Philips MA50 Lantern Installations
The Philips MA50 was the 135W SOX/91W SOX-E version of the MA series of lanterns. It could come in both integral and remote-geared versions, and the integral geared versions could even be converted to MA60s (180W SOX/131W SOX-E) with removal of the gear. Integral geared MA90s could also be converted to remote geared MA50s with the same process due to the cross-compatibility of the components and gear trays.
Birmingham
Along Dudley Road are a few lasting MA50s, both integral and remote-geared. Lots of road work activity has prevented these lanterns from being swapped, so they are probably on borrowed time. Pictured below is column 13:
Mile Oak
Column 24 of Watling Street previously supported the last MA50 on the road. It was swapped out in mid-2024 when the column was removed, and a new 10m Fabrikat column with a post-top V-Max new gen was installed.
Tamworth
These are located on the A51, and are integral-geared MA50s running 91W SOX-E.
The same lantern viewed from a different angle.
From this angle you can clearly see the gear through the refractor bowl!
From a side angle, we can see what appears to be a mini-photocell mounted towards the back of the lanterns canopy, near to its mounting spigot!
Zooming out, we can see more integral geared MA50s in the background, lining the road with Thorn Civic 2s and GEC Z9554Ms.
More examples along the A51, oddly they use stud-brackets, probably due to their close-proximity to the road, meaning they don't need long outreach brackets. The first example (column 3) is actually on a short outreach bracket.
The lantern of column 5:
Column 6. These close-up show the stud "brackets" are actually part of the columns themselves! Also notice the cap on top of the column to prevent water from getting in.
More examples of this lantern can be seen on Tamworth Road, Two Gates, although these are due to be replaced on December the 1st 2023.
If you look closely in the gear compartment on this one, you can see one of the choc block wire connectors.
A different lantern on the same road, taken at sunset.
More of these lanterns litter Lichfield Industrial Estate. Nearly all of them have no concrete around the mounting spigot. It also looks as if the front clip has come loose! Luckily, theres 6 more clips to pick up the slack, so it's unlikely it will fall down...
While walking, I discovered one of them with the door open, allowing us to see the isolator inside!
An MA50 remote geared lantern could be seen at the other end of County Drive, like a pot of gold at the end of the SOX rainbow... okay, it's all gold...
It exists next to several Philips SGS305s
Another location where MA50s run rampant is Woodland Road, Amington.
Most of them are integral gear, much like this fixture.
A single Philips Iridium can be seen as a replacement for a late MA50.
This one's shockingly clear bowl allows us to see the gear in striking detail.
I photographed one of these lanterns on the night of 05/05/2024. Column 6's lantern is pictured below:
