ELECO HW-898
Lantern acquired in March 2022.
This lantern was removed from Parkdale, in the Bounds Green area of Tottenham, London, on the 2nd February 2022, following the decommissioning of its column, owing to new columns supporting TRT Aspect Eco LED lanterns taking over the responsibility of the lighting to the communal parking area. With thanks to Haringey Borough Council and Marlborough Highways for their assistance in saving the lantern for me.
The lantern is seen in its final days of installation atop its ELECOSLIM 1308 concrete column, on the 28th January 2022. The replacement column and lantern are installed alongside.
The lantern incorporates a special base section that allows it to match the column's contours. The alternative (and more common) option was a base casting that catered for traditional circular column spigots.
The ELECO-Way Slim Post-Top lantern measures 17 inches (177·8 mm) in width, and 20 5/8 inches (523·88 mm) in height.
The lantern's canopy supports a Royce Thompson ER6N 20 mm photocell dating from January 1997. This is likely to be the original photocell from when the lantern was converted from time switch operation.
Unlike the PT 1031, where the canopy is secured by a thumbscrew, this lantern's canopy is attached to the bowl by means of a brass hinge, with two clips securing it ordinarily. The three grub screws pass through the outer hexagonal part of the base casting, into the narrow circular central part, where they would grip the internal pipe of the concrete column. Amazingly, the three grub screws undid without too much drama (penetrating oil and a ratchet socket driver were required); however, one has cross-threaded, which will require the hole to be re-tapped as part of the lantern's restoration.
Opening the canopy reveals a considerable soot mark on its inside, along with a reference to sister lantern, the HW-828, which must also use this type of canopy.
Unusually, the bowl is secured to the base casting with an aluminium ring that is held down with six screws (part code HW-828/3). This makes the lantern very rigid when assembled, but does them make disassembly slightly more challenging! A very worn 35 Watt SOX lamp is present within the lantern; this carries the hand-written installation date of the 12th December 2014. Modern twin / three-core-and earth cable connects the lamp and photocell circuits - this may also date from 1997.
The bowl securing ring was removed, allowing the bowl itself to be lifted away (once it had been prised off the lower gasket), and the internal construction to be appreciated. There is sufficient clearance below the lampholder for a 55 Watt SOX lamp to be used, and the lamp support can be slid up or down the two support rods, depending on the lamp used. As the lantern left service running a 35 Watt lamp, I shall keep it the same in preservation.
The wires for the lampholder pass up the centres of both support rods. The entire frame has a choice of three height positions, depending on the lantern that it is being used in; however, only the highest position is usable here, as the other two foul the lower bracket on the inside of the column spigot. Despite this, spare screws are included for both alternative positions, even though they serve no purpose.
The canopy cannot be removed from the bowl at this time, because, typically, the nuts and bolts used to attach the hinge are rusted solid.
With the base casting stripped of all components, the three height position turrets become more obvious. Amazingly, the drilled-out piece of the canopy, from when the photocell was fitted 25 years earlier, remains inside the casting. This work will be undone as part of the lantern's restoration, with the photocell hole being filled in. The part code visible elsewhere on the casting is HW-880/1.
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