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This 1930s 'Lights of London' (Little Auctions, March 21st) has seen better days, and someone's had fun with the paint pot, but has anyone seen one before? I can find no reference to it anywhere. These odd-ball, forgotten, British pinball machines always intrigue me.

Looks like one of my restorations

I wonder if the traffic lights changed like a Tuck Shop traffic light when the ball passed

I imagine the idea was to progress the lights from red to green by hitting the correct scores, possibly for a payout?

pennymachines wrote: ↑Sat Mar 28, 2020 7:18 pm possibly for a payout?

Well Yes, the much lauded "JACKPOT" !

I'd love to see it working, hope someone able bought it to restore

Apparently London’s first electric traffic lights were installed on the corner of St James’s Street, Piccadilly, in 1926, with police stationed next to them at all times to ensure drivers obeyed them. That could be a clue to dating this pinball, probably made when traffic lights were a novelty.

True... So I found this photo labelled 'St James Street, Piccadilly, London - 1925', which shows the lights.



According to Wikipedia, the first automatic lights in Britain were placed at the junction of Lichfield Street and Princess Street, Wolverhampton, in 1927.

Tellingly, the Pathé newsreel clip in this video is tiltled, The New "Lights of London".



The New "Lights of London" British Pathé, 1926 (these automatic lights appear to have replaced the manual ones installed a year earlier).

wembleylion wrote: ↑Sun Mar 29, 2020 8:49 am There is also a Belisha beacon each side of the traffic signal so this would date it to around 1934 when the first ones were installed in Britain.

Ah yes. At first I thought you were referring to something in the (American) photo I posted. Again first tried in London, then rolled out nationally the following year so, yes, 1934 sounds plausible.

The Lights of London theme certainly would not have been sold that way in the US, so I thought possibly a US machine with new local casting added? But I couldn't place the trim or anything I'd seen like it. Was just conversing with a specialist early pin collector in the US about something else so asked him, he thinks UK made as all the front hardware is unlike anything US made and he also has never seen the game.

That would have made a nice little restoration project for you Gameswat!

Certainly a rare and interesting game, appears you have player control over the fingers to change scoring hole shots using the large knob on the front, plus being early E/M. But with such a large backlog of projects I've almost stopped buying machines, unless something really unusual and this wouldn't have been wacky enough. Hardly anything turns up in Aust these days of any description!

Slightly off topic, a picture of B.M.CO 1930s allwins, BELISHA BEACON & TRAFFIC LIGHTS.