72d - New Road, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire

72d. New Road, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. Located on the main north-western road leading into the town are a number of 1950s' Stanton 6B 25 ft concrete columns, nowadays supporting ELECO GR 150 135 Watt SOX lanterns. With Staffordshire's street lighting being in the throes of a county-wide PFI replacement programme, these relics will disappear one day in the not-too-distant future, although the current replacement programme suggests that this will not be before late 2019, when the columns will be the best part of 70 years old - I somehow doubt that whatever replaces them will last even half that time! With thanks to Robin Idle for informing me of these installations.

The lanterns currently fitted are not original; these will have been fitted as part of a later lighting upgrade along the road.

The installations are generally in good condition for their age, save for the concrete being damaged towards the lantern end of the bracket.

The bracket on this example was turned slightly away from being perfectly perpendicular to the carriageway.

The 'B' type bracket is instantly recognisable, thanks to the attractive continuation of the curve past the back of the column.

The base compartments of these columns are rather bulky - a nod to their 1950s' heritage, when lamp control gear was nearly always situated in the column base, and was considerably larger than the gear of today is. In fact, this design of base is a streamlining of the original Stanton 6, which featured a wider, octagonal base with a door shaped to match.

The close-up of this GR 150 reveals that the Zodion SS6 photocell is rated at 55 Lux.

The column had a slight, but barely noticeable, lean to it.

One of the lighting positions along this stretch was occupied by a slightly newer Stanton 1808 column.

The GR 150 lantern attached to this bracket is possibly original.