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 Post subject: Re: Overseas lighting
PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 8:01 am 
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In the Netherlands the predecessor to the Philips SRS201, the Philips SRM, can still be quite commonly found.

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These lanterns were produced in the 1960s and 1970s. The SRM could take either a 90W or 135W SOX lamp, and the longer SRL could take 180W SOX. They were available either with clear or refractored bowls.

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A few of you will recognise this location. The former A2 Lekbrug motorway bridge south of Utrecht, now bypassed by a much larger motorway bridge to the west. The old Philips SRM lanterns proudly stand abandoned on the bridge.

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A close up. The closest lantern has a refractor bowl whilst the other lantern has a replacement clear bowl.

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The slip roads to the motorway crossing the new bridge are lit with Philips SRS201s running 135W SOX lamps, mounted on stepped aluminium hockeystick columns. Installations like this are very common on motorway slip roads in the Netherlands, often with 90W and 135W SOX lamps and occasionally with 180W SOX lamps. Most motorway and slip road SOX lanterns are remote geared. Whilst new lighting installed on Dutch motorways is generally SON there have been a number of recent SOX installations on slip roads, and don't be surprised if you see shiny new aluminium columns with shiny new remote geared SRS201s.

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An Innolumis Lumis LED lantern. In years gone by LED technology was not as efficient as it is today, and using white LEDs did not offer a power saving over conventional discharge lamps. The company Innolumis then came up with the scientific idea of producing light at a part of the spectrum that the human eye is sensitive to. They produced two variants in the past, the Green, which was fitted with green LEDs, and the EcoWhite, which was fitted with a mixture of red and green LEDs. By producing pure monochromatic green light they were able to make lighting levels appear brighter with lower wattages in comparison with using white LEDs. However, monochromatic light is not always desirable, so introducing some red LEDs brought in some slight colour rendering. However, using a mixture of red and green LEDs is not as efficient as using purely green LEDs. We have previously seen red and green LED versions in Plymouth, and now we have seen the Green LED versions.

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I had to play around with the images a bit to make the green colour more accurate. The light is a vivid apple green, and it is quite effective. Obviously, white LEDs are much better now than they were, but it was interesting to see this innovation.

More to come later.


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 Post subject: Re: Overseas lighting
PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 11:06 am 
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One one of the Euroroutes, can't remeber which, between Rotterdam and Amsterdam there is a highmast with a sole Vectra on the top, it'll more likely to run SON but it looked unusual.

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 Post subject: Re: Overseas lighting
PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 11:11 am 
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Urbis Saturn Land wrote:
One one of the Euroroutes, can't remeber which, between Rotterdam and Amsterdam there is a highmast with a sole Vectra on the top, it'll more likely to run SON but it looked unusual.


There is a motorway in Rotterdam which has TrafficVisions mounted on top of 30m tall columns, either post-top or on brackets.

GSV


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 Post subject: Re: Overseas lighting
PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 6:44 pm 
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Motorway lighting south of Calais uses a sight familiar in the UK - ZX3 lanterns - but on concrete columns. Where powerlines cross the motorway, a variety of reduced height installations are used.

In Calais itself, vintage concrete columns still survive but retrofitted with modern SON lanterns. Brand new concrete columns are still being installed, other modern concrete columns have contemporary brackets.

Aluminium columns are also popular, as are lanterns with bright coloured canopies.

At the Cite Europe retail park, are some very striking installations - they don't look very friendly to large flocks of birds!

The ferry port even has concrete high masts.

Pictures start here.


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 Post subject: Re: Overseas lighting
PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 7:47 pm 
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As previously mentioned, Belgium extensively lights its motorway network using SOX lanterns. We did spot some vintage SON lanterns on concrete columns as well. Unfortunately the weather on both the outbound and especially the return trip, was very gloomy and misty which made it challenging photography wise. Pictures start here.


