Holophane S-Line Lantern Installations

The Holophane S-Line is an up-and-coming LED lantern available in 14W, 30W and 40W. It is used in a range of applications from residential lighting to main road lighting. It is of aluminium construction, with post-top and side-entry spigot options depending on the application. The IP rating of a brand-new S-Line is IP66. Despite this, the hinge being located at the top can cause water ingress. There's no denying they are power efficient! But does that compare to the calming pink and orange glow of SOX lamps?

Amington, Tamworth

"But does that compare to the calming pink and orange glow of SOX lamps?" well if you want a comparison, head to Hodge Lane, Tamworth, where a 14W Holophane S-line (On a damaged column) exists next to several GEC Z9580s.

The lantern is intact as the damage occurred pre-installation of the Holophane S-Line. An Industria 2600 was installed here previously.

Sadly, only two of the GEC Z9580s now remain as of 24/03/2024. Guess what they were replaced with?

The very end of Hodge lane is a 6m hinged column which previously supported an Urbis Altra 2. It was installed alongside another to replace two leaning GEC Z9580s. Later, the Urbis Altra 2 was changed to a Holophane S-Line.

Christchurch Road leads into a S-Line lit estate, using the 14W examples on 6m hockey-stick columns. Previously, WRTL 2600s would have been installed here. These all have dimming profile A, which is 100% switch-on until 8pm, 75% until 12am, 50% until 5am, 75% until 6am, and 100% until switch-off (thank you to AgentHalogen_87 for this information). Column T1 was pictured first.

Followed by column T2:

I then continued up Brindley Drive to Whitley Avenue, and pictured Column T4 with it's 14W S-Line.

Column T5 followed shortly after.

Whitley Avenue then meets Selker Drive, where I pictured two more S-Line installations before calling it a day. 

T13:

And T14:

St. Andrews is also populated with brand-new S-Lines, installed in May 2024. They replaced several Philips MI50-GOs and WRTL 2600s. I pictured these at night. Column T5:

Column T2:

Column T15:

Column T6 currently remains lantern-less. The column was previously a concrete installation with an S-Line mounted side-entry, but the screw on the spigot was rounded-out meaning it was stuck to the concrete bracket. The S-Line itself was eventually removed but the spigot stayed glued to the bracket. The wire inside the S-Line was also in bad condition so a plug was placed on the column until the S-Line could be repaired or a new one sourced.

Sandy Way, Tamworth

Between the 3rd and 21st of June 2024, the old columns along Sandy Way (previously supporting a mix of Philips MA90s, Eleco GR100s, GEC Z9554s, GEC Z9454s and Thorn Alpha 9s) were replaced with 10m steel columns. These columns were fitted with S-Lines.

New column 9 was pictured first.

These lanterns all use dimming profile A, which is, after switch on: 100% brightness until 8pm, 75% brightness until 12am, 50% brightness until 5am, 75% brightness until 6am, and 100% brightness until power off.

New column 12:

This S-Line puts out 6000lm compared to the previous examples 7400lm.

New column 13:

This may look familiar! This was where the leaning column supporting an MA90 seen here was situated.

Around the corner, new column 30 was surrounded by cones, as was the feeder-pillar. This indicates that at-the-time it was the newest-installed column, having been installed mere hours before photographing.

Silica Road was replaced a few weeks before Sandy Way. I managed to grab some pictures during these replacements too. New column 11 was installed before the old column T11's removal. This lead to an interesting situation where two column 11s existed on the road at the same time.

The new tarmac extends in a line to where the old column (T14) would have been.

Tamworth Town Centre

The S-Lines are now starting to spread to the town centre, starting with the footpaths. These Holophane S-Lines replaced 50W SON Thorn Civic 1s. Column T27 was photographed first. Being a day old when I took these images, there's not much to say about the lanterns conditions, as they are, quite literally, identical in every-way. In that case, enjoy the break from reading for a bit!

Column T21:

Next up, column T20:

T18:

Column T16:

This (14W) example does not work. It's located on column T12 of Cycleway 2.

Belgrave, Tamworth

One night (14/11/2023), I was out on a night-time walk around Belgrave Lakes... This is when I noticed something Odd. Nearly all of the street lamps were off! They all support Holophane S-line lanterns, and it was an odd, yet spooky sight.

At first I was puzzled, OneNetwork told me that there were electrical works for street light upgrades (likely to replace old Philips SGS306 "Trafficvisions") on the A5, which is located right next to these S-lines, so the supply might have been shut off so work could be carried out, though I'm not sure.

The only pathway to have them remain functional near the A5 was this stretch of cycle-path, where they still glow throughout the night!

The previously-mentioned cycleway has a rather unique feeder pillar. It is the base of a Stanton 1405 column, which would have originally stood alongside many other Stanton 1405s. When they were removed in the 1980s, the decision was made to leave the base of this one to be used as a feeder pillar.

Another installation on the same pathway.

A double-armed column (previously supporting two INDAL 2600s) has been swapped to support two Holophane S-Lines. They do look good on double-armed columns, I have to admit!

Glascote Heath, Tamworth

This 14W Holophane S-Line is located on Hawksworth. It replaced an Urbis Onyx 2.

Two Gates, Tamworth

This S-Line exists on a footpath running parallel to County Drive, Tamworth. It is fitted to a damaged (hinged) 5m column. Electrical tape has been wrapped tightly around the base to prevent the column folding over.

Looking closely, the lantern looks slightly wonky from this angle, as it was shoved on there awaiting the column's inevitable replacement.

Leyfields, Tamworth

These 14W Holophane S-Lines are located on a footpath in Leyfields, Tamworth. The first example was used to replace a Philips MI26.

Coton Green, Tamworth

Longleat, Coton Green used to support several Mk.16 Thorn Beta 5s. This was until Early 2024, when they were "upgraded" with these 14W Holophane S-Lines. Column 3 is pictured below. This previously supported a Beta 5 with a severe water intake problem...

Column 7:

Column 2:

Column 8:

Column 1:

Lichfield Industrial Estate, Tamworth

As of April 2024, Holophane S-Lines have started to be installed around Lichfield Industrial Estate. This 14W example replaced a damaged 36W PL-L Urbis Altra 2.

Another footpath has a 14W Holophane S-Line that replaced an Urbis Altra 2, which itself was used to replaced an out-dated column supporting a Thorn Gamma 6 in April 2019.

Hockley, Tamworth

In Hockley, Tamworth, is this wonky S-Line. It is located on Avon, T15.

Comberford

A more unusual sight, these S-Lines are mounted to wooden telegraph poles, leading to a clash of SOX/MBF nostalgia, and the present day LEDs. this pair is located on Wigginton Lane, Tamworth