69CEF. Tunnel Lane, Cotteridge, Lifford, Birmingham, West Midlands With thanks to Dwight for informing me of this Survivor. Located at the end of Tunnel Lane, near the Stratford-upon-Avon canal, is a knocked-down 25 ft (8 m) sectional steel 'Adastra' column made by Poles Ltd - a local company; they were based on Tyburn Road in Erdington. Despite being on the ground, a lantern from the GEC Z5590 range remains attached to the bracket. A second example to the same specification did exist further down Tunnel Lane, facing into the Specialty Minerals (formerly, the Lifford Chemical Works) site, but had gone completely by 2025.

This 2011 Google Street View image shows the installation when still upright.

Notice the overhead supply cabling to the column.

The now-levelled column is still plainly visible through the locked gates to this abandoned part of the compound.

The remains of the overhead wiring connections are still affixed to the column shaft.

The lantern's polycarbonate bowl is damaged, although some of these breaks are visible on the Google image too - not that the fall will have done it much good! The remnants of the last lamp to be fitted in this lantern are still present in the lampholder.

Judging by the condition of the column base, it appears to have been pushed down deliberately by heavy equipment.

Again, relying on Street View imagery, the second column that was a little further along Tunnel Lane is seen here.

The lantern here looks to be from the Z5560 series (notice the wider neck section of the canopy), but uses an identical bowl. There is also an inline winch device attached here, which does not exist on the other column - this would allow the lantern to be lowered for maintenance. It is probably included here only as this section of Tunnel Lane is narrow, and would be difficult to access otherwise. Indeed, since Google drove along this road, bollards have been added near Lifford Reservoir, preventing vehicles from passing this far any longer - this must have been done some time ago, as the lane is now even narrower, owing to the growth of surrounding plants. The lantern mounting height is considerably greater than would be recommended for these lanterns - ordinarily, they would be used on residential roads with lower columns. A shovel-type floodlight was also fastened to this column, when it existed.

On the other side of Tunnel Lane from the downed column, an original building survives. Attached to the wall is a GEC Z5045 - an earlier ancestor (mid-1940s) of the Z5560 / 90 series. Previously, there had been a second example on another building to the left of this one; however, this had been demolished by 2025.

This lantern was designed to operate without a bowl, and thus, is in relatively complete condition. Part of the glass refractor dome surrounding the lamp is missing, however, and the internal enamelled reflector is rusted in parts. The corner bracket employed is a GEC product too.

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