20C. Uttoxeter Road, Foston. Situated alongside the entrance to Foston Hall Prison is a 10 m tubular steel column supporting a GEC Z9554 135 Watt SOX lantern. Today, this portion of Uttoxeter Road serves no other purpose other than to provide an access to the prison; the A50 Bypass having replaced the smaller road in the early 1990s. This installation is the last pre-bypass example to survive - everything else was (either) replaced, or removed entirely during the alterations. Indeed, the only other column on this road would have been installed as part of this construction, and supports a Philips MA 50. Whether the older installation was deemed to be new enough at the time to not warrant replacement, or whether, simply, it was forgotten, is unknown, but the fact that it was retained allows the modern enthusiast to have an appreciation of how the road was lit formerly.
The presence of a 10 m column on a no-through, minor road seems incongruous.
The outreach bracket is cranked upwards, and features support webbing for approximately half of its length.
The aluminium-canopied lantern is in as-original condition, complete with its P42 photocell detector.
With the exception of the cobwebs, the column base is unchanged too - much of the space is taken up by the Z1718 Leak Transformer - designed for running 135 - 180 Watt SOX lamps, 160 Watt SLI/H lamps and 200 Watt SOI/H lamps. The Z1781XI 25 µF capacitor below was manufactured in September 1971, which indicates the approximate age of the installation. Below that is the relay for the P42 - notice that the Auto / Test switch is in the latter position; the photocell is no longer in use, as a Zodion SS19-DLS part-night miniature photocell fitted to the nearby feeder pillar switches both this, and the MA 50 installation, these days. The final component is the Lucy cut-out, housing the fuse.
Covering the minicell brought the two lanterns into operation - the nearly fifty-year-old Z9554 lantern (at the time of photographing) and gear working without any issues whatsoever.
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