Local GEC Z9554s

The Z9554 (and its newer counterpart, the Z9554M, with a Moulded GRP canopy) was once a common lantern on the streets of Derby; however, it is now extinct as a result of relighting schemes undertaken as part of the city's Street Lighting PFI programme. Examples can still be found throughout the wider County of Derbyshire, but numbers will diminish every year, again due to relighting schemes employing LED lighting, and on-going maintenance.

This Z9554M on Derby's Babington Lane was used to replace an Atlas Alpha 8 - it can just be seen that the column has two doors, which proves this. However, between the Alpha 8's removal and the Z9554M's installation, a GEC Z8526 existed at this position for around a decade; it was removed in the late 1980s. Clicking the link on the street name will take you to the page detailing the relighting work that was undertaken as part of the PFI.

Time was almost up for this Z9554M located on the A61 at Wingerworth; a new column supporting a Phosco P850 LED lantern had been erected alongside as part of a nearby new roundabout's construction.

Further south on the A61 could be found another Z9554M (not in imminent danger of replacement at the time of writing, though the whole column was replaced in 2017, with an Urbis Ampera Midi LED lantern being fitted) attached to a rather long outreach bracket.

The additional bracket length compensates for the wider carriageway at this point, owing to the presence of a bus lay-by.

As this picture demonstrates, the bracket allows the lantern to be sited over a live carriageway lane, rather than in the lay-by, in order that the other side of the road wouldn't be potentially under-lit.

The bracket's strengthening webbing extends to approximately half of the outreach.