73. Rolls-Royce, Wilmore Road, Sinfin. At the entrance to Gate 7 of one of the factories are a couple of gear-in base Revo Horizons, mounted on Abacus base-hinged columns. It is likely that these are owned by the company rather than the Council, as more Horizons could be seen on roads inside the factory complex, although they have since been replaced with LED lanterns. The lanterns all still run mercury lamps; however, one of the examples on the road was not working when I visited - this looks to be because a telegraph pole has been installed next to the column, and the telephone cables would be in the way of the column's lowering radius - meaning that no maintenance can take place in the base.

Both columns were still extant in September 2015; the column installed adjacent the telegraph pole is pictured first.

The lantern's glass refractor bowl looked to be in good condition.

 

The refractors are optimised for use with the long-obsolete medium pressure mercury (MA/V) lamp; a magnetic arc deflector would be fitted within the lantern, in order to allow these lamps to be operated horizontally without fear of the arc causing damage to the lamp's glasswork.

 

How incongruous does this 1960s' installation appear with the modern Rolls-Royce factory as a backdrop!

 

The grub screws used in securing the lantern to the bracket appear to be visible on the top of the lantern - they will be 'fun' to turn if ever the lantern is removed!

 

The other example is beside a large tree, which would also restrict the movement of the base-hinged column, but perhaps not as severely. These pictures date from 2005; the tree was in full leaf when I paid a return visit in September 2015, meaning that the lantern was barely visible in amongst the branches.

 

The very blue (or green as it appears here) light of the mercury lamp contrasted sharply with the yellow of the council-owned MA 90 SOX lanterns.

The Elton Road Rolls-Royce site also has lanterns surrounding it that can be classed as 'Survivors'. Click here to see them.

Moor Lane also has Survivors - these can be seen here.

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