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 Post subject: Re: South Coast PFI
PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2010 7:51 pm 
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The PFI works in North Hampshire seem slightly more advanced than in the south of the county. Work has started in the Popley region of Basingstoke.

Malletite columns with black WRTL Libras have been installed in Gilbert Close. Some are 55W PL-L whilst others are 36W PL-L. Only a few new columns have been connected so far, with no removals.

Bermuda Close also has new columns, these all seem to be 55W PL-L but none are yet working.

The sun will soon be setting for the last time on these CU aluminium columns. They look like they are licence produced versions of the very similar Eleco column.

Some "new" columns are also marked to be replaced which seems strange.

Remote switching/central monitoring has been specified for the PFI yet both the 36W and 55W lanterns have conventional SELC cells. I wonder if that means the Royce Thompson system that uses RF cells that fit a NEMA socket will be used, unlike the Surrey PFI lanterns which look to have nodes that fit a minicell size cutout. It looks like remote switching/dimming will be implemented at a later stage.

Malta Close has new columns but no new lanterns. Probably around 30 columns have been installed overall. However the estate is a maze of cul de sacs and footpaths which means most of the work will have to be done by hand. I suspect most of the footpaths will get mid hinged columns as there is no vehicular access to them. Many of the columns in roads where no work has yet started are however marked for removal and new column positions are also marked.

A MI50 is around 65W circuit power. A good quality electronic CFL ballast should actually be about the same circuit power as the lamp rating - as the lamp is run at high frequency it produces more light than when on 50Hz gear - this allows the actual lamp rating to be reduced. So even with 55W PL-L there should be a power saving over 35W SOX. Circuit power should be less than 60W.


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 Post subject: Re: South Coast PFI
PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2010 10:06 pm 
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Those CU columns you mention look awfully similar to some Eleco columns up this way in New Earswick that have post top's fitted.

Something I've noticed about the Libra is the lamp is positioned differently to in the residium. In the Residium, the lamp is positioned so that one part of the arc tube is above the other part, whereas the Libra has the full U shape of the tube visible at ground level.

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 Post subject: Re: South Coast PFI
PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2010 10:37 pm 
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I saw the black Libras in south Hampshire for the first time this evening. There are 6m columns along Richmond Road, Monserrat Road and Osborne Road, and 5m columns along Grove Road. All of the Libras in Lee-on-Solent so far are 36w, and like Basingstoke, they all appear to have NEMA photocells, although they are not SELC. Meanwhile, one 8m column has been placed in Pier Street so far, but does not have a lantern yet. A couple of random new columns have been connected up.

Black Libras on green columns looks strange, and I wish they colour coordinated, but perhaps it will grow on me.


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 Post subject: Re: South Coast PFI
PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2010 11:17 pm 
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I predicted Hampshire & Southampton will get black lanterns because the previous staple Urbis ZX3 main road lantern was black. It remains to be seen if the new main road Iridiums will come in black as well...

If this also applies to Southampton, then the black Libras will look the part on black columns better than on the Hampshire green columns also even better than the ridiculous white Sapphire 1s on black columns used previously!

It will be strange seeing black Libras in West Sussex as most lanterns there are lighter coloured like the older Residiums. Maybe standard grey Libras will be used in West Sussex instead of black - I doubt it because as this is a single PFI scheme for all 3 counties then the same lanterns and same colours will be used in all areas unfortunately also so much for variation!


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 Post subject: Re: South Coast PFI
PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2010 11:22 pm 
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sotonsteve wrote:
Black Libras on green columns looks strange, and I wish they colour coordinated, but perhaps it will grow on me.


I'm not sure either and i think that white libras would have looked better or even grey i guess.


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 Post subject: Re: South Coast PFI
PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 11:55 am 
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I actually quite like them...

Hampshire has had "white" lanterns now for over 30 years from the main road Philips MA series, to Mi26/36s and laterly the light grey/white Sapphires. The exception being the mid grey ZX1/U1 and the ZX3s. It is only in the last few years that black ZX3s have been fitted.

I was never a fan of the Surrey/Oxfordshire colour coordinated "all green" approach. Black lanterns (Sapphires, Iridiums) as used in parts of Salisbury and Bath on black columns looks better than a "white" SON lantern.

I think black suits the Libra, it makes a stylish contrast with the green columns and if Hampshire is going to use Iridiums for main roads then at least they look better in black (hopefully with shallow bowls or flat glass).

It will be interesting to see if Southampton retains black columns or if they are "Hampshire green".

Black on green certainly looks far better than Portsmouth's white blobs on galvanised columns.  :lol:


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 Post subject: Re: South Coast PFI
PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 5:45 pm 
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Technically speaking, Hampshire didn't specify black ZX3s. Hampshire specified "standard" ZX3s which came in the dark grey colour, just as Hampshire specified "standard" colour schemes for their other functional lanterns. For most purposes, they can be referred to as being "black", but they're not actually black. If you want to see genuine black ZX3s, go to central London to somewhere like Westminster, then you'd see that those in Hampshire aren't black!

Seeing black Libras was a bit of a shock at first, but they are growing on me. Interesting that they have NEMA photocells though. I guess at some point they will have to do a bulk photocell replacement with NEMA RF nodes.

In Lee-on-Solent, part of Grove Road has old columns and another part has 5m Mallatite hockeysticks with ZX1s. The ZX1s on the Mallatite columns haven't been touched, although the replacement of the S&L columns elsewhere in the road is still in progress. On the section of Grove Road with the Mallatite columns there is one column at the Monserrat Road end which is an early 1990s Fabrikat hockeystick with a ZX1 fitted to it, and this column is being replaced. It is still too early to say what will happen to roads which have a mix of new and old columns though.


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 Post subject: Re: South Coast PFI
PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 8:35 pm 
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I know where you're coming from Steve. I was referring to the ZX3s as black even though they're really dark grey which I thought it is easier to refer these informally as black because these do look black, the same as referring to the lighter ZX3s as white which they're really light grey. Also it is quicker to type out "white" than "light grey" cos I can't be bothered to nitpick unless you have to be specific!

I'm sure an uneducated non-enthusiast will point out a dark grey ZX3 as black until you tell them otherwise.

Are there any new PFI columns springing up in Southampton and West Sussex yet?

I am really dreading the Iridium's resurgence on the South Coast, I am hoping Phosco 152's source was mistaken for referring to Iridiums, because of Libras being installed on side roads, that Arcs will be used - have to wait and see but with Dorset and Portsmouth being Iridiumified, I am not holding my breath!


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 Post subject: Re: South Coast PFI
PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 8:38 pm 
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QSM Quandary wrote:
Are there any new PFI columns springing up in Southampton and West Sussex yet?


Sadly I've not had a lot of time this week to take another look round Southampton, but the Hampshire replacements definitely started before Southampton's.


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 Post subject: Re: South Coast PFI
PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 8:45 pm 
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I don't think any other replacements have started yet considering there is nothing written on the PFI websites for Southampton and West Sussex.


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