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 Post subject: Re: Thorn Alpha 3
PostPosted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 9:36 pm 
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Location: Thornton-Cleveleys
Ah the Thorn Alpha 3, though it's tough one to call, I'd say it's my all time favourite lantern  :D  In fact it's probably mostly down to this lantern that I got interested in streetlighting, as I remember noticing them gradually getting replaced by MRL6s on a main road on the way to primary school. Now this road only has three down it, but as Gramma6 has said, there still are a number left around Blackpool Borough. Liverpool and an odd place in Cumbria (Kendal and Keswick, perhaps an odd other place) still have a fair few. There still is one hanging-on in the Burton-in-Kendal MSA running mercury as well  :)


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 Post subject: Re: Thorn Alpha 3
PostPosted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 10:29 pm 
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Location: Hartlepool
I'll have to say that I do like the Alpha 3 also.

Most of the town centre was lit by Alpha 3's, which got installed in the mid 70s. These were likely to be the first SON lanterns in the town, though I do remember a few examples running mercury.

Here's a scan of a paper cutting showing the installation as it one stood. Apologies for the poor quality!

They started dwindling in numbers in the early 1990s, as roads around the town centre received new columns, or had their Alpha 3s replaced with Alpha 8s. Eventually, they were (almost) wiped out in the mid 90s. One survived in the shopping centre car park until 2004...

Image

Unfortunately, when the car park received new columns, the Alpha 3 was removed.


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 Post subject: Re: Thorn Alpha 3
PostPosted: Fri Mar 05, 2010 4:57 pm 
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Location: Cleveleys nr Blackpool
I believe some of the Alpha 3s in my area were originally mercury as well. Unfortunately they were converted to SON from before I can remember which is a shame as I would have loved to have seen them glowing bluey-white! The only Alpha 3s in my area I actually do remember being mercury were on Woodside Drive which is the access road to Blackpool Zoo. They were mounted on rather nice curvy metal columns as well, painted dark green. These remained until about 1994 IIRC when they were replaced by WRTL 2600s running the dreaded SON but fortunately the columns remain to this day. They were painted light blue at one point but I think they might be green again now, my memory is failing me atm  :lol:


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 Post subject: Re: Thorn Alpha 3
PostPosted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 12:32 am 
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Carlisle is the place to go if you want to see Alpha 3's...

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 Post subject: Re: Thorn Alpha 3
PostPosted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 9:34 am 
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Location: Sandwell
There's some Alpha 3's on the A444 in Coventry north of the A45 junction installed in a very similar way to those in the last picture above.

Alpha 3's were commonly found in town centres. Places like Newport in Shropshire have them on the main street where the main shopping area is. Outside of this area the lanterns are SOX. The same also applies to Atherstone in Warwickshire. This was also the case in West Bromwich where they were used alongside Turtles on the ring road and the High St but they were replaced in the 90's.


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 Post subject: Re: Thorn Alpha 3
PostPosted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 11:41 am 
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Truvelo wrote:
There's some Alpha 3's on the A444 in Coventry north of the A45 junction installed in a very similar way to those in the last picture above.

You mean these  :D
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sourc ... 7,,2,-8.47

I am also glad to say there still there as of today  :)

Atlas alpha 3's still there 4 of them (Unused now)

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sourc ... 5,,1,-0.53

The a429 is a gold mine of alpha 3's still

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sourc ... ,,1,-21.21

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sourc ... ,,2,-12.88

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sourc ... 58,,1,-8.3

All son 150/250w but most are all in good codition

OO wait theres more!

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sourc ... ,,1,-12.01

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sourc ... ,,0,-14.88

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sourc ... 37,,1,6.15 (Now only two left.)

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sourc ... ,,2,-12.37

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sourc ... ,,3,-27.46

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sourc ... ,,2,-21.18

Thats all  :)


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 Post subject: Re: Thorn Alpha 3
PostPosted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 1:33 pm 
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Some from the south coast: Portsmouth, Portsmouth 2, Fareham, Fareham 2.


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 Post subject: Re: Thorn Alpha 3
PostPosted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 1:42 pm 
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Location: Newport, South Wales
There are (hopefully) still some Alpha Threes in the middle of Cheltenham, Glos. too, spotted them while working there last year. Attached to some rather marvelous old fluted columns. Please excuse the poor mobile phone picture:

Image

No idea what lamps are inside though, didn`t see them at night.

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 Post subject: Re: Thorn Alpha 3
PostPosted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 5:02 pm 
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Location: Sandwell

A classic example of mixing Alpha 3's and Turtles :)


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 Post subject: Re: Thorn Alpha 3
PostPosted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 8:02 pm 
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They do that in Horsham down North Street, you'll have an Alpha 3 then a GEC Turtle then a Alpha 3 then a GEC Turtle again followed by 2 Alpha 3's then 4 GEC Turtle's followed by another Alpha 3.

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