Replacement of Five Metre Street Lighting column

Replacement of a 5 m tubular steel column by contractors prior to adoption of the road by the local council, on Saturday, 14th September 2002. The existing column had a manufacturing defect that caused its base compartment section to be twisted.

[@SouthWalesSOX]

21 years ago yesterday and there wasn't even a cake to mark the occasion!

[@StreetLightOnline]

I'm glad that someone remembered, as I certainly didn't - no wonder the column looked at me in anticipation, then disappointment, yesterday!

[@anicetune]

What a waste of a perfectly good street light.

[@StreetLightOnline]

The column was twisted at base level, owing to a manufacturing defect. Potentially, this could have caused premature metal fatigue, and so it was replaced prior to the road (including the lighting) being adopted by the Local Authority. The existing bracket and lantern were re-used, however.

[@zdreinje8100]

@@StreetLightOnline Lights are normally replaced to save electricity

[@StreetLightOnline]

...or when the column is about ready to keel over under its own weight.

[@thelightingenthusiast]

The columns on Boleyn Road in London used to be those 6m hockey stick columns with long outreach brackets. Shorter bracket variants were also found too. If you check the street view dates from 2008-2018, you should see them. Do you know the manufacturer of the columns?

[@StreetLightOnline]

I think that these could be Fabrikat too (the same as the one being replaced in this video was), but I'm not entirely certain. I spotted several 100 W Beta 79s with missing bowls in the Street View imagery!

[@thelightingenthusiast]

Does Fabrikat still manufacture columns the same way they used to? And with the unique brackets (e.g. hockey stick, swan neck, tapered hockey stick, webbed arm brackets, etc?

[@StreetLightOnline]

I would imagine that they would, and indeed, would be able to produce brackets specific to the client's requirements, as necessary.

[@adammoorby99]

21 years ago 😅

[@StreetLightOnline]

Only a month to go - that's scary!

[@jamesrichards6038]

Seams abit of a waste of money even though it has a little twist dounst mean it can’t have many more years in service?

[@StreetLightOnline]

I guess that the twist was picked up as a defect when the lights were inspected, prior to the road's adoption by the County Council. I've never seen a column do this naturally, except for this one - even when they're hit, they don't tend to distort in that manner. Still, I suppose that the column being scrapped was good news to all of the canned food manufacturers of the world - how many full cans of tinned spaghetti would a 5 m column make!

[@jamesrichards6038]

StreetLightOnline maybe it was damaged when it was being installed and been dismissed. Or something must have smacked it, Iv never known for this to happen by itself, Mild Steel is a really strong metal.

[@StreetLightOnline]

I think that the lighting was already installed by the time that we moved in (in 2000), but as I wasn't interested at the time, I wouldn't have paid attention to it, even if it was installed afterwards. You're right though - the steel is strong but pliable; cast iron would have cracked in the same scenario.

[@simonbpalmer6617]

Seems just wrong..??

[@thelightingenthusiast]

There’s a random column on my road that doesn’t have a lantern installed, nor a bracket. I checked the Google images from 2008 and it still remained like that, which means it went untouched for many years. 2 years ago, my council started changing the columns on my road but they didn’t bother touching the column. Just why?

[@StreetLightOnline]

It probably isn't recorded on any inventory system - I know two like that locally: goo.gl/maps/83Z1JBuuQmJqceWBA and goo.gl/maps/tjH8MWHaD8J9d55R9 - as they don't have any known ownership, they've been left there - I suppose there's the fear that as soon as someone decided to remove them, someone else would be questioning why "their" column was being taken down!

[@thelightingenthusiast]

@@StreetLightOnline that could be the case, however the road I live on used to have columns which were made by Fabrikat, however the untouched column was also made by the same brand.

[@thelightingenthusiast]

I could show you a picture of it, however my comment will get deleted after 20 seconds. Just search up Plaistow Seventh Day adventist church, and the column should be adjacent.

[@StreetLightOnline]

The one on the corner of the crossroads, I assume? I reckon that this was going to be an illuminated sign for the cycle lane (and the post cut down a bit), but for some reason, the work never ended up being completed.

[@thelightingenthusiast]

@@StreetLightOnline That explains! I knew something was up, because it was placed in such a location and the other illuminated signposts are also made by Fabrikat and share the same colour. I thought there was another streetlight, which was removed at some point because it lit the road too bright.

[@citroenfil]

I bet that sodium beta5 is now long gone in favour of led. 🙁

[@StreetLightOnline]

It's an MI 26, but yes; very much now an Isaro Pro-S...though all six of the old order from my road were saved when the conversion occurred!

