Here's a pretty rare fixture in the GTA, I think it's the Powerpad version of the 115. These fixtures are so hard to find here that I only know of one street that has a handful of them.
The only place I have ever seen these are here on the queens quay in dt toronto! I always mistakend them as R47's or R7's. I don't like how they set the streetlights up here from the revitalizing they are all different cobras, fixtures, positions, and poles
Yeah I think these were from the original Queen Quay poles that somehow got reused. Seems that entire stretch stretch has a mix of everything, they mixed poles, fixtures and even light sources. I believe the cobras left are still HPS while the mini me lights for lack of the official name lol have pin based CMH. Even the traffic signals are a mix of 8-8-8s, 12-8-8s and 12-12-12s for some reason.
Ah yes, I took a nice stroll to check out this new streetfront the other day. I actually thought these powerpads were R47's! It seems all the cobras are temporary, perhaps waiting a delayed shipment of hollowed out bamboo poles and mini-me spot lights.
I'll add they also reused arms here, and there's two sizes larger than depicted in the mix!
I think toronto has seriously started using FCO cobras for new installs. IIRC, the new Union Station front has AEL 125 FCO.
Yeah I don't mind a mix of fixtures but a mix of light sources and FCO/drop lens just looks bad lol. I'm fine if they mix light sources at least somewhat systematically though, say using HPS at intersections and MH in between.
They replaced the GE M250s and OV-15s infront of the ACC with Tapered e arms with AE 115s . They used the old square poles for it too. I knew I wasn't the only one who always mistakened them as R47's over the years
Yeah I also used to think they were R47s until I took a closer look and I realized that they had two doors. I recall seeing some M-250R2s along Queens Quay so I think he might be referring to them. Even M-250Rs are very rare here, I only know of two in use.
Apparently M-250Rs were common as dirt here since Joe Maurath Jr has a number of them in all different variations, I think most were sourced locally too. Here, the most common mercs left are late 70s/early 80s M-250R1s and 80s M-250A2 FCOs. Most are 100W MV. In the Newport/Middletown area (the island towns) there's lots of OV-15s. They had their own electric company over there (mainland had Narragansett Electric for most of the state and northern RI had Blackstone Valley Electric. Newport Electric and BVE were both owned by the same parent company, which was going to be bought out by Narragansett Electric and Mass Electric's parent company but National Grid crossed the pond from the UK and bought both NEES and EUA (parent companies to the previously-mentioned utilities).
Anyway, Newport Electric never went further than some 80s HPS test lights (mostly L-150s, OVSs, and some mid-80s metallic NEMA tag M-250R2s; all 70W HPS except for a couple 250W HPS OVSs). Blackstone Valley Electric and Newport Electric used more of a variety of HPS lights during their changeout (well, what little changeouts Newport Electric did...). NECo had some variety but most lights were M-250R2s, with 113s coming in a far 2nd place and OVCs coming in a very far third. The latter were only installed in 50W HPS, 113s installed mostly in 50W HPS but some 100W HPS and rarely 250W (also some 100W MV and apparently 175W MV in Mass, since Joe has at least one). M-250R2s were used in 50, 100, and 250W HPS. M-400R2s were used for 400W HPS and AE 125s were used once in a blue moon for 250 and 400W HPS. This was in the 90s changeout.
Prior to that, they had used mostly AE 25s and M-400 split doors in 250 and 400W HPS and M-250R1s, AE 13s, and M-250A2s in rare instances of low wattage HPS installations. I know of one HPS M-250A in the town of Narragansett near Point Judith. The only HPS one I know of. The other lights on the road are HPS M-250R1s. During the 80s, they installed the same lights for HPS and MV for the most part. They installed 400W MV Model 25s and M-400 split doors during the same period as the 250 and 400W HPS and they installed TONS of 100 an 175W MV M-250R1s and M-250A2 FCOs, but MV Model 13s were only used in the late 60s here. The 80s ones were only 100W HPS. M-250R1s were all 100W HPS too. The M-250A2 FCOs were mostly 70W HPS. Around 1989-ish NECo switched from 70 to 50W HPS and has used them ever since. NGrid still relamps existing 70W HPS fixtures though. I don't know if they'd install a new 70W HPS in place of a failed on in NECo territory since I've never seen a low wattage 80s HPS light get replaced (shows how robust they were). I've seen 80s 250W HPS get replaced though. Usually Model 25s. They tend to quit a lot. The M-400 split doors keep going and going. What kills them is when the access door blows off. NGrid replaces the unit in that case, though I know of one case when a M-400 split door got a new access door. It was a 400W MV too! It's still in service too! It got fixed a LOOONG time ago. I think around 10 years ago. It was dayburning and got a new PC too but I don't think they changed the lamp since it's quite dim at night. The very-closely spaced M-250R2 next to it outshines it at night. You can see the access door has more paint than the rest of the light. The Door has a metallic "40" tag on it so it came off another light, as the light is 400W MV. There's some M-400R2s on that road that are 400W HPS too, replacing M-1000s probably. 1000W MV cobraheads weren't widely used by NECo (BVE never used them) but they weren't rare in more urban areas. 1000W MV floodlights were widely used by NECo, much more so than 400W MV floods, though BVE again rarely used 1000W MV floods, since most of their floods are all 250W HPS from the 80s. NECo floods are mostly all newer PF-400s from the 90s while BVE used all older 80s GE Powerfloods with metallic NEMA tags. BVE started going HPS earlier than NECo so there's more of a variety of HPS lights there.
