An early C40A WT under restoration:

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A member of the Antiquarian Horological Society has kindly sent me some images he took on a recent group outing. The AHS Electrical Group were visiting The Cumbria Clock Company in Penrith, Cumbria. [Formerly Cumberland in the north west of England]

The Cumbria Clock Company 

Electrical Horology Group - AHS - Antiquarian Horological Society

An early WT C40A was on test following restoration by the Cumbria Clock Company. I  have done my best to obscure the faces of members of the visiting group to avoid invading their privacy. I you think further work is required please contact me at the email address above.


The earliest WTs [Waiting Train movements] were usually painted black. Though this should not be taken as a fast rule for identifying an early WT. There is far more to it than that and WTs follow a series of changes over the years.

Note how the main frame casting has a gentle curve with a horizontal section before taking a sharp turn downward again. This is in the area just above the large drive electromagnets and is a sure sign of a pre-WW2 movement. Later, post-war movements had a straight, but sloping frame section, just here.

The electromagnet coils have visible wire with a thin coating. Later WT coils had a thick wax coating for better protection but which concealed the wire turns. This too gave way, after the war, to a form of bandage for even greater protection from damp and accidental damage.

Interestingly, this early WT has a later contact assembly. This is easily recognizable as having pressed steady bars with gentle bends. Rather than the earlier castings which had sharp bends.

The contact assembly support post is also later. Having a slot for adjustment of the Hipp V-block position relative to the toggle which is fixed to the pendulum rod.

However, the contact assembly is made of brass. Not the much later plated steel components of the same form.

In fact all of the minor components are of brass. Which is correct for an early movement. It is quite possible that the original contact assembly was replaced due to wear or damage. Complete replacement being more cost effective than trying to repair the original on-site.

The WT's contacts were probably prone to oiling should the clock keeper [or the vicar] was too enthusiastic with the lubricant. Particularly as the contacts were positioned immediately below the Hipp toggle assembly. Oiling the Hipp toggle on a moving pendulum was apt to become a messy business in unskilled hands! There are always those who think if a little is good then more must be better. It would never occur to them to mop up the excess oil before it ran down onto to the vital electrical contacts.

The pendulum suspension, bearing housing is also in black rather than the later plated finish.

While the armature for the twin, drive electromagnets is a roller rather than the simple hook form of the very earliest WTs. No doubt the Gent's factory staff would apply the latest modifications as each WT was hand built. This would result in a steady but limited change in appearance. Rather than fixed steps falling on clear dates. There would be no desire for originality or even a match of all components if something better had been developed along the way.

It is difficult to judge but the serial number on the WT relay, pivot plate [bridge?] seems to be 248 or possibly 243? This confirms an earlier date. With very little numbering data to go on I might have suggested early 1930s or late 1920s.  Certainly an attractive example of the most common size of C40A WT movement.

This image shows the Hipp toggle has dropped into the V-block and is about to close the drive contacts on the return swing to the right.

The freely swinging, Hipp toggle and its associated V-block were an earlier invention which set the minimum arc of the pendulum when driven by electricity. Whenever the arc of th pendulum fell below the limit set by the arrangement of toggle and V-block the toggle would fall into the V-block. On the return swing of pendulum the V-block is forced downwards, closing the electrical contacts just below.

Rear view of the WT movement showing the worm, wormwheel and bevel gear cluster.No attempt has been made to suggest earlier wiring to match the age of the movement. No doubt safety and reliability were considered of greater importance.

All the brass components would have been lacquered in deep gold on the original. These parts look as if they have been lacquered with a clear finish. Deep gold, cold applied  lacquer is available. Though the original lacquer would have been applied to pre-heated components. Requiring considerable skill to achieve an even finish without runs or build up on sharp edges.

Yet again I must express my sincere gratitude for being sent these interesting photographs. Without which this blog would be much the poorer for content and interest.

The presence of people in these images is unusual and requires a decision whether they should remain or be digitally painted out. While they do offer a clear suggestion of the scale of items present I am unwilling to publish their images without prior consent. One could argue that by simply placing themselves in a public situation they should expect to appear online. This is obviously a matter of personal preference. Though the difficulty of identifying and then contacting all of those present, for permission to post their images, is all but impossible at a distance. I have therefore chosen to obscure their faces [albeit crudely at times] as a precaution against causing offense. No doubt more sophisticated software would have done a much better job but I do not have such software. PhotoFiltre is free image handling software and has a large range of basic options. Though not the magical "buttons" and controls of expensive software like Photoshop. Even if I could afford such software it would be largely wasted on me and would require a very steep learning curve to make the most of it.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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The lost, world record breaking Singer factory WT?

