Railway Street, Nuttall, Ramsbottom, Bury, Greater Manchester Situated close to Kay Brow and the junction of Square Street is a 15 ft (5 m) Concrete Utilities' Estate Minor X column supporting a 15 degree side-entry bracket and GEC Z9480 lantern. While this lantern would have run 35 Watt SOX, and potentially, 60 Watt SO/H / SOI/H, (low pressure sodium) lamps originally, today, it accommodates a 20 Watt Venture Re-SOX LED retro-fit lamp instead. The column's position on a relatively sharp bend may be how it has managed to avoid being replaced, or sleeved and fitted with a modern LED lantern, as having a maintenance vehicle parked here for a prolonged time would necessitate the use of additional Traffic Management.
As the close-up image reveals that there is an above-lamp reflector that would conceal control gear components for the sodium lamp, technically, this is actually a Z9490.
The bracket pipe is marginally too long for the lantern, exposing a short section of it beyond the concrete.
A Zodion SS3 photocell rated at 35 Lux controls the lantern's operation.
Nearby was this 8 m tubular steel column supporting a Philips MA 90, for 90 Watt SOX lamps, with the lamp control gear mounted remotely.
A SOX lamp is still present in this lantern; however, given the overall grubby condition of the bowl, the lantern may not be in nightly condition.
A 'Byway-X' concrete column situated largely in trees supported a GEC Z9538, for (up to) 55 Watt SOX lamps.
This too now ran an LED retro-fit lamp for a 35 Watt SOX lamp.
A disused Heyes & Co. bulkhead existed on wall on a road leading away from Railway Street.
The catalogue number '453' is visible below the Heyes logo.
At the end of this otherwise unlit road was a wooden pole supporting an AC Ford bracket and Philips MI 80.
Although the lamp is very blackened around its electrodes, the installation would not be able to operate any longer anyway, as all electricity supplies to it have been removed.
The AC Ford fuse / control gear box is far larger than it needs to be for a lantern that uses its own integral control gear, and may suggest that an earlier lantern existed here that did not have provision for its control gear to be installed within it.
Indeed, a separate fuse box exists above the bracket, with porcelain fuse carriers for both the live and neutral wiring - another sign that the 1980s' MI 80 is a likely replacement.
Two further Concrete Utilities' columns, to their 'Fluted' design, are present at the entrance to St Paul's Church.
The columns are both topped with P109 'Georgian' lanterns, from CU's-then lantern division, Phosware.
Another Z9490 was to be found on Garden Street.
This example features a slightly grubbier bowl.
A little further down the road was this redundant Wardle wall bracket, installed at the corner of Garden Street and Rook Street. A 5 m tubular steel column supporting a Philips MI 36 had replaced it.
Even when the earliest Google Street View images for this area, dating back to March 2009 were produced, the old bracket was still disused.
A small section of the lead-sheathed supply cable remained visible on the underside of the bracket's fuse box.
Attached to a building on the other side of the road was this 'Lacent' bulkhead, also produced by Heyes & Co.. Notice that a slot has been scored in the square locking bolt to enable it to be undone using a conventional flat-bladed screwdriver.
A GEC Z9532 was to be seen installed on another Estate Minor column; this is St Paul's Street, being located behind the church.
The close-up reveals that this is an earlier aluminium-canopied version of the Z9532, but with the later polycarbonate bowl. Therefore, if the bowl is original, the lantern was probably produced in the interim period after GEC had begun using polycarbonate bowls instead of Perspex, but before the canopy material was changed to GRP.
While non-enthusiasts do not often appreciate their local street lighting, at Ramsbottom, one installation is an exception. Situated in the car park of a Morrison's supermarket that is accessed from Irwell Street is a cast iron column supporting a Bleeco swan neck bracket, and also topped with a Z9532. The column's placement is significant, for it was cast at Joseph Strang's Prince's Foundry, which once occupied the land now used by the supermarket. After the column was decommissioned from its original location on Castle Grove, it was saved in its complete form, and re-installed in the car park as a link to the site's former use. Fellow collector LeoLampposts is seen photographing the information board that is installed alongside the column - neither of us could quite believe that this installation had its own, official, Survivor article already!
The column was refurbished prior to being installed here, with the J.Strang lettering on the column shaft being highlighted in white.
The Z9532 appears to have been stripped internally - the gear tray / reflector that would have held the lampholder and lamp support has been removed.
The NEMA socket and porcelain terminal block are still fitted, although no wiring remains connected.
The column would have supported a gas lantern originally, before receiving the swan neck, complete with this stylish art deco fuse / time switch box, at a later stage.
The swan neck would have supported a top-entry lantern originally, but the top-entry connection was lost when the side-entry Z9532 was fitted.
Here is the information board itself:
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