I just finished hooking up the Walthers traffic lights with their controller, and they are pretty cool. Even have the slight delay on the green light after it turns red the other way.
Making your own is an admirable goal. Save yourself some time and grief and buy the ready mades.
Are you doing this for the fun and challenge of it? If so, yes, LEDs unless you're modeling in S-gauge or larger, and even then LEDs will be the better choice. Traffic lights in particular need a lot of bulbs in a small space, and the heat from incandescents is going to be too much to get rid of.
If you just want an HO-scale traffic light, though, go with the Walthers ones. Just look at one on a shelf, and you'll see what you're up against.
Bakatronics makes a 4-sided traffic light kit, and also a more complex sequencer kit. I picked up one of the 4-sided kits ($8.99) hoping to use it instead of the more expensive Walthers traffic light controller, but the Bakatronics circuit is common-cathode and the Walthers one is common-anode, so they are not compatible.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Yep, LED's for me too.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
LED's.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
im making my own crossing signals an traffic lights what should i use grain of wheat bulbs or gain of rice bulbs?