It is currently Fri Mar 29, 2024 12:44 pm

All times are UTC






Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 235 posts ] 


Author Message
PostPosted: Mon Nov 29, 2010 12:40 am 
Offline
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 06, 2009 12:48 am
Posts: 6227
Images: 1729
gwilisandt wrote:
Some more sightings last week...

GEC Oxfords I think, in very good condition.
http://tinyurl.com/32432d8

Close. They're GEC Z5580DB's - fitted with the deep glass bowl. What makes it sloce is that if a lantern like this is fitted with a refractor and the deep glass bowl, it is sometimes referred to as the "small oxford" lantern by some people. However, the Z5580 does not hold a refractor, only the Z5560 and 5590 on either side in the catalogue hold refractor rings.
Nevertheless, if somebody offered me that lantern for the collection, I wouldn't say no! :lol:

Quote:
Just down the road is this acorn bowled lantern.
http://tinyurl.com/2w4c4sh

That is a GEC Z5560 with the standard 'Diakon' bowl. At the western end of my street is a side street with three of these down - and one has had a new column with working QSS alongside it for ages now. I'm keeping a keen eye on it.......

Quote:
Sleeved post with mercury lantern, again, quite a few in the area.
http://tinyurl.com/2uoen9t

Quite a long sleeve on that. The lantern is a GEC Z8896 - which in itself is quite a common lantern (sadly not in York anymore, the last ones went about 2 weeks ago).

Quote:
This is much easier to see in the winter with the leaves down!
http://tinyurl.com/3859c4q


I can't make this one out - it is either an Eleco or a Phosco, I think. The shape of the collar is very similar to the Eleco Welwyn 3 that I have, which is what makes me think this is an eleco lantern. But Phosco also has other designs that are similar to eleco lanterns, and Eleco lanterns use the Phosco refractors.

Quote:
Large flourescent lanterns, one pair were seen working at night.
http://tinyurl.com/3634c6y

Oh those... Phosco152 took a picture of those and it won the Photo of the Month competition, and now every now and then it'll appear at the top of a page in the forums next to the ukastle title.

_________________
Tesco brings all the mums to the yard...
and they're like "do you have your club card"
Image


Top
 Profile  Personal album 
 
PostPosted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 1:50 am 
Offline
Member
Random avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2009 4:49 pm
Posts: 814
Images: 108
To get back from Aberystwyth, I had to change at Wolverhampton and then Bristol (the alternative being Shrewsbury and then Newport) and as the train was leaving Wolverhampton or entering Birmingham (I forgot which) and there were loads and loads of Alpha 1s on unsleeved columns, and before the train went under a bridge, there was one massive column (10 or 12m) with a concrete double bracket and twin Z9554 or Z9564s. The bracket joint had spalled to death and it was clear that the huge bracket was going to fall soon. Has anyone else seen this? I can't believe that this part of the Midlands has so many concrete columns and rare-ish lanterns (but I already knew Dudley did)

_________________
"I used to rule the world... Now I sweep the streets I used to own."
Remembering GEC.


Top
 Profile  Personal album 
 
PostPosted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 1:33 pm 
Offline
Member
User avatar

Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2009 8:46 pm
Posts: 540
Images: 11
Location: Colchester, Essex
I was wondering if anyone has had the delight of travelling along the A5 through Tamworth?

I took this route home from Brownhills (north of Walsall) last night and was impressed to see miles and miles of LED lighting mounted at 12 metres as the A5 passed through Tamworth, and there was not a failure in sight! Furthermore, the LED lights were designed in a SOX-style 'linear' shape like a stubby, flat-glass Alpha Four (as opposed to cobrahead-style SON lanterns) and the uniformity of illumination was startlingly good compared to the sections of carriageway lit with SON and, dare I say it, even where lit with SOX. There was no bright-dark-bright-dark as seen in conventional street lighting, and because the light source was spread over a large area, there was no practically no glare from the full cut-off luminaires either.

As far as I could tell, the colour temperature of the lighting was daylight.

