Produced by REVO from the 1930's through to the 1950's, the Lodestar was a delightful little open reflector lantern, designed for use on minor roads and in rural areas. The lantern was made from cast iron supplied in factory green finish, with a white Vitreous enamelled sheet steel reflector.

There were two basic versions, C2626 (14" diameter lantern) and a C7186 (18" diameter lantern). These fittings were available with or without 'Anti-Vibratory' lampholder devices. Iif these were fitted, then this was denoted by an 'S' suffix following on from the serial number. E.g. C2626S and C7186S.

There are several of these lanterns in the Collection, and these originated from three places.

1. Cannock, Staffordhsire.  2. Blackpool, Lancahsire.  3. Lytham St Annes, Lancashire.

I'll deal with the Cannock examples first.

I had originally seen these lanterns in the early 1980s. At the time they were still burning GLS lamps, but these were 200w lamps, not 100w lamps. At the time, there were still a few examples dotted around the area. By the time I caught up with them again in 2003, there were just three left. These were in Old Penkridge Road, Cannock; a quiet residential road near to the Town Centre. I made my first contact with the street lighting contracts in the June of 2003, and so began a very long and protracted process to acquire them. However, it would be August 2007 before they were finally taken out of service, cut down and put to one side for the collection.  They were finally collected in October 2007.

Of the three 'Lodestars' saved from Cannock, this was the only example that still retained its vitreous enamel reflector. The remains of the bracket's 'ball' finial are still attached. It was such a shame that these lanterns had been cut from their ornate REVO 'Cannock' brackets, especially, as I had asked on numerious occasions for them to be rescued intact.

Sadly over time, the elements have taken their toll on this old lantern, the rim of the canopy is chipped and the enamel reflector has corroded through in places.

Thease are the cast iron canopies from the other 'Cannock' Lodestar's. Although in one of them (see picture above), the lampholder is not original and has been cable-tied on to the spring loaded 'anti-vibration' mechanism. The cast iron canopy is also in good condition and may provide the basis for a restoration project  The high-viz material tied to the lantern is to try and stop people (and me) from banging our heads when I walk into the storage area, as these ate presently stored overhead.

This is the most complete example looked when still in situ in Cannock until recently. These lanterns used to be fitted with 200w tungsten lamps, but these examples ended up burning MBTF160-watt mercury lamps in the last few years of service. All were finally removed sometime in August 2007.