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Mercury Lanterns

Early Revo 'Bell top' for 80 for 125W MB/MBFU lamps

G.E.C. Viatron

Classic,ugly a design of its own,the good old Viatron a nice angular alternative to its curvy sister the Dioptrion! Comes complete with arc deflector suitable for 250W or 400W MA lamps

Metro Vick Trafford 1

This lantern came from Durham and is fitted with the same very heavy twin coil arc deflector and capacitor as is fitted to the Mazda Mercrator. Like the Mercrator the lantern is clamped to the side entry column bracket with cotter bolts rather than the normal Alllen screws

Metro Vick Trafford 2

Salvaged from an Industrial estate in Dartford this lantern cane complete with an MA/U lamp. As no arc deflector was fitted in this version of the lamp(it was optional on the Trafford 2) the hard glass MA/Universal version of the lamp was required for Horizontal burning.

Mazda Sapphire

This lamp was bought from an ex collector in the Stoke area. Again it has an arc deflector although by this time they are very flimsy as compared too the Traffords Mercrators and Silver Blues. The rimpled glass is of a design that is supposed to be self cleaning

Revo Silver Blue Version 2

Inside view of Siilver blue with Arc deflector removed. This arc deflector is uunusual in tha it has a secondary thick 'winding' that passes through the two holes in the reflector insulated by the china collars and the bottom thick bar runs directly above the lamp and carries the magnetic field to control the arc.The Primary coil is jjust suspended via the thick secondary windings above the reflector.

Mazda/BTH series 700 ‘Mercrator’’

Siemans 1930s MA lantern

Two views of the inside of the Siemens Highway. The top reflector was a butterfly type reflector whilst the lower assymetrical reflectors were of Opal glass. Only one of the glass reflectors remained and the top reflector was remade to old photographs

Inside view of Lewisham. The inner refractors combined with the outer fluted glass to provide some limited downwards and sideways light control

GEC Lewisham 250W/400W MA lantern

GEC Z8536 lantern

Thorn Alpha 7

GEC 'Dioptrion' lantern

GEC ZD10517 3 x 400W MBF

1938 GEC 'Horizal'lantern for 250W 0r 400W MA lamps

The Horizal was produced from around 1936 and was GECs first attempt at supplying a lantern for horizontal burning of mercury lamps. The first lantern made for this purpose was BTHs Mercra H lantern. This photo of the inside of an Horizal, shows the horizontal operation of MA type mercury lamp and the positioning of the arc deflector behind a non magnetic reflector. The arc deflector consists of a coil wound in series with the lamp that produces a magnetic field which counteracts the natural upwards bend of the mercury arc. If it wasn't corrected the arc would melt the top of the arc tube and destroy the lamp.