AC Ford AC730 80w MBF/U Lantern. The AC Ford AC730 is now the only original (remote-geared) top-entry lantern of this traditional design available in the UK. Manufactured at A C Ford's premises in Dudley, West Midlands, the A C Ford AC730 is for use with either 60w-200w tungsten lamps, 80w Mercury vapour lamps , or 70w SON lamps. This classic lantern is little altered from the days when AC Ford began manufacturing enclosed lanterns in the 1950's, and still sports a cast-aluminium canopy.  Today's production of the AC730 is low -volume and made-to-order, being mainly sold to the likes of Parish councils for use in rural districts and in heritage areas.

The AC Ford AC 730 in the collection.

The lantern in the collection is for use with mercury lamps and was purchased new from AC Ford in 2004 and features a similar polycarbonate bowl to that used on the former Thorn Beta-4 lantern. However, A C Ford later supplied the lantern with a polycarbonate bowl similar in design to those once used on the REVO Prefect!. This lantern body is based on earlier AC Ford models that used prismatic glass bowls, so has no refractor ring fitted to it, but instead relies on the moulded rings that run around the circumference of the vacuum-formed plastic bowl to distribute some of the lamp light onto the surface below.

AC Ford catalogue entry for the AC 730 lantern.

AC 730 MBF lantern seen in Worcestershire in August 2005. Note the crudely fitted two-part P42 photocell.

AC 730's in the A C Ford factory paintshop after being painted in etching primer in December 2005.