Mystery post

[george AldousParticipant @georgealdous13656]

looks like a Bundy box to me would have had a clock on top for tram or bus drivers to record their end/start of run.

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

We had a similar looking box on a post on our 1980's built housing estate. The box was pressed steel rather than cast. We wondered about it for years but it turned out to be for the use of the postman to dump half his bagful and split his round.

 

Rod

Edit – grabbed a pic from Streetview

Edited By Roderick Jenkins on 03/09/2020 13:58:55

[OldironParticipant @oldiron]

Posted by Roderick Jenkins on 03/09/2020 13:38:15:

We had a similar looking box on a post on our 1980's built housing estate. The box was pressed steel rather than cast. We wondered about it for years but it turned out to be for the use of the postman to dump half his bagful and split his round.

Rod

Edit – grabbed a pic from Streetview

Edited By Roderick Jenkins on 03/09/2020 13:58:55

We still have them around town and they are still in use.

regards

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Bottom of page, seems modern boxes go by the same name.

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

My father served his apprenticeship at Lucy as a switch fitter, the war intervened, as he was in the RAF VR he was called up immediately. He returned to Lucy and worked as a toolmaker until 1952 when he was recalled to the RAF. The Lucy factory was demolished and redeveloped, Lucy are still in the switchgear business but they must be making a packet from their property development in Oxford. The factory was relocated to a modern business park in Thame, I believe they manufacture in the Middle East as well.

Mike

[PlasmaParticipant @plasma]

Hi all.

I received an email from our council highways department.

According to their records the post is part of the street lighting system. It contains switch gear which is still live.

They recommend speaking to street lighting so ive dropped them a mail.

So it looks like street lighting is the answer, as soon as the lighting folk get back to me I will give you a definitive answer.

Best regards plasma

[EmgeeParticipant @emgee]

Thanks for the update plasma.

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Intriguing….

The numbers look new so I imagine whatever it held originally has been replaced by something modern, such as part of the street-lighting system as others suggest, possibly not even related to its first use.

Does the dome look as if it supported something rising higher, such as originally a street-lamp, electric or gas? Or is just a raised roof that gives/gave internal clearance for the mysteries within?

I wonder why someone has carefully painted just the side, and possibly not long ago?

[PlasmaParticipant @plasma]

This shiws the top of the box more clearly. Some kind of boss with a cover plate bolted on.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Plasma on 09/09/2020 07:49:26:

This shiws the top of the box more clearly. Some kind of boss with a cover plate bolted on.

.

I suspect that an integral post was sawn-off, and the resulting hole capped.

MichaelG.

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Here's a link to a Streetview pic of the one in Derby that I mentioned which has the cover missing.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.939918,-1.5036654,3a,75y,270h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1saDSXgJ4DRhgEA-LXu_d5bQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

**LINK**

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Certainly seems to have something in it that could be a time switch. Almost certainly not active now as Derby has I believe gone over to radio controlled street lighting.

[Author]

Posts