Gallery:Urbis Lighting
I just thought I'd picture again these wonderful leaf-shaped lanterns on the old A13 (ironically named New Road).
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Mar 07, 2009 by Rojojnr
Here's a shot of one of the Sepales taken from directly underneath the lantern. The lamp is just merely a diamond-shaped glass blob located on the underside of the leaf-shaped canopy. You might think that seems a bit of a pants description, but I actually do rather like it - it rather reminds me of a raindrop trapped on a leaf!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Mar 07, 2009 by Rojojnr
The second half of the seafront from the amusement arcade down to the hotel is lit by these Albanys on their standard heritage columns. These have been here ever since I've known them, although some more have also been installed over the last 3-4 years as casual replacements. These really add to the Victorian nature of the seafront and look fantastic in my view!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Dec 16, 2008 by Rojojnr
Herne Bay's shopping streets and a few spots on the high street are lit by these Urbis Saturns mounted on the walls of some of the shops. This example is on the wall of Lloyds TSB and is on the high street just around the corner from the shot taken of the Alpha 9 on the black-painted S&L column with long bracket on Beach Street.
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Dec 16, 2008 by Rojojnr
This is the other type of Urbis Sepale which has been installed on the A1306 in Dagenham. I think they look fantastic! I love their botanical style - they rather look like a leaf on a branch, and they also run metal halide lamps! Very futuristic indeed! It also fits in very well with the road, since new flower beds were installed down the central reservation, although this is a very stark contrast to the industrial buildings and run-down accommodation you can see if you drive down the A1306!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Jun 10, 2008 by Rojojnr
The perimeter path around Barking and Dagenham Town Hall is lit by these Urbis Amenity lanterns - quite fitting really, as the town hall is indeed an amenity!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Jul 02, 2009 by Rojojnr
Adjacent to the new Cineworld cinema is an alleyway leading onto Winston Way, the Ilford ring road. The alleyway is lit with this Urbis Haydon (thanks Sotonsteve), which I believe is a retrofit for an AEI Globe, some of which can be seen in the background.
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Mar 29, 2009 by Rojojnr
Chadwell Heath station car park is lit with two Urbis Sapphires mounted on rusting steel columns (they replaced MK III Alpha 8s with GRP canopies a couple of years ago), whilst Station Road is lit with Philips SGS204s installed on old Fabrikat columns from the 80s, which, up until the mid 90s, held GEC Z9554s.
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Mar 07, 2009 by Rojojnr
Not very exciting, I know, but I pictured this as the column was installed more than 18 years ago and it still hasn't been painted! It even still has the black bitumen deposit at the base! The ZX3, however, isn't the original lantern, as I remember seeing some small-shoed MA90s installed here in the early 90s.
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Dec 07, 2008 by Rojojnr
The white flat-glass ZX3s (and a casual replacement bowled black ZX2 pictured previously) around the parade of shops on Ley Street were replaced a few months ago by these Sapphire 3s! Notice that the colour coordination of column and lantern have been retained - something which Redbridge seems to be moving away from now!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Dec 07, 2008 by Rojojnr
This only goes to prove how dubious the Urbis ZX range really is! I spotted this ZX1 with its canopy dangling off by its hinges, presumably caused by high winds - I doubt that it has been vandalised. The engineers must've forgotten to bang down the canopy to ensure all the hinges were fully secured!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Nov 15, 2008 by Rojojnr
Chadwell Heath High Road underwent a casual replacement scheme in 2006, which saw seemingly random columns replaced with new ones with ad boards attached to them and the original white-bowled ZX3 lanterns re-used on them. This actually looks quite smart, and has neatened up the streetscene quite significantly, as the old columns were/are very old and many now have rusty brackets!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Nov 15, 2008 by Rojojnr
Now this is sloppy! This section of Green Lane (originally lit with white deep-bowled ZX3s running SON) was relit in 2005 with Sapphires running metal halide to provide better quality, whiter light for the nearby shops. However, only two years later, the column in the background replaced one of the Sapphires and had a ZX2 running SON plopped onto it! So now there's a single SON lantern whilst the rest are metal halide! Very sloppy indeed!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Nov 15, 2008 by Rojojnr
New Road is lit with the usual ZX1, but mounted on some more unusual columns with upangled hockeystick brackets. I have a feeling these may have had SOX lanterns (probably Eleco GR550s) on them before the 1995 PFI. They look quite new (they still look quite shiny and still have the black bitumen deposit at the base), so were probably quite new before the PFI!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Nov 15, 2008 by Rojojnr
Here's an unusual zebra crossing lantern for Redbridge - an Urbis Saturn Zebra! I've only ever seen this lantern used on one another crossing (on Goodmayes Road, just up the road in the direction of the photo), and it actually looks really smart installed in this fashion! However, I am dubious of the column spacing - the column in the foreground has a ZX3 on it, which also runs SON. It would've been more efficient if the ZX3 had been installed on the crossing!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Nov 15, 2008 by Rojojnr
One of the roundabouts above the Dartford toll booths was relit a few years ago with Urbis Tage lanterns installed on some rather nice curvy columns. However, it's unfortunate that they came at the loss of Z9554s and MAs. I also think there were some MK II Alpha 8s here as well, which is an even more tragic loss! I really like the new installations though, as they make a nice change from the bog standard installations that councils seem to install these days!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Oct 30, 2008 by Rojojnr
Royal Docks Road through Canning Town and Silvertown is lit with Urbis DZ15s installed on the same chunky black columns as used with Alpha 8s in Beckton. These look a little ugly in my view, but still suit the columns quite nicely!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Oct 25, 2008 by Rojojnr
The access road into the Excel Centre is lit with Urbis Saturns installed using side-entry adapters. Sorry this example is obscured by the tree, but many of the lanterns on the road are the same!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Oct 25, 2008 by Rojojnr
A ZX3 has been installed on a long bracket here, and looks great in my view. It just finishes off that bracket nicely. It would've been nicer if the GR150s were retained, however, and an MA50 or Alpha 4 were installed. But never mind - the ZX is still perfectly aesthetically pleasing in my opinion.
