Wigan Album
Whelley
31 Comments![Installing New Electric Street Lighting](/album/5/0bnaejwb.jpg)
Photo: RON HUNT
Item #: 29825
Those old gas lamp look good, they use to be so cosy lit on a cold winter's night. You'd pay good money to have one today.
A picture of 50's 'full employment'?
This is New Springs the last street on the right in the distance is Bath St my uncle Jack Smith lived in the house next to the chapel with the shop front(can just see it) there back door came out into a yard which you got to from Back St and all the toilets were in one corner of the yard.
I wonder which street light people think is more pleasing to look at ?
There's just no comparison at all with the old gas lamp and the new. How well the gas lamp blends in with the surroundings. I'd love one of those original gaslamps outside my house.
At the end of the war, a lot of the side streets still had gas street lamp lights. one of my school friends, his grandfather was given the job of street lamp lighter, and we used to accompany him on his round. A Mr Jones, he lived at the bottom of Henry Street, in Spring View. I forget the technicalities of the gadget that was on the end of his pole, that he lit the mantle with. I believe it was type of carbide mixture, but I'm not sure.
This is past the boundary and into Whelley.
If that same job happen today they'd have cones all over the road. No wonder that same job takes much longer today.
Not only that Gary they seem to be replacing the old stone flags with 'orrible concrete ones,
Getting rid of those War of the Worlds-type things, and then tying a length of rope to the gas light's ladder rests, would have ensured that this corner of the street be lit up with the sound of childrens' laughter - 'chapped' hands being of little consequence.
Garry, how long did it take then and how long does it take now?
This is top end of Whelley looking towards New Springs , boundary is a good 100 yards further on . End of terrace on right is entrance to what is now Tamworth Drive
You're right Garry - I've just returned from Whelley. The road is up by Bradshaw Street, and they've got 3-way lights going. I came back to Standish via Haigh Hall, and the queue stretched all the way up past Higher Lane where I turned off.... Should be fun in the morning!
Ticsmon it took longer then because the worker had to disconnect the gas supply and then blank it off, before they can deal with electricity. We all know that Gas and Electricity don't mix.
Hi Garry,
As for one of those gas lamps..I've got one..Complete!
Excellent Robert, does it work?
Oh Aye Garry, it does work although I've now converted it to run on electric & I've fitted it with a bulb that will give the more or less the correct warm light, it was in a poor state when I just found it on Ebay a few years ago, but I've restored it to an authentic condition as possible, now on some evenings I have it switched on to illuminate my back garden,
Lovely on warm summers evenings if i'm having a BBQ or summat.
I'm just hanging on to my little bit of the past...you understand don't you?
Gas and electricity work well in controlled conditions. If they don't mix how does a modern gas oven and hob ignite?
Would have been a lovely sight when these went on for the first time.
I remember the electric lamps replacing gas on Downall Green Road in 1950's. They certainly did NOT disconnect the gas first, as for some days, BOTH the electric and gas were functioning to provide dual illumination. The gas lamps had pilot flames adjacent to the mantle, and I guess the gas was on a timer, so although they had the ladder prop for maintenance, visit by a lamplighter was not necessary.
I always have to spell it out to some folk. Oven and hob completely different. You know what, I can't even be bothered with Ticsmon and people like him.
AP I kind of remember something similar (in Blackrod I think) when the lighting was being changed over & in someplaces the gas & electric lighting was running side by side for a very short while.
The orangy yellow of the low pressure sodium lighting never did seem as...homely & warm like the gas lights that lit with a Hissssss, POP then gradually got brighter.
Did anyone dare turn them off as kids?
We did, one evening I went visiting my cousin Derek & his mates in Blackrod & we decided to go trainspotting on Blackrod station,
The station was more or less deserted & the devilment got the better of us, so not long after the station lamps had been lit by the Stationmaster we ended up daring each other......
'Go on..., I dare you to turn one off'.
'If you turn one off then I'll turn two off'
'Sod it,that's nowt .....I'll turn all six off on this platform' if you do the ones on the footbridge.
...
Before we knew it the station was more or less in darkness & then we faced the wrath of the stationmaster who caught Derek's mate who we had to go back for.
To be fair the stationmaster just took our names and addresses & said he'd be telling the bobbies if we ever misbehaved on his station again ..& after that he made us help him relight them....well we watched him really.
Not sure if I like the LED street lighting these days but it's better than nowt.
This was time of improving. I wish we would have the 50s lighting: it had some character to it
An interesting tale Robert from childhood. You went back for your mate and faced the consequences. I have no doubt there was no bad language used to the station master and he was very patient as well. I bet you never repeated your behaviour again and went home and never told your parents what had occurred! If you had I'm betting you would have been punished for that foolhardiness!
Garry, I think Ticsmon is on about the electrical ignition system used to light both gas hobs and gas ovens and on gas boilers etc
Hi Veronica,...No we didn't use bad language to the Stationmaster at Blackrod, (we daredn't) & we certainly didn't tell our parents what we'd done either as we'd have got a walloping..
I think that the stationmaster at Blackrod was called Mr Holding? Mr Harding?, we certainly respected him & felt somewhat guilty for turning his lamps off that night, it was just devilment & at least we didn't break anything.
Later we all became kind of friends & he used to turn a blind eye to us being on his station watching the trains (providing we didn't cause any mither), not that we ever did after that night when we shinned up the lamps & flicked the see saw valves.
My cousin Derek was well into railways & could read all the railway signals & he would tell us..'Oh that's the outer distant for this box' & 'That's the home for such and such a box'.
Derek would have made a brilliant signalman but when he tried to get on the railway they found that he was slightly red/green colour blind & it broke his heart when BR turned him down.
I lived in the house by the 2nd gaslamp on the left at this time it was 288 WhelleyThe men are working at the bus stop (the Willowws ) Next stop was the Boundary
Quite right Kathleen Lee, the Willows Bus Stop, I lived aruond the corner Wilton ave