54C. Coupland Way, Neville's Cross Bank, Durham Thanks to Oliver Davison for informing me of these Survivors. Situated on a derelict piece of land between Coupland Way and the A690 are two ELECO 'Elecoslim 1030H' 18 ft (5·48 m) concrete columns supporting HW-918 lanterns, also made by ELECO. One of the two columns supports a double-arm bracket; the other, a single-arm. At the time of visiting, in June 2022, the two columns were likely to be removed relatively imminently, as the site showed signs of being prepared for a new use. This is probably rather timely, as the double-arm bracket is in very poor condition, and looks as if it could fall in the not-too-distant future.
The double-armed column is pictured first.
Ignoring the rather quirky angle that the bracket is positioned at, a large amount of the internal steel pipe is exposed above the column. The exposed pipe work at the end of each bracket is more intentional, however, and appear to be extension pieces that have been bolted on to the original bracket pipes.
The lanterns are vandalised, with the bowls having gone completely. Interestingly, these appear to be cut-off versions of the HW-918, with the reflector panels extending to a point below the lamp, minimising the amount of sideways light spread out directly from the lantern.
The remains of a long-broken lamp survived within this lantern.
In the second lantern, the lamp was missing - no doubt, because the lampholder was also broken.
The same installation, from a different angle.
This view demonstrates how the reflectors encompass the lamp - if it weren't smashed, anyway!
The column door was missing, allowing the two Philips 125 Watt MBF ballasts (one of which is installed upside-down), and their associated Power Factor correction capacitors, to be seen. Unfortunately, the corrosion was too extensive for any date codes to be identified; however, the ballasts are made to BS 4782, which was launched in 1971, and superseded in 1997. Yes, taking this picture did require me to stand beneath the scary bracket - I did it to save others from having to do the same!
The single-arm installation was in better condition (possibly, because of its proximity to the A690), although it too had considerable spalling between the bracket's joint to the column.
This bracket didn't seem to have been fitted with an extension piece - much of the exposed pipe here is due to more of the concrete having fallen away.
A different style of bowl is employed too - instead of the usual refractor bowl being used, a shallower, plain bowl is fitted.
The door remained intact too, with the ELECO logo cast into the door confirming manufacturer.
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