My Collection: Atlas Alpha 3 Mk.1

Thank you to Mike Barford for this lantern. The Atlas Alpha Three was also known as the AEI Optispec One. It is believed to be one of the six removed from this site. It has certainly earned it's retirement! The bowl has sustained some damage, and it appears the lamp was shot at and damaged at some point.

The bolts securing the bowl to the canopy are all seized, so they will need to be drilled out to remove the bowl. The Perspex has suffered some clouding due to UV exposure over the decades, but is still surprisingly clear.

A section of the column's concrete bracket is stuck inside the spigot, this too will need drilling out.

The optic is held on via one toggle clip on either side of the shoe, a distinctive feature of the original Alpha Three.

Undoing both toggles releases the optical unit which is kept attached by a metal bar.

The 250W HPL-N lamp is considerably damaged, the arc tube has completely separated from the oxidised internals.

That said, the lamp will still be kept as a keep-safe, much like the ballast supplied with the lantern, which is still waiting to enter the collection.

The optical unit can be removed completely with the undoing of a screw in the bar which would otherwise keep the optic from being able to slide off.

The lamp-holder is situated in a casting within the shoe. Both bolts are completely seized so these will also need to be drilled out. A wire-connector has taken the place of one of the lamp-holder wire terminals, perhaps due to a break down in the insulation surrounding it. This will also be done with the other one when the shoe is taken apart, but it will still remain in place. The connector and wire will be threaded through the hole with the other one.