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 Post subject: Re: Overseas lighting
PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 2:40 am 
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The curvy columns in Calais are something else - wouldn't mind seeing some of those over here somewhere.

sotonsteve wrote:
Urbis Saturn Land wrote:
One one of the Euroroutes, can't remeber which, between Rotterdam and Amsterdam there is a highmast with a sole Vectra on the top, it'll more likely to run SON but it looked unusual.


There is a motorway in Rotterdam which has TrafficVisions mounted on top of 30m tall columns, either post-top or on brackets.

GSV

I waited for streetview to load, and the first thing I said to myself when the image was loaded was "oh for goodness sake! that's ridiculous!" :lol: The only way that would possibly look any more hilarious would be for WRTL 2Tones to be fitted at the top!


Those green LED lanterns are a bit odd, hopefully they're not installed near train lines. I wonder if there are any SOX lit streets with columns directly opposite each other, where the green LED lanterns have been used for casual replacements - green monochrome and yellow monochrome, that'd be a mindbender!

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 Post subject: Re: Overseas lighting
PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 8:18 am 
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In the Netherlands they still use a lot of catenary lighting on motorways...

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This is quite typical, Philips SDP253 lanterns running 135W SOX mounted to the catenary wires at a height of 12-15m, and slip road lighting with stepped tubular steel hockeystick columns and remote geared Philips SRS201 90W SOX lanterns. You would not get a motorway to motorway junction lit like this back in the UK, instead we would be using wattages that set the planet on fire.

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The catenary lighting here comes up to a bridge, and where it stops an additional Philips SDP253 has been mounted to the column to ensure continuity of lighting levels.

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The other way the Dutch ensure continuity between different sections of catenary lighting is to install columns with rectangular hoop brackets and SDP253 lanterns mounted parallel to the carriageways. You will sometimes see this next to overbridges, underneath large interchanges, or sometimes you will see several in a line where for various reasons they have decided not to put in a span of catenary lighting.

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A night shot. Being Dutch motorway lighting, the road surface is not lit to the British extent by which headlights are rendered useless. Instead a highly uniform level of soft and glare free light gives extra assistance to car headlights.


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 Post subject: Re: Overseas lighting
PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 4:42 pm 
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Unlike the Netherlands and Belgium, the use of motorway lighting in Germany is rare. However the motorway services contain a wealth of large bracket fluorescent lighting and multi-lamp, post top lanterns, probably running MBF.

As sotonsteve has already mentioned, fluorescent catenary lighting is often used in the centre of towns, but also large curved bracket installations running fluorescent lamps.

Mercury lighting is also still common, often twin lamp fittings, but at the time of our explorations, these were only running 1 lamp.

Twin lamp CFL lanterns are often used in residential areas, as are single 40W lamp fittings. In one road, we saw twin 40W lanterns at 8m, but only running 1 tube.

It all looks to be coming to an end with the invasion of SON and Cosmo Iridiums. Never a fan of the Iridium, but even I have to concede they look surprisingly good on the older large curve bracket columns.

My pictures start here.


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 Post subject: Re: Overseas lighting
PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 5:47 pm 
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In Bruges, Belgium between the centre (centrum) and the central railway station a footpath is lit with 36 LED Stelas painted in a sort of moss green colour, if I ever go again I'll try and get a few snaps.

Phosco152 / Sotonsteve, did you notice in Calais the octagon-cube post top lanterns which surround a local park near to the town hall, I do think that these run SON judging by the internal baffle cone surrounding the lamp.

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 Post subject: Re: Overseas lighting
PostPosted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 12:40 am 
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I take it that Dutch motorways can't be seen from space then....

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/wessex_str ... 616017155/
What caught my interest here is that it appears as though the lamps have convex lenses below them to 'widen' the arc tube. Over here only LED lanterns have lenses fitted below the light source.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wessex_str ... 616017155/
very elegant

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wessex_str ... 616017155/
And you were probably expecting a comment from me on this one. This gets a 'like' from me. The bottom of the lantern reminds me of Phosco designs, whilst the top reminds me of an Eleco Way.

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