At the junction between Llansteffan Road and Picton Hill stands this unusual telegraph pole and bracket fitting with AEI 90W SOX lantern. The white box is for the photocell, which was added at a later date - I believe this lantern was originally on a timeswitch (there used to be a large box underneath the bracket which probably held it). This is the only telegraph pole bracket fitting in a large installation of these lanterns, the others being on metal columns.

These AEI lanterns were remarkable main road survivors, and used to light the old main road through Johnstown and into Carmarthen (now made up of Llansteffan Road, Old St Clears Road, Picton Hill, Picton Terrace and Morfa Lane). In the early 1980s, Morfa Lane was upgraded and these were replaced with new metal columns and GEC Z9554 135W SOX lanterns. Some of this elderly installation survives today, but with numerous Philips MA90 replacements (particularly on Picton Hill).

Picton Hill and Picton Monument are seen in the background of this picture, and you can just about see some of the original columns with MA90 replacements. These columns were installed sometime after 1959 as they are not present in old photographs taken that year.

In 2001, most of the main road lighting columns in Carmarthen were painted black with a gold streak. This bracket was never treated and still displays a much earlier light green paint job.

Update: Sadly, this lantern was replaced by a Philips MA90 with integral gear as part of a road refurbishment program sometime between 23rd and 27th April 2004. The lantern was working fine on 23rd April and seems to have been replaced for no obvious reason other than refurbishment.

Photo taken April 2003.

..and here is the replacement. This photo, taken from slightly further away, also shows the AEI lantern and column lighting the junction, with it's replacement behind. This photo was taken on the morning of 4th May 2004, and the AEI was still working in the evening, so the replacement hasn't been wired up yet. Update: the AEI lantern and column was removed sometime between 15th and 22nd June 2004.

The fourth lantern on the left side of the road is also an AEI, and is the next one along. I wonder if this will be the next target? They seem to be progressively replacing all the old columns too, so the two further along with MA90s could also go.

Photo taken May 2004.

This photo, taken slightly before the one above, shows a new bracket on power pole fitting. This replaced an old column with Philips MA90 on the opposite side of the road. I assume they switched sides because they're expanding the junction and pavements.

Photo taken May 2004.

An original lantern and column intact in Johnstown (not Llansteffan Road this time, but Old St Clears Road). At one time this road was the main road towards St Clears, before the A40 was upgraded to dual carriageway and the western Carmarthen bypass was built. As with all these columns, this is also painted light green. The column in the background has a MA90 replacement.

After surviving over 30 years, this column was the victim of a collision with a motorist only weeks after this photo was taken. An extract from the local paper reads,

"The accident in Old St Clears Road at around 7pm on Monday night left the male motorist's Volkswagen Polo on it's roof. The lamp post snapped with the force of the smash. The man managed to climb out of the vehicle before the arrival of firefighters and ambulance crews. He is believed to have only suffered with a cut knee, but was taken to Glangwili Hospital by ambulance."

Photo taken April 2003.

The same scene a few months later. The replacement is a metal column with geared MA90 lantern. If this gets painted, I will be interested to know what colour, as the columns down Old St Clears Road have never been painted black and gold (I assume this is because it is no longer a main road).

As you can see, the column in the background of the previous photo has also been replaced for some reason. This photo also shows several other original columns with MA90 less gear replacements. The council switched from using MA90s without gear to the geared version in around 1999.

Photo taken August 2003.

Update: The other old columns have also now gone, as has the older, remote gear MA90 in the background. The new columns and MA90s have now been installed all along Old St. Clears Road, with the final columns going up around 27th April 2004. So far, Picton Terrace and Old Llansteffan Road are unaffected, but may well be the next targets!

When the western bypass was built in 1983, this divided Llansteffan Road into two, so a bridge was built over the bypass to join it up again! The old, split road became a residential cul-de-sac on one side, now called Old Llansteffan Road, and an industrial cul-de-sac on the other. The street lighting gives the game away, as Old Llansteffan Road and the industrial road have old metal columns with AEI lanterns - which continue on Llansteffan Road when it joins at both ends. The bridge is lit by GEC Z9454 lanterns on 1980s columns.

