112HA. Sundon Road, Charlton, Central Bedfordshire With thanks to Dwight for informing me of these Survivors. Installed on the short section of the road that has houses built alongside it are three 15 ft (5 m) concrete columns that have fallen into disuse following the installation of new columns alongside each of them. Two of these columns are 1980s' Stanton 1805s (though are probably 2005s officially; this being the metric re-release of the original imperial 1805 size), while the third is an older GEC product, complete with swan neck and Z9481 top-entry lantern for 35 Watt SOX (low pressure sodium) lamps. Why the three columns were not removed after the new columns were installed is unknown, though the road is surprisingly busy (probably, due to its links to the A5 and M1), and any work would have had to been undertaken using Traffic Management, which carries additional costs. The new columns arrived at some point after November 2021, but before July 2022.
The column supporting the Z9481 is the middle of the three surviving concrete columns.
The replacement lantern is a CU Phosco E950-28 LED unit.
The Z9481's bowl is damaged, although the lamp seems to be intact within it, despite not being in use any longer.
The conveniently-placed label on the new lantern's underside allows its configuration to be known - its wattage is a meagre 10 Watts (with a 200 mA drive current), no dimming is employed, and the lantern was made on the 27th October 2021...these pictures were taken exactly three years later, spookily!
One of the 1805 columns is fitted with a Z9530; the most basic version of this lantern, with the lamp control gear installed in the column base, rather than in the lantern itself, as is the case on the Z9532. The replacement 5 m columns are Hardie 150s, and are constructed from aluminium.
The lamp fitted in the Z9530 looks very worn, and was probably not in working condition at the time that the column was decommissioned. Both the Z9530 and Z9481 have Royce Thompson P42 two-part photocell detectors, whereas the E950-28 uses a one-part Zodion photocell.
Nothing remains in the old column base, save for the old earth block and the remains of the Lucy electricity service cut-out. The witness mark of the ballast (going on its shape and size, this was probably a GEC Z1616) and the P42 base are visible on the backboard, however.
The column appears to have been produced in 1983, according to the faint stamp that is still visible on the backboard behind the earth block.
The second 1805 would also have supported a Z9530 originally; however, this was changed to a P852K (a sister lantern to the E950-28) at some point after May 2019.
A SELC / Westire AcRo photocell switched the P852K during its brief period of use.
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