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This large and complex WT movement from 1926 is shown on its rather crude, timber test bench. No doubt it would be erected on a prepared, concrete plinth placed centrally in its intended installation site.

This is believed to be the WT movement from the now-demolished Clydebank [Glasgow] Singer factory. Though there were plans to display the WT movement in a modest setting locally it was [apparently] lost or mislaid. Considering that this WT movement set a new world record for public clock dial size this lack of respect for Britain's industrial heritage leaves one saddened and bemused.

Why not display it in the Science museum in London if Scotland had no real interest in its own industrial history? It's not as if Singer was an obscure manufacturer of anonymous widgets. It was world famous for its sewing machines! Though less well known for its "difficult" employment relationships with its workers.

The sad tale of the Singer clock

The WT's timekeeping would not have been affected by its temporary, timber support while under test. The Waiting Train function would easily correct any variation of timekeeping. While the Hipp-based switch for the drive contacts would ensure a stable pendulum arc. [Swing] The Hipp V-block in this case has several "Vs" to allow a degree of variation and a further element of security against a miss as the toggle drops into one of the grooves to force the drive contacts, firmly together.

Note the huge scale of the driving wormwheel, [top left] dominating bevel gear cluster and massive lead-off couplings to drive the giant clock hands. Gents' skills at casting complex forms is also well seen in the flat, cast bed on which the entire movement is based.

The bevel gear cluster has four wheels so confirms it was intended for a high tower with a dial on each face. There would be absolutely no point in adding superfluous bevel wheels for non-existent dials. The scale of the movement suggests an extraordinarily large clock installation.

The image alongside is of a similar but even more complex WT movement.

Here is an illustration from Gent's WT promotional material. The detail is much better seen than in the original photograph above. With the relatively tiny, WT relay solenoid, on the extreme left, controlling the timekeeping. [A small, diagonal bar supports its pivots.]

The apparent complexity at middle-left obscures the movement's actual simplicity. A counter-weighted, electrical contact bar provides a reliable drive contact for the large electromagnets visible just beneath the large bevel wheels. To the left is the sturdy ratchet wheel with its heavy bearings. Which turns the heavy pendulum's linear swing into a powerful rotating force via a massive drive pawl.[hook]

The pendulum is driven by means of a crutch from the electromagnets' armature. Though the actual implementation is obscure or not seen. Small but clever details can be more easily be seen: Like the pendulum support bearings being constantly driven by a ratchet wheel to avoid flat spots on the outer race over time. This practice was carried over from the earlier, 1911 Liver Clock movements in Liverpool. The pendulum support,  journal bearings themselves did away with the fragile flat, suspension springs. Which has been common to most pendulum clocks for well over half a millennium.

The forward bevel wheel has a typical Gents' time setting dial attached. Though here it must be of quite extraordinary size. Handy for re-setting the clock hands accurately to British Summer and Winter time. The sheer power of such a movement to drive enormous and heavy clock hands in all weather conditions on a very high, exposed tower can only be imagined. Constructing a weight driven clock movement to accomplish such a task [to precision master clock, seconds per month, timekeeping standards] completely reliably and automatically would have been quite literally impossible. The WT has no use of architecturally-limiting weight shoots, massive drive weights, nor a team of exhausted winders to raise them at frequent intervals.


I have added captions to the third image for easy recognition of the vital components in this close-up. Left click for further enlargement to see the fine detail.

The Hipp toggle and V-block form the [minimum] pendulum arc regulating switch and are very typical of most WTs. Only the contacts themselves are more complex to carry the heavy DC electrical, pendulum drive loads reliably over a very long period of operation. A long lever and adjustable, coiled tension spring seem to be associated with the contacts. No doubt some means of extending the drive impulse were employed to maximize the electro-mechanical power available in difficult weather conditions. Ice and high winds would unbalance the clock hands demanding more torque and/or braking power.

Fortunately, the genius of the Hipp switch, combined with Gent's brilliant engineering, provided a near-miraculous, 30x increase in torque, instantly and on demand. In quiet conditions the pendulum might ask for a push only once every minute or even longer. While in winter storm conditions the clever Hipp switch can automatically demand a drive impulse on every other pendulum swing.