Neither utility replaced already-existing HPS lights in the changeout though, but RIDOT did. These smooth-radius davit arms are from the 1980s and originally had a mix of Model 25s, M-400 split doors, Hubbell RLGs, and others according to Dave silverliner. But in the mid-90s RIDOT went through the whole 6-mile stretch of lights with 400W HPS M-400R2s. I guess for uniformity. These original late 50s davits had a mix of HPS and MV lights of all brands and ages until the 90s, when RIDOT went through and replaced them...
...all with 250W HPs M-250R2s. It's too bad since most of the 80s HPS lights would probably still be up. Dave said that RIDOT had some HPS OV-25s too. I don't know if he meant real OV-25s or if he meant L-250s but RIDOT had one of them. I don't know the store about the freeway lights owned by Narragansett Electric. Before the 80s, most of the freeway lights were NECo-owned until RIDOT started replacing them with their own relay-controlled and metered lights. All of the once-NECo-owned freeway lights are 250W HPS M-250R2s so they either replaced all the 80s HPS lights with M-250R2s in the 90s or they just kept the lights MV until the 90s. The BVE freeway lights are all a mix of lights, mostly all GE. Look around here and you'll see a number of different lights. All 250W HPS. I'm thinking that they had replaced some of the dimmed out or non-working 400W mercs with M-400 split doors in the 80s and then replaced the rest with FCO M-250R2s in the early 90s. The drop lens M-250R2s and OVzs are newer NGrid replacements over the years.
On Rte 146 (freeway in BVE territory) the lights were BVE-owned and they were all 250W HPS FCO M-250R2s except for a couple drop lens R2s. NGrid had neglected the freeway lighting in RI for the most part until the past few years so virtually all those lights had dead lamps. Now over half of them are new drop lens R2s and OVZs. I really like the distribution from those new OVZs too!
Speaking of OVZs, NGrid has been using Cooper for 250W and up since 2012, however when they fixed the lights at the Rte 37 interchange, they used all M-250R2s, which they haven't used in nearly three years. I guess they switched back to GE or they had just made a special order of lights for the interchange since they knew they'd end up replacing a bunch of fixtures. All the fixtures were already M-250R2s of all ages from the late 80s/early 90s to present day. Wiring was the big issue. Most of the fixtures probably still worked fine and just weren't powered but any fixture that wasn't working was replaced without them even changing the lamp and I saw them snaking new wires too for the lights that didn't work. AFAIK, all the lights are still working. Maybe one or two are out, but the wiring is at least still holding up. In the past, they've gotten some lights working only to have them go out a week or month later. My guess would be that there was a place with stripped insulation or a hole where water was getting in. Something was blowing those fuses and it wasn't a constant thing since the lights would work for a little while and then randomly go out in strings after a short while.
I have, they use 3000K pin base CMH lamps. Surprisingly not LED lol. But then again aside from a few pilot programs, the City of Toronto still uses CMH/HPS streetlights.
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I'll add they also reused arms here, and there's two sizes larger than depicted in the mix!
I think toronto has seriously started using FCO cobras for new installs. IIRC, the new Union Station front has AEL 125 FCO.
