The lantern shown is one of two in the collection and was once used in the Broxtowe area of Nottingham. Attached to a concrete column, it was removed in 2005 because of the local council's on-going replacement scheme of Group-A, main road concrete columns. The lantern is in reasonable condition, although it's a little chipped around the back edge of the canopy.

A side view of the Alpha-8 with mobile phone to give a sense of scale. The black painted underside is the aluminim chassis that incorporates the spigot mounting and also contains the lanterns control-gear.

Front underside view of the lantern showing the black plastic fastener that holds the bowl in place, the figured reflector plates, and clear plastic bowl.

By releasing the black plastic clip at the front the lantern, the clear plastic bowl can be opened on its rear mounted hinge to allow access to the lamp. As can be seen from the picture, downward light distribution is partly controlled by two simple aluminium side mounted reflectors and a single vee reflector mounted above the lamp.

Rear view of the Alpha-8 showing the position of the NEMA socket and the two capitvated screws that hold the canopy down on to the chassis. These screws are undone to release the canopy, allowing it to hinge forward to gain access to the control-gear.

With the two screws released, the canopy can be swung open on its forward mounted hinges, allowing access to the control gear. A small restraining chain prevents the canopy from swinging too far forward and damaging the bowl on the underside of the die-cast chassis. The lump at the back of the chassis is the spigot mounting for fixing the lantern to the lamppost's out-reach bracket.

A close up of the Thorn GF53523 ballast for the 250w SON high pressure sodium lamp.

An in-service Alpha-8 in Beeston, Nottingham in June 2006.

Three for the price of one; this 120 degree, 3-bracket fitting at Sawley in Derbyshire gives us three very different views of the Alpha-8 in service.