Just been reading the posts in the South West Discussion Thread about the arrival of the Evolos. It has just suddenly occured to me, do you think Urbis incorporated the Sintra into the design?

Not at all. Completely different.

Blackpool has it's first Urbis Evolo! I recently spotted it as a casual replacement for a long-damaged WRTL 2600 on a side street off Lytham Road. The strange thing is it appears to have a radio-control sensor on top of it although it is the only lantern in the area to have one! So how's that going to work then?  

Is it already operating?
Have a poke around in the nearby area, there may be a controller somewhere (a cell the size of a small pigeon!) - if not then it may be temporarily timeswitched until other lanterns arrive in the area complete with a controller for the system.

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Not exactly its first, there's a sizable handful of them now. This is part of the Blackpool PFI which started just after new year. New Nedal columns have been installed over the past few weeks all around the Foxhall area and a bit further southwards, as well as one road on Grange Park. Last time I checked most of these columns were yet to receive their lanterns, but a number already have and they are Evolos. See the NW disscusion thread for a photo of one on Grange Park. It looks highly likely that Evolos will become the new Vectras and 2600s of the town in a few years.

Harris87

That is fantastic the Blackpool PFI seems to be opting for Urbis lanterns with the Evolo installed on side roads. Hopefully the main road lanterns will be Urbis as well because I would hate to see Blackpool being blighted with Iridiums!

Urbis is a refreshing change to use in PFIs instead of the overused duo Philips and WRTL.

Some PFIs mix various lanterns, like the South Coast PFI using Libras for side roads and Iridiums rumoured to be for main roads. In other PFIs like Dorset that it is just Iridiums all the way.

Until the Blackpool PFI main road lantern is revealed, there is a risk Iridiums or Arcs could be used for main roads with Evolos only for side roads.

I am hoping Blackpool PFI will be all-Urbis, like the Dorset PFI is all-Philips, that an Urbis lantern will be installed for main roads - Evolo or Sapphire!

Good news on that front, a few main road columns have been installed and they have Evolos fitted   So it does look as though Evolos will be fitted across the board, I'm pleased because they are nice modern-looking lanterns and aren't all that common I believe (apart from Devon and Cornwall sotonsteve was saying). TBH I wouldn't have minded Iridiums too much    that's only because they aren't found that much in these parts, though I sure if they were all over like they are in Dorset, I'd think differently. Who knows, I might get sick of the sight of Evolos before too long when they spread like wildfire, but for now a very good choice imo. The only complaint I have is that they appear to be all running on SON, but you can't win them all!

Harris87,

Cheers for the confirmation, so all and more Evolos then! At least Blackpool is not going to become Iridiumopolis like a certain city down south, that's all that matters!

So Evolos on main roads, that's the first I've heard as those I saw were tucked away on side roads in Salisbury and Leicester.

When the Evolos increase further in numbers throughout Blackpool in the coming years then it could end up looking very different to Lancashire when all MRL6s and Vectras get wiped out!

I hope the Evolos will make an appearance post-top on the infamous tram columns on the Promenade running metal-halide!

I do like the basic look of the ZX range, because I like the look of the old fashioned 1980s-era lanterns such as the Alpha 8, MRL6 and SGS203!

Unlike the Alpha 8 and SGS203, are the ZX2/3 lanterns are plastic instead of metal - is that right?

During the year 2001, Poole in Dorset trialled a handful of white bowled ZX3s I believe was an attempt to replicate the look of the defunct previous staple MkIII Alpha 8 which would be more suitable for casual replacements instead of the Alpha 2000 (was main staple until 2007).

I spotted this flaw that this ZX3 has a hole which appeared not long after installation - it has been like that for years!

I reckon the council was not impressed with the ZX3 and dropped it like a rock when the then newly released Thorn Triumph was selected for Poole in 2002.

In that Street View link, if you sweep to the left you will see a couple of Alpha 2000s which remain in a better shape than that flimsy ZX3!

Sadly some of the trial ZX3s in Poole were replaced by new Holophane QSMs (the current staple) in the past 2 years.

It is a shame about the ZX2/3, I can't understand why the Highways Agency insist on these for motorways which you can see a lot with missing top canopies!

Urbis/Schreder should have produced the ZX range using metal to avoid the issue of the plastic cracking open also with better secure locking preventing canopies being blown off in high winds!

In the South West, the ZX2/3 is pretty popular in Cornwall, Somerset & Gloucestershire after the dominant Iridium.

The canopy of the SGS 203 is plastic, but the underside and the spigot are metal I think. The only Alpha 8 which was actually metal was the original Alpha 8.