69CAB. Foundry Lane, Smethwick, Sandwell, West Midlands With thanks to Leo Conway for discovering these Survivors. Situated within the perimeter of the historical Soho Foundry complex, now owned by Avery Weigh-Tronix, are several notable Survivors. Two Revo Horizons are to be found near access gates, while a Simplex Jupiter is positioned over a compound, and two Falks 'Beaufort' fittings, either their version 3 or 4, are to be found attached to the support columns for the portico at the site's main entrance.
The first of the two Horizons is mounted to a concrete column.
The mounting bracket is an altogether Heath-Robinson affair. As a much newer Thorn SONPak floodlight is also attached to the column shaft, the Horizon has probably fallen into disuse.
A 1970s' Royce Thompson P5 photocell has been added to the Horizon's canopy, while some sort of mastic putty has been placed around the back of the lantern to provide a seal against ingress.
Judging by the patch of dirt on the bowl's underside, these efforts may have been slightly in vain.
The second Horizon is attached to a building, using a simple pipe-based bracket system. The LED floodlight positioned alongside suggests that this lantern doesn't work any longer either.
A rather odd effect was created on the bowl from this angle.
This disappears when the lantern is viewed from the side.
The Jupiter is attached to a Thorn 8 m aluminium column near the junction of Woodburn Road.
The close-up reveals that the Jupiter's bowl is missing. Two u-bolts strap the bracket pipe to the top of the column.
A heavily-blackened tubular high pressure sodium (SON-T) lamp remains in the lantern. Judging by its relatively flat end, this might be a Thorn product too - if that is the case, it probably hasn't worked in years, given that Thorn sold its lamp division to General Electric in the early 1990s. Even in 2008 Google Street View imagery, the lamp appears just as blackened. A 'Simplex Lighting' sticker exists on the underside of the lantern's rear casting.
The first of the Falks lanterns casts a shadow on the door behind, in the low January sunlight.
These examples feature Perspex bowls.
A nearby blue plaque provides a concise history of the site.
The other Beaufort is on other side of the entrance arch.
This example's bowl has detached, but fortunately, the decorative metalwork surrounding it has prevented it from falling away completely. A grubby high-wattage incandescent tungsten filament (GLS) lamp is revealed inside the lantern.
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