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Now and then
http://www.ukastle.co.uk/discussion/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7
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Author:  David [ Sat Feb 27, 2010 11:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Now and then

Here's a view originally posted by sotonsteve in the Website Discussion Thread...

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It's a view of Kirby Road in Walton-On-The-Naze, Essex, and was taken in 1967. It is one of the only known photographs to feature the rare Phosco P149 lantern.

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Fast forward 43 years, and this is how Kirby Road, Walton-On-The-Naze looked earlier today!

Oh alright then, here's a colour version...

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Kirby Road, Walton-On-The-Naze, February 2010.

Sadly none of the Concrete Utilities hockey-stick columns remain. The nearest two lamp posts are octagonal columns with GEC Z9580s, probably dating from the late 1980s, and the most distant lamp post is a round hockey-stick with an MI26, which could have been installed any time over the last 20 years.

Although none of the Concrete Utilities columns exist in this view, this is not the case for some other sections of Kirby Road. In common with most other roads, it's always the outside of a bend which loses its columns first!

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This straighter section of Kirby Road, Walton-On-The-Naze, still retains all its original Concrete Utilities hockey-stick columns, but all the Phosco P149s were replaced with these Thorn Beta Fives about 30 years ago. So until another photo turns up from the archives, we'll just have to imagine how this street looked when it was lit by Phosco P149s!

Author:  Stelmer [ Sun Feb 28, 2010 12:32 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Now and then

Another victim of the early 70's power shortages.  :cry:

Author:  Gramma6 [ Sun Feb 28, 2010 2:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Now and then

We musn't have had any power shortages here on the Fylde Coast as our mercury lighting continued en masse until the late 80s/early 90s!  :)

Author:  Phosco152 [ Sun Feb 28, 2010 3:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Now and then

The power cuts due to the miners strikes of the mid 1970s were country wide. It was this rude awakening which led to energy awareness of that time. There was a government "switch off, save it" campaign much like the reduce carbon footprint adverts of current times.

This increased awareness of energy use, led to the demise of main road fluorescents and the wide adoption of SOX. Residential mercury lighting was also phased out for more efficient SOX although this was led widespread than the demise of main road fluorescent lighting. In some areas, mercury residential lighting was left untouched.

It is a shame that all of that "prudence" was lost and forgotten about for a generation, energy efficiency has only just come back on the agenda and is really a half hearted approach compared with that 35 years ago.

Author:  sotonsteve [ Sun Feb 28, 2010 3:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Now and then

Phosco152 wrote:
It is a shame that all of that "prudence" was lost and forgotten about for a generation, energy efficiency has only just come back on the agenda and is really a half hearted approach compared with that 35 years ago.


Such a true statement, and aside from the energy efficiency drive being half hearted nowadays, in many situations we are actually getting more wasteful and less efficient. Need I mention 600w SON now appearing on motorways as an example? We will probably only truly start becoming more energy efficient when we have nationwide power cuts again, forcing us to be more energy efficient.

Author:  Gramma6 [ Sun Feb 28, 2010 5:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Now and then

sotonsteve wrote:
Phosco152 wrote:
It is a shame that all of that "prudence" was lost and forgotten about for a generation, energy efficiency has only just come back on the agenda and is really a half hearted approach compared with that 35 years ago.


Such a true statement, and aside from the energy efficiency drive being half hearted nowadays, in many situations we are actually getting more wasteful and less efficient. Need I mention 600w SON now appearing on motorways as an example? We will probably only truly start becoming more energy efficient when we have nationwide power cuts again, forcing us to be more energy efficient.


If they did that I bet all side road SON lighting would be mass-replaced with CFL and main road SON mass-replaced with Cosmo! Like a modern equivalent to what went on in the 70s  ;)

Author:  Phosco152 [ Sun Feb 28, 2010 7:54 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Now and then

This image of Tilehurst Road in Reading appears in Public Lighting Engineer, March 1960, courtesy of Simon Cornwell.

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It shows brand new S&L columns with the trademark Reading curved brackets. Lantern type is mercury but the make is unfortunately unknown.

Tilehurst Road Reading, August 2009.

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Tilehurst Road has undergone a large amount of redevelopment and many of the original buildings from 50 years ago no longer exist. I am not 100% certain it is exactly the same location (and not helped by trying to compare with a night photograph) but the kerb line on the left of the road (the bus stop layby and the corner beyond it) and the positioning of the columns is very similar, and the only location along the road where such a similarity occurs.

The columns now have Urbis ZX3’s but these columns are also know to have been fitted with GR150s, GEC Z9554s and SGS203s elsewhere in Reading. Hopefully I will eventually unearth a picture of the original mercury lanterns that were once fitted to these columns.

Author:  Lampman [ Sun Apr 11, 2010 10:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Now and then

Not such a long time ago but there has been some change from 1996 to now 2009

Not much has changed from1975 till now 2010

Fareham Road near its junction with Cunningham Drive 1982 and 2010

Author:  Alex [ Sun Apr 11, 2010 10:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Now and then

Some interesting comparisons there Lampman :)

Author:  Stelmer [ Sun Apr 11, 2010 11:01 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Now and then

Finally, I found some interesting pics of local landmarks:

Sometime in the 70's/early 80's and Now


1957 and 2008

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