I've searched high and low on Google for any reference to the new lighting and found nothing, except for companies offering group A street lighting units for sale. As I didn't see the lanterns in daylight, the appearance of the lantern is a mystery to me, but it may have looked a bit like this...

Image
160w LED street lantern found on this page.

Google shows the A5 through Tamworth lit with Trafficvisions, although the same columns have been re-used for the LED lights.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 9:06 pm 
Offline
Site Administration
User avatar

Joined: Mon Nov 09, 2009 5:38 pm
Posts: 3402
Images: 27
Location: Salisbury
Having just been literally a stones throw from there a couple of hours ago with sotonsteve, had we known we would have taken a detour to see them. Oh well next time.


Top
 Profile  Personal album 
 
PostPosted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 10:40 pm 
Offline
Member
User avatar

Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2009 8:46 pm
Posts: 540
Images: 11
Location: Colchester, Essex
A trip up to Lancashire this week gave me the opportunity to have a second look at those LED lanterns on the A5, and also in daylight for the first time. I also grabbed a few photos as dusk was setting in. All photos were taken yesterday (1st February 2011).

Image
The LED lanterns, mounted on the previously installed 12 metre columns, do a pretty good job of lighting the main carriageway.

Image
But compared to the MA60, and even many equivalent SON lanterns, the lantern's size is absolutely tiny.

Image
A side profile of the modern-looking new lanterns. Anyone have a clue as to who makes them, and how much energy they save compared to other light sources?

Image
Despite their tiny size, the lanterns pack a punch - in this photo the light is compared to the light given out by the SON TrafficVisions mounted at 10 metres on the slip road.

Image
One of the advances in technology seems to be the near 'invisibility' of the lanterns when viewed from the side. Compare the numerous lanterns on the main carriageway - if you can see them - with the flat-glass trafficVisions on the slip road.

Image
A zoomed-in version of the above photograph. The street lighting in the rest of Tamworth (in the distance) is clearly visible to the naked eye, but the new LED lanterns are invisible. Only the patches of light on the ground and the lit-up columns offer a clue as to where they are. How's that for full cut-off lighting!


Last edited by David on Mon Oct 09, 2017 5:44 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 11:18 pm 
Offline
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 06, 2009 12:48 am
Posts: 6227
Images: 1729
Images 4 and 5 are brilliant!
The lanterns themselves, particularly in image 5, are very futuristic

_________________
Tesco brings all the mums to the yard...
and they're like "do you have your club card"
Image


Top
 Profile  Personal album 
 
PostPosted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 11:19 pm 
Offline
Member
User avatar

Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2009 7:10 pm
Posts: 1529
Images: 12
I really like them pics David. I hope Main Road LED become more popular.


Last edited by Stelmer on Wed Feb 02, 2011 11:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Top
 Profile  Personal album 
 
PostPosted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 11:54 pm 
Offline
Member
User avatar

Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2009 8:54 pm
Posts: 2977
Images: 210
I'd love to see these on the M62 rather than the new Sapphire's, if the West Midlands is the trail area then if the trail is a success it could be rolled out across the entire network.

_________________
From streetlighting to radio, dance through the night whilst the streetlights are glowing outside.


Top
 Profile  Personal album 
 
PostPosted: Thu Feb 03, 2011 5:23 am 
Offline
Member
User avatar

Joined: Mon Nov 09, 2009 5:27 pm
Posts: 1814
Images: 200
Those are new Philips SpeedStar LED lanterns.


Top
 Profile  Personal album 
 
PostPosted: Thu Feb 03, 2011 3:56 pm 
Offline
Founder
Random avatar

Joined: Mon Nov 09, 2009 5:17 pm
Posts: 1679
Images: 32
Thanks for the identification Steve. I think they look fantastic! Far better than 600w Sapphires that's for sure....


Top
 Profile  Personal album 
 

Display posts from previous:  Sort by  


Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 235 posts ] 

All times are UTC



You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Jump to:  

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 23 guests



Search for: