174CC. Off Heartlands Parkway, Nechells, Birmingham With thanks to Leo Conway for discovering these Survivors. Located on either side of Heartlands Parkway, on the former Watson Road, are two separate groups of Survivors - to the south, within the compound for the former Washwood Heath Gasworks, are two rather Heath-Robinson lighting supports comprising a 25 ft (8 m) steel pole with a bracket affixed to the top. One of these supports an ELECO HW-745; the other, a Thorn Alpha 9 - both lanterns would have run a 90 Watt SOX (low pressure sodium) lamp when last in use. No other examples remained when these pictures were taken in June 2025, and in fact, Google Street View imagery from the past doesn't appear to show any further examples either, so if there were more, they must have been removed by July 2008.

The post supporting the HW-745 (and two wood pigeons!) was glimpsed through a convenient gap in the steel fencing. The bridge behind carries a goods-only railway line between Aston and Stetchford.

The close-up reveals that the 'bracket' is a series of pieces of steel welded (or clamped) together. The lantern, although complete, shows signs of bowl damage, and the lamp appears to be broken. A later floodlight addition faces into the former Gasworks site.

The post supporting the Alpha 9 is a little further north.

The bracket here is another that has been fabricated on site. This lantern is in poorer condition, with much of the bottom of the bowl having broken away, and the lamp being obliterated.

The other Survivors are on the other side of the road in the modern era, but would have been just off Watson Road prior to it being bisected by the construction of Heartlands Parkway. Quite surprisingly, two very ornate 25 ft columns provide a support for the illumination of a small yard. This area may have been part of the Nechells Power Station complex, although the image seen approximately two-thirds down this page show (what appear to be) these two columns serving as actual street lighting columns on the original Watson Road; the Power Station having closed completely by 1982.

The first of the two columns now supports a floodlight attached to the end of the old top-entry bracket.

The second column, photographed through the gates into the yard on Watson Road East, has also had a floodlight attached.

Here, the old bracket lies disused, with the floodlight installed lower down the shaft using two pieces of steel strip bolted together.

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