I had assumed that these GEC Z8426 Turtles at Guildford railway station car park where now running SON. After several pre-dawn trips past, I am pleased to say they still run MBF lamps.  

We used to have the Mazda Lucé on the platforms at Colchester Station, running 80w mercury. They replaced the post-top flourescent lanterns before inevitably being replaced themselves a few years ago in favour of SON, but not before someone captured them on film...


I am unsure where this image comes from, so I am unable to credit the author at this stage.

Two more images here and here.

I am pretty sure these lanterns were used extensively by one of the franchisees of the region back in the late 1980s/early 1990s as they were quite a common sight (the GEC Z8260 by comparison, never got a look-in), but I always thought they were rather over-engineered and the design was better suited to a ladies' hair salon!

I agree with you there, they're definitely different though and I like them!    By the way, did you know in your second link there is a yoke-mounted GEC Clearmain in the background? Take a look!

I see it... on that rusty brown column between where it says 'Colchester' and the blue column with the horn speaker mounted on. (I like those other lanterns though... they're rather Alien, and very strange to look at. It's as though somebody has seen an opaque globe and thought "oh yes, lets have one of those mounted side entry and the cut off a part of the globe!")

Neville Hill traincare depot just outside Leeds has yoke mounted Clearmains fitted to concrete columns on the perimiter between the rails and the parkland behind. They are not in use.... might be of interest for anybody local to the area!


Smithy Bridge rail station has a Thorn Precinct running a mercury lamp which is fitted to a column on the exit footpath from the station.

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RE: Neville Hill

There used to be some telegraph pole mounted lanterns as you pass the traincare depot going towards Leeds City Station on the right hand side.

Is it these?

I asked this question on Sabre once before ages ago but i wonder if anybody on here can help me?

In 1998 I used the train for the first time to go from Blackpool to Nottingham. On the line between Preston and Manchester, somewhere in the Chorley, Bolton or Wigan area (can't remember exactly) was a very large and isolated-looking industrial area lit with loads of disused open-tungsten lanterns on white metal columns in various states of disrepair right next to the railway line. Anybody where this is and if the old lighting is still there? I guess it's a long shot as the area could have been redeveloped.

I have looked out for them on train trips since then but I don't use the railway often and can't remember if they were on the line that serves Wigan or Bolton but usually I have travelled on the line that serves Bolton since then.

I normally use the Bolton line if I'm over that way. I haven't seen anything like that in the last few years. I myself remember noting something once on the route: an industrial works (possibly cement works) had sugar cube lanterns that were SIDE ENTRY! full size like the post top ones in Asda car parks, but side entry. I also remember noting a couple of GEC Z9480's on 10m concrete columns.

The industrial site you mention sounds like it's probably up at the Leyland end of the route.



Yes. But they're actually concrete columns. And they're still there. If you're round that way (preferrably with a riot shield, considering that particular area!) then have a look, as there is a fence and then parkland.

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You could be right, although I thought it was further south than that. There are some old CU Avenue/Byway columns with 3D Arc brackets near to the railway line in the Leyland area and iirc at least one of them had a WRTL 2600 retrofitted to it!  

I think that 2600 may well be on the same site as I had seen the Z9480's!

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Yeah I reckon you're right, some of the columns did have some kind of SOX lantern but the only lantern I could definitely ID was the 2600!