Oh yes! You finally got them then Al! Amazing! Have you fired then up yet?

Amazing! glad these arrived in one piece!

Thanks guys , no I haven't fired them up yet, I also got a 90w leak transformer for SOX off the same seller which he said these will work on but I'm reluctant to do anything until I'm confident that I won't wreck them. I'm only here for 2 weeks and am seriously considering leaving them with mum and dad in the time being as I'm also worried what the cabin pressure of the plane ride back to Brisbane may do to them. I guess I'm fretting a bit as I REALLY don't want to risk their welfare until I get loads of advice on transporting them.

It is a real dilemma, I transported fluor's in the cargo hold as luggage OK but then these are so precious...

I'm thinking about buying one of those large aluminium briefcases with the foam padding inside that you can cut to size to create cavities, to fit all three of these old Osrams in, and then get it sent by sea freight on a Fragile Goods shipment, if such a thing exists.

Problem is being sodium, they may be banned as air freight.

I carried some 18w SOX lamps back with me last time in the cabin ok, also got some SOX lamps sent via air from the USA with no problems, mind you they weren't declared as Hazardous Goods though....

Yep Sodium Lamps are Banned form sending through the Post as they are a Fire Hazard, but people get away with sending them through the Post by well wrapping them, and simply putting Electric Lamp or Light Bulbs on the Customs Declaration Form.
UA on the Arc Tubes is January 1963, the Number 18 on the Outer Jackets is June 1959.

Nice score Al, amazing to see how global wide these things went, and you seem to be in the right place at the right time.

Yes it is amazing to see that England sent lamps all over the world!

Ironic really Kev as all the sh1t gets sent over to us now!

Thanks for the info Colin. Yes Australia and New Zealand used to get loads of stuff from the UK; cars, lighting/electrical stuff etc but now nearly everything comes from asia.

Yep Years ago Most Products were exported to Australia and New Zealand as they were part of the British Empire, also we had one of the Best Industry before the Conservatives got into power and Sold off the British Industry, Osram-GEC was sold to OSRAM GmbH and Siemens of Germany, Thorn Lamps to GE Lighting in the USA, Thorn Lighting recently has been Sold in 2000 to Zumtobel AG in Austria, which Killed off all of the UK Lighting Industry, the only UK Company left is Crompton Lamps who broke away from Crompton Lighting whe Cooper Lighting Industries who Own Crouse & Hinds in the USA took the Lighting Division over. I bet even their Lamps are made abroad, to be honest there is vertually NO UK Manufacturing Left, these Days David Cameron is going the Same Way as Maggie Thatcher & John Major as they recently gave a Contract to Build trains from Bombarder in the UK to Siemens in Germany.

Hi Colin when i heard about that it made my p!ss boil! I think lamp wise the only thing that is made over here now is SOX lamps. And seeing as Philips have now set up a factory in China im wondering if they plan to shut that?

Whatever you do, remove the arc tubes from the dewar jackets for transport! They are not always so securely mounted and years ago when SO/H lamps were in regular service, they would occasionally fail due to the arc tube knocking against the inside of the outer envelope. When you wrap up the arc tubes, its also important to protect them from lateral pressure near the cap, which could push the two limbs of the tube together and make them crack at the U-bend. The best I can suggest is to wrap the arc tubes in aluminium foil (it will safely contain any sodium just in case they do break), and then in some strong material like a roll of corrugated cardboard. Pack that then into an outer cardboard box maybe with some soft padding in between. The dewars will be fine and really need protecting only at the tip. Write on the boxes "Electric Lamps - Other" and very important, also write the Harmonize Code "853940 Electric Lamps". That will tell any curious customs officers exactly what they are and save him the job of looking up the wrong code and risk classifying them erroneously as something else that would either prohibit them from travel or charge you a hefty import duty! That code is good for transporting /posting lamps anywhere in the world. Good luck with the trip home!

Thanks James, I've only just read this. They are both still in NZ at mum and dad's but I'm hoping to get them next time and will definitely take your advice on board (excuse the bad pun!).