This photo shows the first lamp post in Old Llansteffan Road, which is unique as it is the only column holding an AEI lantern with a medium sized bracket (the others are either all longer, or shorter). This has been the case for at least 15 years - other AEI lanterns on medium brackets were replaced much earlier.

This lantern and column were replaced on 27th June 2005. It's replacement was a geared MA90 on a NEDAL aluminium column.

Photo taken April 2003.

The lantern above, still working on the evening of 4th May 2004. I tried to make the photo the same size and angle as the one above - but I didn't get it quite right...

I'm assuming these AEI lanterns will be the last to go, as they're now lighting a cul-de-sac.

Update: I was wrong with my assumption, with replacement happening on 27th June 2005. All AEI lanterns in Old Llansteffan Road being removed on this date.

Photo taken May 2004.

Nobody has really bothered with the lighting on the industrial side of Old Llansteffan Road, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was left even if the lighting along Llansteffan Road is replaced.

Here is an original column and AEI lantern, now damaged. The attachment near the top of the column is a power cable insulator - originally there was no underground power supply for these columns. Thanks to Jon Salmon for this information.

Photo taken April 2003.

This is the old railway crossing in Old Llansteffan Road. Behind the crossing is a brick wall, behind which is the A40 bypass! The bridge carrying Llansteffan Road is to the left of the area covered in this photo.

Here is a mixture of lanterns on both the short and long brackets. In the foreground is an Eleco GR100, followed by an AEI the other side of the railway line, and a GEC Z9454 further back to the left.

Photo taken April 2003.

Surprisingly, both original AEI lanterns survive in working order on this double bracketed column. To the right is the new Llansteffan Road and to the left is the Industrial part of Old Llansteffan Road, this part of which is now fenced off as some of the buildings are derelict and under demolition. The junction where Old Llansteffan Road joins the new road is just before this photo.

The right lantern suggests that before the bridge was built, some road existed where the new road is, as the old road would have been lit by the left lantern. The houses to the right were built in the 1980s.

If you look carefully at the road, you can just see the trademark white horizontal lines where a speed camera has been installed!

Update: Sadly this column was replaced in August 2005 with a single geared MA90 on a NEDAL aluminium column (there is now no lighting for the disused side of the road). All the other columns and lanterns were similarly replaced as part of a new installation, although the ones along the disused side of the road remain.

Photo taken April 2003.

This photo of the above installation was taken on the evening of 4th May 2004, and shows both AEI lanterns still in working order. The one on the left lit up after the one on the right, and has not yet reached full power.

This isn't a great photo, and makes it seem darker than it really was! The REVO 'Dalek' shown below is also seen working in the distance (far right, on the right of the road).

Photo taken May 2004.

This photo shows the replacement in progress - the double bracketed column was removed shortly after (note the column in the background has already gone).

Photo taken August 2005.

This is a REVO 'Dalek' SOX lantern, the same as those in Kidwelly, Pembrey and Burry Port, and is the only one in Carmarthen. This lantern presents something of a mystery, because it is around the same age, or even older, than the AEI lanterns.

The most likely explanations are that it is either a very early replacement for one of the AEI lanterns, or it was part of a small section of the road which was originally lit by these lanterns (the columns around this one now house MA90 or GR100 replacements, so could have had these originally).

Either way, the 'Dalek' lantern being present in so many towns suggests that this street lighting was part of a mass lighting plan in Carmarthenshire during the 1950s or 1960s.

Update: This lantern and column were removed in August 2005 and replaced with a geared MA90 on NEDAL aluminium column.

Photo taken April 2003.

A close-up of the REVO lantern. This is identical to the one in my collection.

Photo taken April 2003.

These three dayburning AEI lanterns were spotted on 3rd September 2004 along Picton Terrace, Carmarthen. They don't have photocells and were probably group switched from a timeswitch.

The two on the right side of the road were removed shortly after the photo was taken and replaced by geared MA90s. The one on the left was still dayburning as of 29th September 2004, but replaced shortly after.

Photo taken September 2004.