New Lighting for Lowestoft
The design of new specially commissioned vintage-style lighting for Lowestoft Railway Station has been revealed as the finishing touches are made to the new units at the factory.
The East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership is working with train operator Greater Anglia to install the new lighting as part of an ongoing project to restore buildings and create a new public exhibition space at the county’s most easterly railway station, parts of which date back over 150 years.
The project which has included a heritage painting scheme, recently saw three sets of doors leading from the concourse removed in order that they can be replaced, enabling entrances closed for over 30 years to be opened again, helping to reconnect the station site with the town centre.
A great deal of research went into the design of the new lanterns, which although intended to mimic Victorian gas lighting, will include the latest low energy LED fittings. Old photographs were studied along with film featuring a Royal visit by the Duke and Duchess of York (later to become King George VI and Queen Elizabeth) arriving at the station in 1936 – which showed an original lamp in the background.
The new vintage style lamps will replace a series of life expired fittings inside the station concourse and around the perimeter.
The units were designed and manufactured in the UK by Hertfordshire based DW Windsor Ltd which has over 40 years of experience in public realm lighting. The company worked on a number of landmark projects including Tower Bridge and Downing Street.
Principle funding for the project has come from the East Suffolk Lines and Wherry Lines Community Rail Partnerships, the Railway Heritage Trust and the Department for Transport’s Designated Community Rail Development Fund, administered by the Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP).
Martin Halliday, Community Rail Officer said, “We are thrilled to be able to share these first images of the new lighting that has been commissioned for Lowestoft Station as part of our ongoing regeneration project. We spent many hours researching the right style of fittings in order that they would suitably compliment the Victorian structure, creating another important link with the past yet providing the very latest in energy efficient technology.”
Simone Bailey, Greater Anglia’s Asset Management Director, said: “As part of our ongoing upgrade of station facilities across our network, we planned to install LED lighting at Lowestoft this year. By working with the Community Rail Partnership we have been able to include some spectacular fittings that both celebrate the history of the station but also incorporate the latest energy saving technology. We are always looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint and this is the latest initiative which will help the environment.”
Gemma Snelling, from manufacturer DW Windsor said, “We were pleased to work with the East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership and Greater Anglia to find a suitable design of lighting befitting of the station history. The specified luminaire is still made as it was in 1976 – hand-crafted from Copper, using traditional techniques. Offering high ingress protection, easy maintenance and award-winning optical performance,delivering an energy-efficient, future-fit solution for many years to come.”
It is anticipated installation of the new lighting will be completed by the end of the Summer.