[@staffsemergresp]

wow this is old

[@StreetLightOnline]

I can't believe that it was twenty years ago...and thanks for making me feel old in the process! ;-)

[@staffsemergresp]

@@StreetLightOnline XD! What was the lantern?

[@StreetLightOnline]

An MI 26; the second one down seen in the first picture of: www.streetlightonline.co.uk/MI26x4_Photographs.htm to be exact!

[@thelightingenthusiast]

My council recently started replacing columns on main roads around my hometown, most of which I assume have failed the structural test. However, the new columns they have installed feature 2 doors on them. Do you know why?

[@StreetLightOnline]

Hmm...I'm not certain - of course, in the past, double-doored columns were a necessity with separate-geared lanterns on double-arm brackets (or lanterns with multiple lamps), but in the modern era, I can't see a need for them, ordinarily. That said, the double-arm column that replaced the one that supported my Gamma 3 is double-doored, despite this being unnecessary, whilst the column where my Gamma 4 had been is single-doored, but is also a double-arm!

[@Mercedes_Benz_Bros.]

Back then when they replace old SOX streetlights with new SOX streetlights, not like now with those stupid LED :(

[@StreetLightOnline]

Only a mere 16-and-a-bit years ago too, although the existing lantern and bracket here were swapped over to the replacement column.

[@xxfyrezgamerxx6279]

They are turning most streetlights to led to save electricity and to save money and also they are alot brighter than most old bulbs that glowed orange

[@Stormf0rce999]

Fecking LOL at the health and safety

[@StreetLightOnline]

I can't imagine what you mean! ;-)

[@simonbpalmer6617]

Tinnitus anyone...??

[@phillstaines4360]

Ppe? Chapter8? NERS? HERS?

[@StreetLightOnline]

Heh - we all lived to tell the tale, despite these shortcomings!

[@theww9985]

Is the sox light still there now?

[@StreetLightOnline]

It certainly is!

[@WaterlooRoadFan]

@@StreetLightOnline Has it been changed to LED yet or is it still a sodium light?

[@StreetLightOnline]

It was replaced in April 2019, but I saved the lantern and bracket!

[@class387productions3]

Where was this filmed

[@StreetLightOnline]

Somewhere in Derby!

[@StreetLightSam]

What was the particular problem with the old column?

[@StreetLightOnline]

The base section had become twisted during manufacture; this was picked up as a defect when the installed columns were inspected prior to their being adopted, and so the whole unit had to be replaced.

[@StreetLightSam]

Ah right @@StreetLightOnline

[@tonyknight9912]

No safety glasses ?

[@StreetLightOnline]

No; they'd look out of place, owing the lack of any other PPE being worn!

[@tonyknight9912]

@@StreetLightOnline Well yes!

[@ballintotty]

Why would you pull it whilst it's still live

[@StreetLightOnline]

Generally, column swaps are carried out with the supply remaining live, as to deactivate an Electricity Company's supply in a column would require switching off the electricity supply for the entire street, which would be disruptive, far more time-consuming, and have cost implications. Provided that operatives are trained and certified as competent by the Electricity Company, they are permitted to carry out this type of work live. Additional training is required in the event that any modifications (such as jointing or extending) to the supply cable are required, however, as of course, this will expose the operative to the live conductors, which would otherwise have been contained within the insulated cut-out.

[@ballintotty]

Well it's funny cause I pull them out regularly, and they are always turned off at the feeder pillar or disconnected outside the column prior to removal. Pulling one out with the cut out in could potentially cause the whole column to go live

[@StreetLightOnline]

Of course, isolation is preferable, but not practicable with most DNO services as there isn't a local means of isolation; I assume that the columns that you are working on have SWA cabling?

[@ballintotty]

SWA and DNO. There's no way on earth anyone can recommend removing a column using a hiab, whilst it still has a live cut out in. It's what cowboys do when they are doing price work.

[@StreetLightOnline]

It used to be commonplace here - in fact, when the Station Road scheme was underway in 2004/5, there were subcontractors for the DNO on site too that were working ahead of the HIAB crew, fitting new cut-outs to the existing supply cabling at each column. They'd then re-connect the existing tails as a temporary measure until the HIAB arrived at that column, when the still-live cut-out would be passed out of the column being removed, and slipped in to the new column as it went in.

[@timmorris5117]

electrically qualified ?...bare in mind that cut our was probably live all the time with a PC on the lantern

[@StreetLightOnline]

It was, indeed, live throughout the swap - you just have to be very careful when passing the cut-out through the cable entry slot!

[@1harryrobert]

Standing all over someone's garden & drive

[@StreetLightOnline]

Needs must!