It should be remembered that this single WT movement would be responsible for the incredibly accurate timekeeping of  four sets of clock hands on four different tower faces with tens of thousands of daily onlookers. Each exposed dial will suffer its own unique weather conditions from one hurricane force moment to the next and all high above the open sea. All of which is regulated, to a few seconds per month, by a remote master clock. Connected only by a thin length of wire carrying a short, low voltage, DC impulse at half minute intervals.

It would be nice to think that this huge WT is sitting quietly somewhere awaiting eventual discovery. Though it seems much less likely with every passing year. It was a unique and brilliant solution to a demand for accurate timekeeping on ever larger clock dials to add to industrial magnate's prestige. 1926 was barely two decades after the first simple, WTs were being manufactured. Yet this WT movement shows remarkable sophistication and a firm and confident grasp of the engineering required to do a job well beyond the limits of all previous experience. This movement alone speaks volumes about the skills and genius of the Gent's designers and the company's manufacturing abilities.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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A heavy duty turret slave.

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A contact has kindly sent me some images of remarkably sturdy Gents turret slave. This one is much earlier than the grey finished slave in the previous post. Note the substantial base casting and the heavily built front and rear plates. The drive pawls are also built to withstand heavy loads over a long working life with little or poor maintenance. This movement even has a time setting dial just like a turret clock or WT.

Twin electromagnet coils are provided for increased power [hand driving torque]. The electromagnets briefly pull back against the tension of a spring on receiving a short electrical impulse from the master clock. When the electrical impulse stops the magnets switch off and the spring then pushes the clock hands around by a half minute every 30 seconds.

This method of doing things avoids the movement being made to physically overcome a complete lock-up in the drive to the clock hands. The spring isolates the electro-mechanical drive system from potential damage.

There is a large, brass, spoked wheel visible in the middle of the mechanism. This is not the drive wheel but belongs to the heavy-duty motionwork. As does the partially hidden wheel on its left. Their respective drive pinions are out of sight in the upper image. The drive wheel is almost hidden behind the large wheel but can be recognized by its 120 ratchet-shaped teeth.

A rotating, air-brake "fly" is visible on the far left of the movement. This is presumably to avoid the hands accelerating out of control in the event of serious clock hand imbalance. Turret clock hands are almost always balanced with counterweights. Which adds to the moment of the already heavy hands.

Advancing the clock hands to set the time requires that the direct drive and hand locking provided by the slave are interrupted. At such moments the system is more vulnerable to overrun through imbalance. Possibly through icing, flocks of birds resting on the hands or even from high wind forces. Even if the slave "clock" keeps accurate time it will still be required to be re-set to summer and winter time.

The forked, universal drive joint is seen in the middle of the back of the movement.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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A large, Gents, Turret Slave movement.

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Large slave clock movements were used when a medium-large clock dial was given a glass cover or was installed in a protected [indoor] environment.  Perhaps within a railway station, a large office foyer or factory building. One large dial allowed the time to be read at a great distance. This saved the expense of many small dials and the greater risk of timekeeping scattering between them. Glass covered dials only worked well when the sky could not be reflected. 

A general view of the large slave movement. The maximum dimensions of the flanges on its white protective box are approximately 10" high x 8" wide. [25 x 20cm] The overall protective metal plating and paper covered coil indicate a later movement.

A slave movement was a far cheaper and simpler option than installing a weight driven turret clock or electro-magnetic Waiting Train movement. Being so compact, the large slave could be installed where nothing else would fit. Being highly reliable, it could be installed where maintenance access was very poor. Considerable effort was expended in making these large slave movements robust and well protected against deterioration due to weather, wear or condensation.

These turret slave mechanisms, like their much smaller brethren,  are really spring driven. Except that the spring is briefly tensioned only at each half minute by the large electromagnet. Once the brief electromagnet impulse ends, the magnetic circuit collapses and the spring pulls the hands around the dial in a single, half minute step. The electrical impulse was provided by an accurate master clock controlling a complete impulse timekeeping system. The large slave would usually be placed in electrical series with the rest of the many smaller dials and any other equipment in the time circuit. Though its relatively high resistance usually required a serious step-up in DC voltage to the system. Since this involved considerably greater expense, in the days of battery bank driven time systems, the slave dial might have been controlled by a relay and its own, separate power supply.


This image shows a closer view of the coil spring which drives the hands at half minute intervals. The spring's tension can be adjusted with the screwed rod on its left. Though here it is at its most relaxed position.

The various silver-coloured levers look rather complex but simply drive the ratchet wheel forward and prevent its backward movement. By the skilful design of these levers, the hands of the clock are prevented from ever moving too far at each step or falling back. Either of which would ruin the timekeeping.

