I was just wondering if any LAs still used new-old stock or refurbished lanterns as casual replacements these days? If so, what's the oldest anyone's seen get installed within the last few years? I ask because recently I noticed an XGS103 that had fell off of its column. A week or so later it had been replaced with a Beta 79 which is unusual considering the Riga is the usual replacement lantern. I imagine it's quite possible that Riga stock was low or exhausted, it was just very unusual of Sheffield Council to use it's older lanterns as replacements. (It doesn't look like they even gave it a wipe down either! )

On the South Coast PFI they were meant to be using removed lanterns as casual replacements in streets not yet relit with the PFI, but more often than not they just use a new PFI-spec lantern. Casual replacements that weren't PFI-spec were generally from the Urbis ZX or Sapphire range, and relatively new.

Jake, considering Amey will be starting the Sheffield PFI soon, I think that the council are just using what they have before Amey's spec lanterns are fitted up instead.

Up here, we had Amey reusing some old WRTL 2600s between November 2011 and April 2012 as the budget had gone, so only old lanterns were available for reuse.

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Durham are using secondhand lanterns to replace gear failures in SON lanterns and any SOX lantern once the bulb has died. The second hand lanterns are used until the radio switching scheme replaces them. Lanterns commonly used secondhand are Urbis ZX3s, Alpha8s and SGS203s. In one area of Durham, secondhand columns have also been used, this became apparent as the area has now been subjected to a replacement scheme.