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 Post subject: Re: Overseas lighting
PostPosted: Sat Nov 16, 2013 1:38 am 
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Mazeteam wrote:
Berlin's gas lanterns are under threat of removal
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/design ... ghts/7201/


It will be a shame if Berlin's gas lanterns go, as they really do illuminate the street. I'd have to dig out my U-Bahn map to try and locate the ones I've seen. I can remember the nearest station but not the street name.

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 Post subject: Re: Overseas lighting
PostPosted: Sat Nov 16, 2013 4:33 am 
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Phosco152 wrote:
Some interesting "heritage" LED versions are mentioned in the article.

Those are some beautiful lanterns, considering they're modern repro's!
I wonder if they give out enough useful light though, or if they'd purely be for decoration.

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 Post subject: Re: Overseas lighting
PostPosted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 7:54 pm 
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Ten days ago, Sotonsteve and I took another trip over to the Netherlands to meet some Dutch lighting enthusiasts and to see more of the varied lighting of the Netherlands. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t brilliant with rain and cloud,  and some of the relics we hoped to see had succumbed to replacements, but even so the trip didn’t disappoint.

Firstly, lighting as art in Den Bosch, the whole assembly changes colour. Another contemporary installation. A typical scene,  SOX lighting is still very common.

In Roermond, a few Schreder HSB lanterns still survive running twin mercury lamps. Many however have been replaced with contemporary installations. The car park of the hotel we stayed at on the first night had SGS201s running 18W SOX.

Apledoorn likes to make a statementwith its lighting, and more Philips Metronomis lanterns on catenary wires in the centre of town.

Deventer also had some contemporary installations, but also some more traditional Dutch SOX installations and close up. These lanterns are the forerunners of the Philips MA50/60/90 series.

SOX motorway lighting is on the decline but we still spotted some MA60s and even MA50s used at greater heights and spacings than in the UK.

A must see was the town of Emmen where practically all of the main roads are lit with twin lamp 4ft fluorescent fittings.  Close up and some more. Twin bracket examples, close up and again.

White light of a different type was in use in MacDonald’s – Philips Speedstars.

Lochem seems to have lost most of its relics to new installations. We did find some Schreder PQ lanterns and close up and also a slightly different version on a twin bracket column and close up.

Rosmalen still had some “snowshoe” lanterns, the reason for the nickname becomes more apparent in the daylight however. 55W SOX is widely used at 8m in the Netherlands on secondary roads, but the real surprise was the use of 35W at 8m and close up.

Fluorescent lighting can still be found on side streets, often of the PL variety, but here is some use “traditional” lamps and close up.

Group switching is the norm, so you get to see sights like this and also this – a ribbon of SOX captured seconds before they switched off at dawn.

On our final day with a bit of time to kill before Le Shuttle, we took a detour off the motorway and through Dunkirk. It was probably the biggest surprise/shock of the trip. Firstly SOX in France in the form of Schreder GSO lanterns – widely used over the border in Belgium and also the Netherlands but not expected in France. The wonderful curved concrete columns were in excellent condition.

Then some twin bracket versions with Holophane/Thorn LT2 lanterns, no doubt originally mercury but now SON. Around the next bend we were greeted with this sight and vintage lanterns, which looked to be fluorescent! This proved that the LT2s were later replacements. Another view, and again,  with the help of our Dutch friends they confirmed the lanterns were indeed fluorescent and in very good condition.

And top all of that off, a MA50 as well!


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 Post subject: Re: Overseas lighting
PostPosted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 8:42 pm 
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Very envious!


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 Post subject: Re: Overseas lighting
PostPosted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 9:00 pm 
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Absolutely superb selection of photos there. I'm amazed at just how much SOX there is out there. So is your overall impression that SOX, while still abundant, doesn't have a long-term future? I ask this as all the new contemporary schemes seem to use other sources, as you'd expect.


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 Post subject: Re: Overseas lighting
PostPosted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 9:38 pm 
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On my trip at the start of the month..
I have noticed that Netherlands/Belgium are still installing SOX in large numbers in the Town/Cities but are favoring LED/Cosmo in a few places.
It's hard to say but the Dutch/Belgium will hang on to the SOX a lot longer than we will.


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 Post subject: Re: Overseas lighting
PostPosted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 10:20 pm 
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There is a huge installed base of SOX, but like in the UK, its days on motorways are numbered especially as practically all their motorways seems to be undergoing upgrades.

Each town/city in the Netherlands seems to have its own distinct lighting style.

Secondary roads seem to be most commonly lit by SOX but fluorescent also is quite common - but does depend on the area. Some LED is being used on these routes, as well as in residential areas.

There is certainly far less SON than in the UK, and where SOX is used, it is often smaller lamp sizes than in the UK - 55W at 8m is common.

The Dutch enthusiasts are of the view that the time of the SRS201 is now over and they are beginning to mourn the demise of the predecessor lantern, the aluminum body SRK/SRM. I suspect fluorescent and LED will be the way forward for the Netherlands, with the actual choice coming down to cost of lantern vs re-lamp prices. LED will probably have the edge for secondary and main roads,  with fluorescent for side roads. They already widely use fluorescent post top lanterns for residential areas.

Luckily there aren't PFIs in the Netherlands and with Belgium not exactly flush with cash, SOX is likely to live on in the low countries far longer than in the UK.

The situation is not good for Belgium motorway lighting however, earlier this year we saw large amounts of it around Antwerp and Brussels in a poor state of repair or even switched off. This time we saw a section where the lighting had been removed. Motorway lighting in Belgium also seems to depend on the region. Most of the poorly maintained sections were in the Flemish (Dutch) north, and although we didn't do any night time driving there this time, we did spot a trial of LED lanterns near Liège which is in the Wallon (French) south of the country, indicating that perhaps lighting on motorways in that region will continue.


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 Post subject: Re: Overseas lighting
PostPosted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 8:54 pm 
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Yep, SOX will last longer in the BENELUX countries than in the UK. It is surprising that countries like France and Germany still have SOX, even though it is very rare. You might have thought it wouldn't make sense for a council to buy only a small handful of SOX lamps, but then again our continental neighbours aren't as wasteful when it comes to lantern replacements, hence how there is some motorway lighting in Belgium believed to be around 50 years old, with lots around 40 years old and a substantial proportion over 30 years old.

It is difficult to say if Belgium is still doing casual replacements with SOX on their motorways, as casual replacements only tend to happen as a result of accident damage. The Dutch still do SOX casual replacements, but they haven't done a SOX scheme for about two or three years now. In recent years it was sometimes the case that SON was installed in the central reservations of motorways with slip roads lit by SOX, but they just go for all-out SON now. With some widening schemes they have also reused existing slip road columns. For example, the forest of columns pictured back in March with SRS201s have since been reinstalled.


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 Post subject: Re: Overseas lighting
PostPosted: Sat Nov 23, 2013 5:58 pm 
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One thing I forgot to say earlier is that it was The Netherlands who inspired the UK to uptake SOX lighting. I quote from the Croydon Electricity Department guide (1947), which a local enthusiast kindly scanned for me:

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 Post subject: Re: Overseas lighting
PostPosted: Sun Nov 24, 2013 2:44 pm 
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Fantastic pictures, really fond of those vintage fluorescent lanterns and the SRS201 predecessor!! :D

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