Here is an even closer, labelled, view showing the coiled drive spring just above the double-locked, backstop lever. The long horizontal lever has a downward extending pawl which sits in the teeth of the drive wheel. This pawl stops the wheel from ever turning backwards. It is hinged on the left so that it can rise or fall slightly to allow only one tooth to pass at each electrical impulse.

On the right of the long lever is a reinforced ramp with a sturdy stop pin to prevent the backstop lever from rising beyond a predetermined height. No doubt the mass of the ramp also acts as a weight to further load the backstop lever against slippage. 

Just to the right of the backstop pawl is the drive pawl. Which looks rather like a downward turned bird's beak. The sharpened tip of the beak rests in the teeth of the drive wheel close to the backstop. Their closeness is important to avoid backlash between their actions. The drive pawl is hinged at the pin on the right and retained by the wire spring clip. Just below the pin is an adjustable stop screw to prevent the drive lever and its driving pawl from moving too far backwards.

Here, the slave movement has been [temporarily] placed on its side to show the entire drive lever extending from above the locking ramp, at the very top. [Seen at left.] Right down to the armature plate fixed on the bottom end near the core of the large electromagnet. [Seen on the right in this image.] These slave dials must always be used the correct way up or the gravity-aided levers lose their function. The electromagnet is usually placed at the bottom.

A thin spring blade can be seen running parallel with the drive lever. This spring ensures the drive pawl always stays in contact with the drive wheel teeth by applying a gentle downward force on the tip of the rocking "beak."

At each half minute, a brief electrical impulse energises the electromagnet. The drive lever's armature is quickly pulled in against the tension of the drive spring. The drive pawl at the top of the lever moves briefly to the right against its stop screw. As soon as the impulse is over the coiled spring pulls the drive pawl [beak] forwards to step the 120 tooth ratchet wheel forwards by only one tooth. The minute hand, on the same shaft as the ratchet wheel, is thus moved on by half a minute.

Meanwhile, the pin on the drive lever contacts the ramp on the backstop lever and prevents it from lifting high enough to allow free movement of the minute hand during the impulse. The long and heavy hands on the large clock dial might otherwise take control of the slave movement. It is vital that this can never happen or accurate timekeeping will be lost. The minute hand must always point accurately to a full minute. Or midway in between at the half minute. Any less or more will cause doubt in the person reading the time. Clocks are meant to be read at a glance. The advance of the minute hand is so quick that the casual watcher might not even notice it.                                                                                         

The view from the other side of the slave movement showing the large, ratchet-toothed, drive wheel [seen on edge] on the right.

The smaller gears are the motionwork which reduces the minute hand rotation by 12:1 to drive the clock dial's hour hand. These gearwheels are made robust enough to cope with heavy loads as the clock hands are stepped forwards each half minute. They must also act as brakes on the momentum of the heavy clock hands at the end of each sudden step forwards.

The electromagnet can be seen fixed at the bottom of the movement on a sturdy bracket. This bracket completes the magnetic circuit and acts as the electromagnet's keeper during each electrical impulse. Note the robust build of the entire slave movement and the care taken to prevent long term corrosion. The movement would be fitted behind its dial and then possibly forgotten for years unless something went wrong.

                                                                                                                        
The view looking down from the top of the slave movement. With the coiled drive spring nearest the camera.

The ratchet toothed drive wheel can be seen below the reinforced backstop pawl.

Note the rubber gasket on the flange  to protect the movement from moisture when it is installed in its white, protective metal box.

The black plastic block with soldered wires attached is a rectifier. So my theory of an alternative power supply may be true.

Yet another view of the slave movement showing the ratchet toothed, drive wheel. Given an impulse every half minute the drive wheel will rotate once in one hour. [120/2 = 60 minutes.] The drive wheel shaft extends forwards, beyond the white metal case, to a squared arbor which holds the minute hand securely. The pivot for the backstop lever is well seen in the foreground. It is deliberately lowered on the movement backplate to ensure the correct geometry to avoid any chance of backlash or failure to lock in the teeth of the drive wheel. Any error in the movement or locking of the slave will result in the minute hand pointing incorrectly.

Here is the front plate of the turret slave movement with the protective metal box in place. The object sticking out of the box [at lower let] is a sprung plunger for advancing the movement in half minute steps. It presses the armature in as if an electrical timing impulse had activated it. The hands on the clock can then be rapidly advanced without affecting the rest of the timekeeping system. 

