Willis Lamm's
Traffic Signal Collection

  W. S. Darley & Co.
Traffic Signals

W. S. Darley & Co. was founded in 1908 as a supplier of municipal supplies through catalogs. Small towns across America could order anything out of the catalog from a police whistle to a complete fire engine. In the days before major supply chains, catalogs were a common way to acquire supplies and equipment in rural areas.

Early on in its business Darley started producing a line of simple but durable traffic signals and beacons. The vast majority were "stand alone" single fixed 4-way signals with internal controllers mounted inside on the bottom plates of the signals. Darley also produced single face signals for oddly shaped intersections that were operated from post mounted controllers.

Before WW-II, Darley's catalog sales made it's "Simplex" traffic signalsthe most popular traffic signal line in America. Eventually the move toward traffic actuated and computer coordinated traffic signals drove municipalities to acquire more intelligent and adaptive systems. Darley dropped its traffic signal line from its catalog in the early 1960s.

The collection includes a number restored Darley signals.


Darley C-810
"Two Bulb" Traffic Signal


Darley C-811
"Three Bulb" Traffic Signal


Darley D-131
4-way Beacon


Darley E-326
"Eight Bulb" Traffic Signal


Darley D-200
"Twelve Bulb" Traffic Signal


Darley D-480
Single Face Traffic Signal


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