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Restoration is underway to restore the lantern at England’s 1871 Souter Lighthouse, which is located at the mouth of the River Tyne in northeast England.
When the Souter Lighthouse was built, it was the first lighthouse in England to be powered by alternating electrical current. However, in 1915 the lighthouse was converted to high pressure oil to increase its visibility out to sea from 10 miles to 17 miles, and a new lantern had to be installed. Since then, no restoration has been done on the lantern.
The project, started at the end of September, was expected to take ten weeks and cost $187,000. The original diamond-shaped bespoke glass panes will be restored and, in some cases, replaced with historically accurate replicas, and corroded metal will be repaired. Also, a new camera on the exterior catwalk will be installed so that visitors who can’t climb the tower will be able to take in the view on a screen at ground level. The lighthouse gets close to 30,000 visitors per year.
Photos of the engineers planning the restoration before the scaffolding went up are courtesy of the National Trust and North News and Pictures Ltd.
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