Off Awsworth Road, Ilkeston, Erewash, Derbyshire Installed adjacent a disused single railway siding that runs parallel with the two main tracks of the route between Langley Mill and Nottingham, and a single goods line, are a series of 1980s' Abacus base-hinged tubular steel columns supporting Thorn Alpha 8s that are likely to be wired to run 150 Watt SON (high pressure sodium) lamps. These columns, and the associated siding, served the Bennerley Coal Screening Plant (historically, the Bennerley Ironworks), which appears to have become defunct in the 1990s, with the remainder of the on-site structures having been demolished by the early 2000s.
Such are the years of abandonment that foliage has grown up along the length of the former siding, with only the tops of the columns indicating the area's previous use.
Many of the Alpha 8s have lost their bowls over time.
The bowl remains on the example that is third north of the Awsworth Road bridge, but it is very grubby, and sports two airgun pellet holes.
The lamp on the closest lantern is also broken, with the SON arc tube protruding from beneath the canopy.
This image shows the wider area in which these columns are to be found. The famous wrought iron Bennerley Viaduct (abandoned after the former Great Northern Railway's Derbyshire Extension route closed in 1968, but since restored as a walking and cycle trail) is visible in the background.
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