Derby's Street Lighting PFI Contract - Robincroft Road, Allestree

The lighting along this road consisted of 8 m tubular steel columns supporting 90 Watt SOX lanterns. From comparing the below inventory records to what was on site at the time of photographing, several of the columns appear to have been replaced in the years between when these records were last used officially (i.e. 1997), and the commencement of the PFI, which is perhaps the reason that the stretch escaped relighting, even though some of the columns along the stretch are much older, and would have qualified for replacement elsewhere on the PFI...not that I am complaining, of course!

Seq. No.	Lamp Number	Location	Lamp Type	Watt	Isolation Point
1	33982	OS 2,1FR STEDMUNDS	SXPL2	35
2	33983	OS NOS 8/10	SXPL2	35
3	33984	OS NOS 24/26	SXPL2	35
4	33985	OS NOS 38/40	SXPL2	35
5	33986	OS NO 56	SXPL2	35
6	33987	OS NO 66	SXPL2	35
7	33988	OS NO 53A	SXPL2	90
8	33989	OS GARAGE	SXPL1	90
9	33990	OS NOS 57/59	SXPL2	90
10	111268	ADJ NEW JUNCTION	SXPL2	90
11	33991	OS NO 67	SXPL2	90
12	33992	OS NO 75	SXPL2	90
13	33993	OPP NO 250 BIRCHOVER WAY	SXPL2	90	Y
14	102205	JUNC KINGS CROFT	FL	8
15	102206	JUNC BIRCHOVER WAY	FL	11
16	102207	JUNC BIRCHOVER WAY	FL	11
17	102208	JUNC BIRCHOVER WAY	FL	8

The following photographs were taken on Saturday, 19th September 2015.

The first column from Kings Croft nowadays is 8 m in height, and supports an integrally-geared Philips MA 90 90 Watt SOX lantern.

A Royce Thompson SC1000 photocell, dating from the start of the PFI, is fitted to this lantern.

This setup continued for the second column.

Following this column, a Thorn Alpha 4 lantern attached to a CU Phosco column can be seen.

Immediately after the sharp bend in the road is traversed, we are greeted with a most welcome sight - Thorn Alpha 1 lanterns; perhaps the very last examples of this once-common lantern in the City.

The Alpha 1s are in the 'classic' style for Derby, with the lanterns attached to long, horizontal brackets, and the photocell control being situated away from the lantern, on the flat surface on top of the bracket.

At the time of photographing, the Alpha 1, as a design, was celebrating its 60th birthday - I am pleased that examples still existed on the streets of Derby in order to celebrate this milestone.

This installation's bracket appeared to be slightly loose on the column, causing the lantern to tilt downwards slightly.

The columns are arranged in a staggered configuration.

A small amount of dirt had accumulated within this lantern's acrylic Opticell unit. I suspect that the lamp is not quite correctly installed within the Opticell - the gap at the front appears slightly too wide, suggesting that the plug that seals the Opticell (and also contains the lampholder) is loose.

An additional column supporting another MA 90 was installed when housing was constructed in the 1990s.

Once again, an SC1000 photocell is fitted.

The next column along supported an Alpha 4; this would have replaced a defective Alpha 1 at some point - notice that the remote photocell is still fitted to the bracket, even though the Alpha 4 is fitted with its own photocell - the bracket-mounted cell more than likely being disused now.

The next installation saw a brief return to Alpha 1s being fitted.

A small pool of water was visible within this lantern's Opticell.

This close-up of the photocell reveals that a 1990s' Sirebeck S300 unit still operates the lantern - Robincroft Road clearly has time-travelling capabilities!

A Philips-made SOX lamp can be seen within the Opticell.

The door of the Stewart & Lloyd column is nowadays secured with a stainless steel 'Tamtorque' band.

Finally, another replacement involving an Alpha 4 could be seen at the junction of Birchover Way.

Again, the former Alpha 1's photocell remains fitted in addition to the Alpha 4's own photocell.

The photocell is a Zodion (Fisher Karpark / Cableform) type; possibly an SS5 unit from the early 1990s.

Sadly, the Alpha 1s (and their earlier replacements) were replaced with D.W. Windsor Kirium Pro LED lanterns in December 2022, bringing an end to Alpha 1s existing on Derby's streets. Remarkably, however, the LED lanterns were fitted to the existing columns and brackets, despite the age of the steelwork.