSAQk5NTA2ajBqMTWoAgiwAgE&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[DS615]

The pole style, where there's one pole that arcs over the road and has 2 lights on it, would be best IMO.
It would have to be heavy, and the lights light, to stand there.
Or, it would need just a long base that runs out under the lights.  Textured to match the roads, or even transparent.
It would be less likely to be hit very often.
A wire across the board would look great, but would be hit or snagged on a pretty regular basis I would think.

[Cat]

Any sort of tangly wire would definitely be bad when gamers get near it.
 
Brass wire bent a bit to give a little droop would be the best shot at that sort of thing.

[Thargor]

You may have to build an intersection piece that can be placed wherever you need it.  Probably metal sheet with tubes soldered to it that you can then fix the poles into.  You could attach small magnets to the pole tops and to the thread that you'll suspend the lights from, so that you can hang them.

Anything other than metal is going to be fragile and therefore risky to transport/game with.

[mikedemana]

Keep the suggestions rolling in, everyone. This potential build is about third in line, so no commitments have been made to one idea or the other, yet...! 

Mike Demana