81BH. Main Road, Wrinehill, Cracow Moss, Betley, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire With thanks to AgentHalogen_87 for informing me of these Survivors. Installed at the junctions of both Checkley Lane and Old Road is an 8 m sheet steel column made by Stainton, and still (in March 2025) supporting a Thorn Alpha 1 lantern, for 90 Watt SOX (low pressure sodium) lamps, although both lanterns were seen to be running 66 Watt SOX-E lamps instead. Google Street View imagery records many more Alpha 1s installed in the village in the past - all of which were attached to brackets supported by the wooden poles employed to carry the overhead electricity supply cables. Sadly, all of these had given way to LED offerings at the time of photographing, but at least, two of these classic lanterns were still operational on the 70th anniversary year of the Alpha 1 being launched.

These installations both appear to be of 1980s' vintage, and a small amount of surface rust has formed on this example's bracket.

Sadly, this Alpha 1's acrylic 'Opticell' unit surrounding the lamp is damaged, which has led to the lamp being positioned incorrectly within it.

The visible end of the SOX-E lamp differs slightly from that of the equivalent SOX lamp - the thermal insulation properties are improved, which allows the wattage to reduce to 66 Watts from 90 Watts.

The second column is much the same, overall appearance-wise, although its bracket is not as rusted.

The slightly frosted appearance of this example's Opticell suggests that the lamp hadn't operated the previous night, preventing the heat generated from keeping the plastic sufficiently warm to avoid frost forming on it.

The Opticell's underside has some slight moss growth (probably from the proximity to the adjacent tree), but its internal sealing properties still seem to be working effectively.

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