Roadside Hazard Warning/Toledo Torches

Bob,

I saw them on all the street construction sites in the Bronx of my youth (1950s).

We called them smudge pots. As I recall them, they would be very small in O scale. I think they were only about a foot in diameter. But they would definitely set the era on a layout.

Jim

I have a set of similar torches that I picked up at Sam's Club several years back.  We use them to burn citronella oil when sitting on the deck.  I don't know if they are as large as the originals.  Mine are 7" diameter.  A 1/4" wooden ball, painted black, with an amber led set into the top would fit the bill.  

Tom

We also called these "smudge pots".  They were filled with oil and would burn for a day or two if memory serves.

I seem to recall those round "smudge pots" still being used along road projects in the 1960's in New York state.

 photo from internet

I'm glad someone else instantly thought of Acme. Boris Badunov also comes to mind. I was disappointed when electric warning blinkers appeared late in my childhood. 

Black pony beads would also work and would have enough opening in them to get a small LED through.

I built some of these in "O"scale.  Took a large ball head sewing pin, cut off most of the pin and slipped a piece of small tube over the stub.  A bit of cotton made the smoke with a touch of orange at the base for the flame.  A bit of tweezer work and a light touch with the CA.

George Lasley

I remember seeing those things while walking to elementary school in the late 1960's.  They were placed along the roadway to warn motorists or pedestrians of the oncoming roadwork.  There were 3 or 4 of them lined up if I remember correctly.  We'd  stop and mess with them until we got holler'd at.  This was in a fairly densely populated neighborhood and lots of kids.  Hard to believe they allowed something with an open flame to sit there like that.  Thanks for bringing up this topic, I've never heard anyone mentioning those things in all these years.   

I have always thought of these old torches whenever I see the small models of the modern flashers for model railroads.  Because, in my mind, the flashers don't fit well in the scenes from the early 60's and before.  Before my recent research on the subject I was starting to think maybe these torches were a figment of my imagination because in 50 years I have never heard mention of those old torches or seen pictures of them.  Plus the hard to believe fact, like ALCOC420 said, that they had an open flame and were easily accessible to boys who may have just lost their baseball and were looking for something else to do!   How did we survive?

Thanks for your comments!

When I would walk the one mile to grade school in the '50s, it was not uncommon to pass these where a sidewalk, business entrance or a road project was being affected. Being an altar boy, having to be at St. Martin's for the 6 o'clock mass required walking in the early morning darkness where those small torches would be flickering along the deserted streets, emitting their distinctive odor. Thanks for reviving a memory that I had forgotten about.

alcoc420 posted:

I remember seeing those things while walking to elementary school in the late 1960's.  They were placed along the roadway to warn motorists or pedestrians of the oncoming roadwork.  There were 3 or 4 of them lined up if I remember correctly.  We'd  stop and mess with them until we got holler'd at.  This was in a fairly densely populated neighborhood and lots of kids.  Hard to believe they allowed something with an open flame to sit there like that.  Thanks for bringing up this topic, I've never heard anyone mentioning those things in all these years.   

Same here. We used them to light fire crackers!    Wow, been a long time since I've thought of those.

Yep....smudge pots here.......I was fascinated by them as a kid. I'm going to make some from correct sized beads and multi-strand fiber optic line.  Use a flicker led to light....

Woodland Scenics included some with their road workers accessories....