Local Philips MA 90s (SRS 201s)

The MA 90 appeared here in the mid-1980s - as both the gear-in-head and gear-in-base versions. I would guess that the gear-in-head version was first used in the mid-late 1990s but only in small numbers as the Thorn Alpha 4 has always been the preferred choice.

This MA 90 in Willington (complete with the old-style mounting spigot) is mounted at the unusual height of 6 m.

This example is also in Willington and is also mounted at 6 m! Both this and the previous installation have since been replaced.

This gear-in-base MA 90 in Allestree is on a sleeved 8 m Stanton column. A Royce Thompson P42 two-part cell is employed to switch the lantern on/off.

The column that supports this MA 90 on Broadway in Duffield appears to have been designed to resemble the style of older columns along this road that support Thorn Alpha 9s, owing to the use of a curved bracket.

This elderly wall-mounted, gear-in-head MA 90 is located in Matlock. A newer MA 90 can be seen in the background.

The MA 90s seen above are pictured again below; this time, on a wintry Friday, 3rd December 2010.

This gear-in-head example was not in use for a while - originally, the column was installed beneath the tree but was moved when the lantern and bracket were fitted a few years later. (The lantern was replaced with a Thorn Isaro Pro S LED lantern in December 2019).

The late November / early December 2010 snowfall again provided excellent photographing opportunities. Despite the following MA 90s all being operational the night before (and thus, become warm), the temperature was so low that previously melted snow on the canopies had re-formed as icicles. (Wednesday, 1st December 2010).

This MA 90 was damaged in blustery weather on the 27th October 2002 - the force of the wind being strong enough to snap the bracket weld, sending the lantern, and the remainder of the bracket pipe, to the ground. I spotted it on the 1st November, and ended up saving it on the 29th January 2003, although later, it was broken up for parts.

The column was still headless in Spring 2004.

A new lantern and bracket were fitted on the 26th July 2004.

I managed to picture the lantern at sunset, after it had been running for a while - the clouds created quite an interesting effect.

Surprisingly, another MA 90 and bracket pipe fell victim to a defective weld on the 22nd March 2004. This time, the lantern was largely intact, although I didn't try to save it.

The new bracket and lantern were fitted at the same time as the other ones were.

The new lantern didn't work for some months after being fitted. Eventually, however, whatever the fault was, was resolved, and the MA 90 joined its counterparts in lighting the main road through the estate after nightfall.