First generation MKII examples from the 1970's are in an all-natural aluminiunm finish, but later variants have a white painted canopy with an aluminium painted gear shoe in a hammered finish. Both variants can still be found in use all over the UK, but the earlier all-aluminium examples are getting harder to find in 2007.

The lantern in the collection is an earlier version and came from Dolgellau in North Wales, where it was taken out of use in late 2006. Its replacement is likely to have been a WRTL Arc lantern, which Gwynedd Council are currently employing as their standard lantern. This particular Alpha-8 is in very good condition and like many of the others in the Town was used in conjunction with 150w SON lamp.

A three-quarter view of the Alpha-8 with a disc lock and keys in the picture to give a sense of scale.

Rear view of the lantern showing the gear shoe and spigot receptor, and the blanked off NEMA socket, suggesting that the lantern was group-switched, and not individually switched by its own light-cell.

This underside view of the lantern shows to good effect the part-prismatic acrylic bowl, and the hinged access panel beneath the gear shoe.

These lantern's use the old style white-plastic toggle clips to secure the bowl. Realeasing the toggle clip allows the lantern's bowl to hinge backwards on its rear mounted hinges, as below.

With the clip released and the bowl hinged back, access to the 150w SON lamp is made easy inside the roomy canopy.

Access to the control gear is made by unscrewing a single retaing screw at the rear of the lantern and hinging the aluminium access door forward. The control gear is fixed under the shoe and is easily accessible to the lighting engineer.

A close up of the Thorn GF53523 ballast for the 150w SON high pressure sodium lamp. The bracket locking screws in the spigot mounting receptor can also be seen in this view.

Identical to the example in the collection is this early Alpha-8 MKII in Dolgellau, North Wales in September 2005.

A later style Alpha-8 MKII lantern with white painted canopy, seen in Beeston, Nottinghamshire in 2005. An example of one these lanterns is also held in the collection and came from Derby.