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Oct 17, 2008 by Rojojnr
This is either an S&L or Fabrikat column, but I plumped for S&L! This is a true Essex-style new installation, where the new lantern is installed on the existing column! More often than not, the new lantern is a Philips MA, but here a ZX has been used. I think this replaced a GR150 in the mid-late 1990s, as I remember GR150s being installed along here at one point.
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Oct 17, 2008 by Rojojnr
These may be ZX1s but I'm not entirely sure - I'm only classifying them as ZX12s by their bowls. These light a cycle track running alongside the old A12 at the Green Man Roundabout, where it meets up with the M11 Link Road (the new A12), and look to be installed on Fabrikat 'lipped' hockeysticks.
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Oct 17, 2008 by Rojojnr
This looks to me like a small version of the Urbis Cabrio, but I'm not entirely sure. These replaced ZX1s about 5 or so years ago, presumably because they run metal halide and Redbridge wanted to improve the quality of light on the street due to the nearby shops. They look a little peculiar installed on these Fabrikat hockeysticks, but they are quite attractive-looking all the same!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Oct 12, 2008 by Rojojnr
Here's an Oxford-style Urbis Sapphire here - painted in green! - albeit mounted post-top instead of side-entry. These light a footpath alongside Royal Docks Road (lit with Alpha 8s on those chunky black columns). I actually think that they look quite good among the trees and bushes in shot!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Oct 12, 2008 by Rojojnr
UPDATE 19.4.09: Even these installations are not going to be here much longer! After just 3 years in service, I noticed this week that all these installations (as well as two MA50s in poor condition at the end of the road) are being replaced by WRTL Arcs painted white on white columns that resemble CU Bones! So it looks like the Arc has finged upon Havering territory too!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Oct 10, 2008 by Rojojnr
These have got to be the longest brackets I've ever seen! Up to 2005, these had gear-in-shoe MA60s installed on them, but they were replaced with black flat-glass ZX3s when North Street recieved a resurfacing programme. I don't know what you think, but I think the ZX3 looks great here - it's the right shape to finish off the grace of the bracket effectively!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Oct 10, 2008 by Rojojnr
Replaced Abacus columns with GR200s, which I think may have been original to the dualling of the road during the 1960s. If not they went up not too long after.
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Sep 20, 2008 by Bryn666
Hainault Street Bus Stand is lit by these Urbis Sapphire 3s on old 1980s/90s columns! The double-bracket example you see replaced a Phosco P222 running SON just a few years ago! The Sapphires, however, run metal halide, which is always a pleasant surprise!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Aug 19, 2008 by Rojojnr
The now pedestrianised shopping street in Romford is lit by these Urbis St Giles lanterns (thanks James for identifying them for me!) This elegant example is one of the many double-bracket installations that can be found here! I'm rather disappointed, however, that they run SON, not metal halide!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Aug 19, 2008 by Rojojnr
This installation is really in the wars - it's lost its partner, got half its bowl missing, and it's conjoined to a Siamese twin! Poor old St Giles!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Aug 19, 2008 by Rojojnr
A bit more Havering quirk here! These very 1970s-esque columns with white flat-glass ZX3s on them light the whole of London Road from the border of Barking and Dagenham up to the Romford ring road! As you'll soon see, other lanterns also make an appearance on these columns too! I accidentally missed some survivors (GEC Z9540 SOX lanterns lighting a motorbike racing course), but I'm sure they'll still be there when I next visit! Apologies for that...I don't know where the survivors in Romford are that well!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Aug 19, 2008 by Rojojnr
Here's a shot of another ZX2 - on a longer bracket this time though! The bus in the photograph is a rather untypical one - it's one of the 'goldfish bowl' types with a few new features added to make it more eco-friendly on route 179! Very strange indeed!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Aug 17, 2008 by Rojojnr
It's really unusual to see a ZX3 installed so low, but Charlie Browns Roundabout has a footpath going around it decked out with these installations! Why a ZX1 or ZX12 running a more efficient light source like CFL couldn't be used I don't know! The main roundabout itself is lit with 2003-installed ZX2s, which replaced gear-in-base MA60s (which I presumed to be from the 70s or 80s) on peeling columns! On the flyover above, you can just glimpse an Iridium lighting the on-slip onto the M11.
