It's hard to believe that my photographs from the A13 and A1089 in Grays and Tilbury (above) are nearly seven years old. But I can also confirm that the installation is still in place, and it looks like it has even been re-lamped in the intervening years. This installation is doing a lot better than a few of the other National Highways-maintained high-wattage installations around London!
The A13 and A1089 junction will eventually be incorporated into the new Lower Thames Crossing. I wonder if there are enough spare 135W and 180W SOX lamps in the stores to keep this installation going until construction commences.I notice that my photographs of this magnificent SOX installation on the A13 and the A1089 were taken seven years ago this week. Seven years ago, LED was in its infancy in Essex.
A limited trial of high-wattage full-night lighting in a few towns in 2014 persuaded Essex County Council to replace all of its high-wattage full-night lighting with LED between 2016 and 2018 (Essex County Council’s replacement by LEDs programme “phase 2”). This was swiftly followed by all high-wattage part-night lighting (“phase 3”),
and this month (March 2024) may see the last of Essex County Council’s discharge lighting removed from service with the conclusion of the fourth and final phase which concentrated on all low-wattage lighting.
Seven years ago, Essex was arguably the UK’s last county-wide SOX stronghold.
Matthew Eagles notes that in 2018, Essex County Council were running 65,000 SOX lanterns – the highest in a county area. Seven years later, Essex is a SOX desert. Only a few City, Borough, District and Parish Council, and a few private installations soldier on. But in this SOX desert, National Highways is keeping a few SOX installations going on some Essex trunk routes and A-roads for the time being.
A couple of days ago, I had the opportunity to revisit and photograph this installation. It is astonishing how little has changed in the last seven years. The installation has not shrunk in size or been spoilt by significant ad-hoc SON or LED replacements. It is almost as if LED hasn’t yet been invented! As my first post of photographs from 2017 concentrated mainly on the northern half of the installation (the A13 and its junctions with the A1012 and the A1089), the photographs in the post below are from the southern half of the installation (the A1019 from Chadwell St. Mary down to Tilbury).
The A1089 Tilbury Docks Approach Road is another treat for large-wattage SOX fans, as it is also lit along its length with 180W SOX which may date back to the road's construction in the early 1980s. Add the Tilbury Docks Approach Road SOX to the short section of SOX between North Stifford and the junction with the A1089 and it adds up to circa. 5 miles of unbroken SOX lighting.
The same bend as photographed looking the other way from the next bridge along the A1089 (the footbridge between Grangewood Avenue and Orsett Heath Crescent). There are no SON or LED casual replacements to be seen here!
All the photographs in this post were taken in March 2024.
The same view at night.
Looking south from the footbridge between Grangewood Avenue and Orsett Heath Crescent. Once again, there are no SON or LED casual replacements to be seen here, albeit one of the columns has been cut down. At this bridge, the street lighting switches from the central reservation to an opposed arrangement.
Approximately the same view at night.
Looking south towards Tilbury Docks from the B149 Wood View bridge.
The same view at night, albeit with a Philips Iridium SON casual replacement in the foreground.
A zoomed-in view of the Marshfoot Interchange, where the lighting changes again to the central reservation.
The same view at night as the A1089 approaches Tilbury.
Looking north along the A1089 from the B149 Wood View bridge.
The same view at night, with a Philips Iridium SON casual replacement.
The Marshfoot interchange between the A1089 and the A126 is a treat to watch at lighting-up time. At this location, there is a footpath along the side of the dual carriageway which continues to Tilbury Docks.
A few moments later and the Philips MA50 and MA60 SOX lanterns are burning brighter.
Approximately the same view at night.
Moving a little further south, and some of the lanterns are late to switch on, but the number of units that are out of light in 2024 is remarkably low, just like it was in 2017.
A penultimate photograph from the A1089 Dock Approach Road for the moment. The street lighting switches to SON as the road approaches the “Asda” Roundabout behind the viewer.
It should be noted that the “SON” casual replacement you see here is actually an LED casual replacement with a near-identical light colour to SON. Where these SOX lanterns are being casually replaced across this installation, these SON-coloured LED lanterns are being used.
After the Asda Roundabout, the SOX continues, albeit a little more sporadic, as the A1089 approaches Tilbury Docks along St. Andrews Road.
A cropped version of the above photograph showing two of the LED casual replacements masquerading as SON lanterns on St. Andrews Road.
Back to the A1089 Dock Approach Road, and this is a long view looking north from the Asda Roundabout, showing the SON lantern on the roundabout's approach.
In this photograph, you can see the SOX lanterns on the A1089 disappear into the distance after the dual carriageway briefly dips into a cutting for the Marshfoot Interchange.
Along with the various road bridges and footbridges that cross over the A1089, this footpath alongside the A1089 from Tilbury to Little Thurrock provides plenty of opportunities to view and photograph this remarkable installation of SOX lanterns.
As noted in my earlier post, the A13 and A1089 Baker Street Interchange (about two miles north of this photograph) will be remodelled as part of the new Lower Thames Crossing, and this will chop this currently unbroken five-mile long SOX installation into two halves. It would be astonishing if this installation holds on in its current form until then, but if we look back to my original post seven years ago, it is also a surprise that this installation remains unchanged and is still here today.
Despite the "obsolete" technology, this installation is well-maintained with very few lanterns out of light, and in that regard it is outperforming some of the nearby National Highways and Essex County Council large-wattage LED installations on our A-roads and dual carriageways (e.g. M25, A127, A12, A13 beyond the A1089).
For any fans of large-wattage SOX out there, I think the A13 between North Stifford and Orsett and the A1089 between Tilbury Docks and its junction with with the A13 could be the last opportunity in Essex to see a large, unspoilt and well-maintained installation of 180W SOX lighting.
Long may it last!It's fast becoming the last opportunity in the south east of England to see a large, unspoilt and well-maintained installation of 180W SOX lighting. Even seven years ago we didn't think it would last until now.
But, once again, long may it last!
I would encourage any enthusiasts who happen to be near the area, or passing through the Dartford Crossing, to do a little detour along the A13 towards Tilbury Docks (leaving the M25 at Junction 30) and go and have a look at this installation while it is still here. Any enthusiasts with dashcams on their cars would particularly enjoy getting a recording of the installation while they still have the chance.