Urbis Altra 2 Lantern Installations

Urbis Altras are an unbelievably common street light lantern designed for use with 36W PL-L lamps. They were common in the UK and mainland Europe, especially the Netherlands, where a 26W SOX-E version was produced. They can have clear polycarbonate bowls, or refractor polycarbonate bowls. The canopy is made of aluminium, meaning it's quite a heavy lantern. They are perhaps one of the most durable modern lanterns, so it's no surprise lots of areas used them!

Belgrave, Tamworth

The Urbis Altra 2 is incredibly common here In Staffordshire. It's even used as a replacement for failed LED lanterns (I've seen 3 examples so far just on my old street). Each replacement was for a failed Advanced LEDs Clara lantern. Either way, this might be a good thing. This means we get a longer time with these Altras around. The Altra is a childhood lantern of mine. My fascination with them started the day in 2011 when the crews came around to my old street (Cambrian) to swap the old Indal 2600s and their columns with brand new Altras. I stayed home from school "ill" that day. I even remember them throwing a Thorn Civic 1 around in the back of their truck, and I thought to myself "oh god they're going to put those weird looking lamps up. Thankfully though, it was the Altras. Even at 7 years old, I went up and asked for the 2600. It's no surprise they said no haha!

These ones are located around Belgrave, Tamworth, and are the second most common lantern in Belgrave after the Clara by Advanced LEDs.

This one is covered in bird muck!

Hidden away on a footpath, standing on 6m hinged steel columns are two Altras, one of which does not currently work.

The next one is located in Belgrave (and is pictured at night) running 24W PL-L.

Kettlebrook Road, Tamworth

There's some more installations on West Street, Kettlebrook Road, one is pictured here at night running 36W PL-L.

Lichfield Industrial Estate

During my third trip to Lichfield Industrial Estate, I encountered this tarnished Urbis Altra. It was the only one I'd seen that was this bad. The bowl had (somehow) come loose; the water and dirt had managed to infiltrate the lantern.

It works, but I'd imagine all that dirt doesn't do well for the light output! From this angle you can see the bowl hanging lower than usual.

This Altra 2 was replaced with a Holophane S-Line in 2024.

Further down the path, another Altra can be seen, this one functioning correctly, with it's clips tightly clutching the bowl.

Towards the outer edge of Lichfield Industrial Estate exists this Urbis Altra. I immediately noticed something off about it... Something was wrong with it's lamp. Can you spot it?

How about now?

It's 36W PL-L fluorescent lamp has fallen out of the holder, and is now rolling about freely in the lantern's bowl!

Tamworth Town Centre

Another damaged Urbis Altra installation was extant on Rosy Cross, Tamworth. The street is quite narrow so I'm not sure what might have caused this damage. My best guess is someone carrying something such as a scaffolding pole or ladder, but it still will have needed to be hit hard to bend the lantern like that!

The lantern even still worked! In 2024 this lantern was swapped for a Holophane S-Line

Amington, Tamworth

Hodge Lane, Amington, has two Urbis Altra 2s, that replaced two GEC Z9580s on 5m Stanton and Staveley concrete columns. The concrete columns had started leaning substantially through the soil as the embankment had loosened over the decades.

I revisited these installations on the 04/04/2024, to find one replaced with a Holophane S-Line.

The second Urbis Altra 2 was missing it's photocell cover! This has caused the cell to short and trip the column's breaker, as a result, it no longer works.

Also in Amington, is this absolute state of a column with a 36W PL-L Altra 2 mounted post-top. I have never seen an (in service) column this rusty before! Well, actually that's a lie. There's an adjacent column that's even worse... It supports an 80W MBF-U Simplex Solumbra.

Also on this road are two wall mounted Urbis Altra 2s. They replaced two GEC Z8896s running 80W MBF-U. They're mounted in the shadows however, so getting a picture was difficult. I plan to head back on a non-typical British day to get better pictures.

If we travelled about 5-7 minutes down the road to Sandy Way, you could see this day-burning 36W PL-L Altra 2. This road had quite the mix of lanterns, from old THORN Beta 5s to GEC Z9580s and Philips XGS103s.

These were all replaced in early-2024.

Two Gates, Tamworth

The Blackwood Road estate is home to several Urbis Altra 2s. They were brought in to replace a plethora of failed lanterns, such as the below example (column T3 on Sudeley) which replaced a CU Phosco P107. There is something rather funny about this installation, can you spot it?

It's the sign! I have no idea how they did that! I did check the other side to make sure it hadn't just fallen, but nope. It's just mounted that way, who knows...

The lantern is the right way up.

Another Altra on a side-road off Sudeley (column T30) replaced a CU Phosco P107 a few months ago.

Following Sudeley all the way to the end of the road leads to a short footpath with a 36W PL-L Altra 2 on a mid-hinged column (column T11). The footpath connects Sudeley to Slingsby.

Lichfield

I was out lantern-spotting one day in Lichfield around Beacon Park, when I found this unusual eyesore. An Urbis Altra 2 mounted to a heritage column! It runs 36W PL-L.

The column would have previously supported a Metcraft Victoria (old).

Urbis Altra 2s can be seen in Sandford Street Car Park, mounted at 6m.

The following Altra 2 is installed on a damaged 6m column.

Barton-Under-Needwood

Potters Way has something rather-odd at the end of it. Lining a footpath are several green columns with green Altra 2s!

The NEMA socket is covered so these are all group-switched.

They continue down the footpath to Gilmour Lane uninterrupted.