These internally geared Philips MA50s are still in place on the Cornwall side of the Tamar Bridge, near Plymouth.

Bristol doesn't retain much vintage lighting of interest, however there are some fine cast iron columns.

In residential areas cast iron columns originally for gas have been updated in decades past and more recently.

Some cast iron columns are actually recent additions. This is another one which I didn't realise back in 2012 when I posted about it previously.

A Philips MA50 with 135W SOX still hangs on, whilst other examples nearby have been updated with LED retrofits and here.

Various streets in the centre of Salisbury were left partially or totally unaffected by the LED rollout some years ago, but it seems that progress is picking up a bit, particularly on Clipper Lane and Castle Street. Two months ago Milford Street was nearly completely 90W SOX (although barely any were working) but that may have already changed.

(This posts contains links to Google drive for photos I’ve taken)(use and enjoy as you wish!)
Yes, it does appear that Salisbury city centre has started to bare the brutal LED street lighting attack! Hardly surprising due to re-lamping of 90w sox and above seemed to end in 2017 time meaning that the very little sox lantern’s sox lamps has likely to have doubled by now it’s design life!

Pressure on WCC to ‘fix’ (replace) broken lights in Salisbury from a pressure group routing for woman’s safety. Most of these lights have been out for over a year and isn’t safe at all and is totally unacceptable, but when these ‘repairs’ have taken place it has cost some ancient rare beauties such as the GEC Clearside (circa 196-) something (if anyone can hazard a guess I’d be most thankful!).
Example of recent works

BEFORE

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cqppJa ... p=drivesdk

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i-r7XK ... p=drivesdk

AFTER

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DpfA8S ... p=drivesdk


Thankfully last year I was able to take some photographs of some of the remaining street lights in Salisbury (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mHDmdP ... p=drivesdk)  in August time - again much has been replaced for axia 3s now. A few GEC clear sides still exist in the city -tragically the ones I visited at night were all EOL. Funny to think pre May 2020 I estimate about a thousand of these clear sides existed in the city (due to WCC not re-lamping residential sox lamps from the end of 2018  - briefly LED retrofit lamps were fitted in the failed residential sox lanterns on a Ad-hoc basis) made for quite a serval moment seeing 4000k light spill out of a 50 something year old sox lantern.  (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W_w2K0 ... p=drivesdk)

Rather sad that over a Period of may-July 2020 most of Salisbury’s ancient interesting (and varied) street lighting was washed away. Thankfully a large amount of concrete columns (oldest dating back to the late 40s) remains; sleeved in the 80s and now has axia 3s balanced on top of them! As much as it’s sad that the old lighting is no more, Wiltshire cc have at least  done the respectful thing and  installed all it’s new lighting in warm white (mostly 3000k) and in seemingly ‘conservational areas’ the lanterns are coloured black and are in 2700k making for a nice atmosphere. (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wQGjUT ... p=drivesdk)

Inevitably, the remaining older lighting in Salisbury will likely be picked off over the next few months as Wiltshire cc have finished the main program and fitted most heritage lights with LED lanterns or LED retrofits!

I’ll send my contacts to keep an eye on the lighting in Salisbury over the next few Months. Sad to think my early adolescence spent with relatives in this city (2018-2021 time) admiring the  street lights will die as the rest of the sox is pulled out!

Have a wonderful evening!

In Bristol I found this!

What's more all the lamps are still working, how it escaped LED conversion I don't know. Hampshire used similar installations from the late 1980s through to the PFI to replace GEC saucers on roundabaouts. The roundabouts in Hampshire no longer have central lighting columns.

At Burbage south of Marlborough this privately owned cast iron column is still running a mercury lamp.

Nearby a gear in base MA50 still has a working 135W SOX lamp. It has probably escaped the conversion to LED due to too many tree branches in the way for access.

That is distinctly "Southampton". I wouldn't mind betting it came from Southampton.

Sadly replaced with new twin bracket LED installation.

Bristol council has started an LED replacement scheme that will be completed by late 2025. They are using Schreder Axia 3 lanterns. Quite disappointing as the whole of south west England will be just one type of lantern mostly. https://www.bristol.gov.uk/residents/st ... ce%20costs.