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Aug 17, 2008 by Rojojnr_-_Coppermine_-_19632.jpg)
After the first roundabout, the A1400 changes its name from Woodford Avenue to Southend Road. All the same, however, it is lit all the way long by these ZX2s installed on 1970s-esque Fabrikat columns! Unusual for a dual carriageway! I think these were the columns that originally held GEC Z9564s until around 1995, and so the ZX2s have probably been retrofitted onto them rather than used to replace the entire installations!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Aug 17, 2008 by Rojojnr
The shops at the end of Cameron Road are illuminated by these Sapphires, which were retrofitted to columns originally holding white ZX3s 2 or 3 years ago.
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Aug 15, 2008 by Rojojnr
The zebra crossing on Aldborough Road (lit by white ZX3s) is lit by these Urbis ZX4 Zebras, which is unusual as it is the only crossing I've seen lit by these lanterns.
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Aug 15, 2008 by Rojojnr
A brook flows through the Beckton Triangle Retail Park, with two footpaths straddling it! Both are lit with these ZX1s on some rather untypical installations for this lantern, which I actually think look quite good, especially because of the colour coordination!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Aug 14, 2008 by Rojojnr
Another view of the ZX3s on the chunky black columns.
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Aug 14, 2008 by Rojojnr
UPDATE: The right-hand lantern has now been casually replaced with an SGS203.
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Aug 14, 2008 by Rojojnr
Here I've pictured one of those Aledos with an Abacus Orion, which lights the car park for nearby Tesco Extra! I've no idea what the blue conical object is in the background, but it's used as a landmark to mark out the shopping park!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Aug 14, 2008 by Rojojnr
The 2003-built Gallions Reach Shopping Park just outside Beckton is lit with these Urbis Aledo lanterns installed on Abacus columns which look a bit like S&L columns that were used in the 50s/60s! I call these 'flagpole' columns!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Aug 14, 2008 by Rojojnr
Just between the two traffic signals is an Urbis Sapphire 3 installed side entry on a weird T-shaped column! These may be mobile phone masts or some kind of aerial, but I'm not exactly sure? Can anybody explain? These can be found underneath the A406 flyover just outside Ilford, just metres away from the border with Newham!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Aug 14, 2008 by Rojojnr
Here's a better (and sunnier!) view of the new Urbis Aledo installations on Barkingside High Street! The Philips Metronomis Brussels are still standing a week later, but I don't know yet which lanterns are currently in nightly service! Also in view is the Redbridge staple lantern - the white deep-bowled ZX3! This section of Tanners Lane up to Barnardos' base has not yet been Furyoed, for some reason!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Aug 12, 2008 by Rojojnr
Urbis Sintras have been used on the wider back streets, presumably because of their higher wattage or better light distribution than the ZX1s! These were also installed in the 1995 PFI and on the same Fabrikat hockeysticks as the ZX1s! However, there have been a couple of casual replacements with a ZX1 and SGS203 - why the council didn't use another Sintra I don't know!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Aug 12, 2008 by Rojojnr
UPDATE: The ZX2 is no longer here - it and some of the white flat-glass ZX3s near the shops (just out of shot behind me in the photo) have now been retrofitted with metal halide Sapphire 3s over the last 5 days at most!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Aug 12, 2008 by Rojojnr_on_North_Street_-_Coppermine_-_19508.jpg)
The black flat-glass ZX3 is becoming Havering's next staple lantern, although the Philips MA series is still very much that incumbent! North Street was decked out with ZX3s in 2005, replacing MA60s and SGS203s, when the road was given a minor upgrade in the light of the building of the Matalan store (out of shot to the left). The ZX3s look fantastic on these columns with up-angled brackets (which are, amazingly, new ones installed the same time as the lanterns), but it would've looked better if white ZX3s were used to colour-match the installation!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Aug 12, 2008 by Rojojnr
My local Sainsbury's also has a few casual replacements in the form of black flat-glass ZX3s, which I feel look the better replacements than the Kingfisher Lunoides! I managed to also include an SGS203 installation in shot so you can compare them easily! You can see that additional brackets have been used for the ZXs but not the SGS203s! How weird!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Aug 12, 2008 by Rojojnr
What do you think of this? Brook Road in Newbury Park has ZX1s installed on the original SOX brackets and columns, which I think held Thorn Beta 5s until the 1995 PFI! I think the ZX1 is a great choice of lantern to use on these columns - it is the right shape and thickness to carry off the bracket and is also well colour-coordinated!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Aug 08, 2008 by Rojojnr
UPDATE: I've now seen these lit, and, as I thought, they run metal halide lamps! It takes them a lot longer to spring to life at dusk than the ZX3s though!
Originally uploaded to Coppermine on Aug 07, 2008 by Rojojnr