Anyway, Newport Electric never went further than some 80s HPS test lights (mostly L-150s, OVSs, and some mid-80s metallic NEMA tag M-250R2s; all 70W HPS except for a couple 250W HPS OVSs). Blackstone Valley Electric and Newport Electric used more of a variety of HPS lights during their changeout (well, what little changeouts Newport Electric did...). NECo had some variety but most lights were M-250R2s, with 113s coming in a far 2nd place and OVCs coming in a very far third. The latter were only installed in 50W HPS, 113s installed mostly in 50W HPS but some 100W HPS and rarely 250W (also some 100W MV and apparently 175W MV in Mass, since Joe has at least one). M-250R2s were used in 50, 100, and 250W HPS. M-400R2s were used for 400W HPS and AE 125s were used once in a blue moon for 250 and 400W HPS. This was in the 90s changeout.
Prior to that, they had used mostly AE 25s and M-400 split doors in 250 and 400W HPS and M-250R1s, AE 13s, and M-250A2s in rare instances of low wattage HPS installations. I know of one HPS M-250A in the town of Narragansett near Point Judith. The only HPS one I know of. The other lights on the road are HPS M-250R1s. During the 80s, they installed the same lights for HPS and MV for the most part. They installed 400W MV Model 25s and M-400 split doors during the same period as the 250 and 400W HPS and they installed TONS of 100 an 175W MV M-250R1s and M-250A2 FCOs, but MV Model 13s were only used in the late 60s here. The 80s ones were only 100W HPS. M-250R1s were all 100W HPS too. The M-250A2 FCOs were mostly 70W HPS. Around 1989-ish NECo switched from 70 to 50W HPS and has used them ever since. NGrid still relamps existing 70W HPS fixtures though. I don't know if they'd install a new 70W HPS in place of a failed on in NECo territory since I've never seen a low wattage 80s HPS light get replaced (shows how robust they were). I've seen 80s 250W HPS get replaced though. Usually Model 25s. They tend to quit a lot. The M-400 split doors keep going and going. What kills them is when the access door blows off. NGrid replaces the unit in that case, though I know of one case when a M-400 split door got a new access door. It was a 400W MV too! It's still in service too! It got fixed a LOOONG time ago. I think around 10 years ago. It was dayburning and got a new PC too but I don't think they changed the lamp since it's quite dim at night. The very-closely spaced M-250R2 next to it outshines it at night. You can see the access door has more paint than the rest of the light. The Door has a metallic "40" tag on it so it came off another light, as the light is 400W MV. There's some M-400R2s on that road that are 400W HPS too, replacing M-1000s probably. 1000W MV cobraheads weren't widely used by NECo (BVE never used them) but they weren't rare in more urban areas. 1000W MV floodlights were widely used by NECo, much more so than 400W MV floods, though BVE again rarely used 1000W MV floods, since most of their floods are all 250W HPS from the 80s. NECo floods are mostly all newer PF-400s from the 90s while BVE used all older 80s GE Powerfloods with metallic NEMA tags. BVE started going HPS earlier than NECo so there's more of a variety of HPS lights there.
Neither utility replaced already-existing HPS lights in the changeout though, but RIDOT did. These smooth-radius davit arms are from the 1980s and originally had a mix of Model 25s, M-400 split doors, Hubbell RLGs, and others according to Dave silverliner. But in the mid-90s RIDOT went through the whole 6-mile stretch of lights with 400W HPS M-400R2s. I guess for uniformity. These original late 50s davits had a mix of HPS and MV lights of all brands and ages until the 90s, when RIDOT went through and replaced them...
On Rte 146 (freeway in BVE territory) the lights were BVE-owned and they were all 250W HPS FCO M-250R2s except for a couple drop lens R2s. NGrid had neglected the freeway lighting in RI for the most part until the past few years so virtually all those lights had dead lamps. Now over half of them are new drop lens R2s and OVZs. I really like the distribution from those new OVZs too!
Speaking of OVZs, NGrid has been using Cooper for 250W and up since 2012, however when they fixed the lights at the Rte 37 interchange, they used all M-250R2s, which they haven't used in nearly three years. I guess they switched back to GE or they had just made a special order of lights for the interchange since they knew they'd end up replacing a bunch of fixtures. All the fixtures were already M-250R2s of all ages from the late 80s/early 90s to present day. Wiring was the big issue. Most of the fixtures probably still worked fine and just weren't powered but any fixture that wasn't working was replaced without them even changing the lamp and I saw them snaking new wires too for the lights that didn't work. AFAIK, all the lights are still working. Maybe one or two are out, but the wiring is at least still holding up. In the past, they've gotten some lights working only to have them go out a week or month later. My guess would be that there was a place with stripped insulation or a hole where water was getting in. Something was blowing those fuses and it wasn't a constant thing since the lights would work for a little while and then randomly go out in strings after a short while.