109EA. Old Park Road, Idle, Bradford, West Yorkshire Installed either side of a small roundabout are two 25 ft (8 m) tubular steel columns, with one supporting a Revo C13723/S "Dalek" lantern; the other, a Philips MA 90 (a previous replacement for another C13723/S). While both lanterns would run 90 Watt SOX (low pressure sodium) lamps, the age of the Revo lantern means that it would have run 140 Watt SO/H and SOI/H, and 100 Watt SOX, lamps originally, as technology evolved. The installations are likely to date from the 1950s, and thus, by May 2024, were looking decidedly weather-worn, with their unusual electricity supply arrangement being the likely reason that they have lasted for as long as they have.
The column supporting the C13723/S is located on the eastern side of the roundabout. Notice the bare overhead cabling that supplies the lantern - this originates at the other column.
The Perspex bowls employed with these lanterns are notoriously fragile, and as can be seen, the front section is damaged on this example. The lamp control gear is probably installed within the lantern here, owing to there being no provision for it to be installed remotely.
The two cables terminate onto insulators located on the right-hand side of the pole, with two different cables then connecting onto these to supply the lantern.
Around the back of the column is provision for a second bracket. This position is unlikely to have ever been used, given that any lighting on this would face onto the roundabout itself.
The structure has suffered heavy corrosion, with this portion of the shaft looking especially rusted.
The column supporting the MA 90 is the master unit, with the electricity supply entering a control box attached to the pole from beneath the ground.
At the time of photographing, the bowl and lamp were missing from the lantern.
The remains of the lamp cap still appear to be in place within the lampholder, although the lamp support is missing. A conduit housing the cable passes up the outside of the shaft, terminating into two further insulators, with cables then branching off to feed the MA 90 and C13723/S separately.
A vintage cast iron GEC control box carries the supply termination. Not visible here, but on top of the enclosure is the detector for a two-part photocell, which may serve as the switching method for the two lights (despite the MA 90 having its own photocell) - an update from the original time switch control that would have existed within the box originally.
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