Note the massive, cylindrical bearing housing to support the heavy clock hands. Any weakness here could cause the hand shafts to sag. Possibly resulting in the hands contacting the face of the dial. Even if this did not stop the normal hand movement it might lead to an ugly scar on the clock dial. The cost of replacement or repair of the dial might be extremely high in an inaccessible situation. Remember that a large clock hand has considerable leverage. A minute amount of slop at the hub could lead to an inch of movement at the tip several feet away. Clock hands are usually counter-balanced to avoid them turning under their own weight.

Here is a close-up of the clock hand, fixing components. The large white boss and bronze cylinder both contain labyrinth seals to stop rain being driven inside the movement by the wind. The hour hand fits on the hour pipe seen just in front of the white boss. The hour pipe is driven by the 12:1 motionwork gearing inside the movement.

While the minute hand slides onto the squared shaft against the bronze cylindrical bush and is locked in place by the screws. The matching squares on the shaft and minute hand ensure no chance of slippage is ever possible. This minute shaft goes right back to the reinforced drive wheel inside the slave movement. The hour pipe acts as a sleeve bearing for the minute shaft and is itself supported by a sleeve bearing in the large white boss.

A clock hand on a public dial indicating the wrong time is far worse than useless. Many people's actions, even lives, could hang on the accurate time shown on the public clock dial. Catching connecting trains is a vital function of such clock dials at railway stations. If the dial is showing the wrong time the public won't know whether to walk leisurely to their platform. Perhaps even visit the platform café if they have time to kill. Or run flat out to catch their train by the skin of their teeth!

Remember that this slave movement came from the end of a long era when public clocks were far more important than now. In the past most people did not possess accurate watches. Nor other more modern devices which could give a really accurate time check. Every slave clock under the control of the master was as accurate as the master clock itself. Usually good to within a couple of seconds a week. Before quartz watches these time systems offered completely unprecedented accuracy to the general public. Only the speaking clock, provided by the telephone company, could match this timekeeping accuracy and had to be paid for each time it was used. It also had to be dialled on a public telephone and the customer then waited for the next spoken time signal and accurate beep. Church clocks and other public clock dials were often minutes adrift unless constantly monitored.  

The electrical details have been applied with Dymo tape labels. The electromagnet is separately marked as having a DC resistance  of 71.5 Ohms. This is a quite remarkably high figure compared with a normal [small] slave with a resistance of only a couple of Ohms. Such a high figure suggests a very large number of turns of copper wire to obtain a very strong magnetic pull during each very brief, electrical impulse from the master clock.

The movement is expected to operate on 24 Volts DC.






Yet again I am indebted to a fellow enthusiast for sending me these excellent images. I just hope that my use of them repays the kindness in providing them for free public access. Those who wish to share good quality images of Pulsynetic Waiting Train movements, or any other interesting or unusual impulse timekeeping system components, can find my email address at the top of the page.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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Gillett & Johnston Waiting Train installation.

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One of my generous sources has sent me some more images. This time of a Gillet & Johnston installation which includes a fascinating Waiting Train turret clock movement.

These images offer a unique and vitally important record of a very rare timekeeping system. Gillet & Johnston are best known [renowned around the world] for their superb bell casting and high quality weight-driven turret clocks. The company still exists to offer turret clock repairs and modern timekeeping equipment.

Clock Makers, Clock Restorers and Bell Founders

Gillett & Johnston - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gent's and Synchronome must have seemed to dominate their dwindling market as weight driven turret clocks orders became harder to obtain. The previous funds for church clocks and bells from rich Victorian benefactors were probably no longer available after WWI's massive social upheaval.

G&J must have seen the  writing on the wall when Gents began to produce their compact and incredibly powerful WT electric turret clock movements. These went on to set numerous records for increased dial size in the early 20th Century.

So G&J came up with their own, unique electrical impulse master clock, slaves and WT designs.

G&J produced a quiet, and now very collectable, master clock of entirely their own design. Relatively few must have been made because they only rarely come come up for auction and usually fetch a very good price by ordinary Gents and Synchronome standards.

These images alongside show an early, G&J master clock. The attractive mouldings on the top and bottom of a master clock case are usually an indicator of an earlier model. The movement design is elegant and relatively complex for a British master clock. Going through several design iterations over time. Note that the slave unit behind its pilot dial has been installed at 90 degrees anticlockwise to its normal position. It is amazing that it still functions as the time indicator! 

The movement uses a swinging armature to reset the gravity arm so that no noisy contact takes place. Spring blades are used to further damp any noise produced by the mechanism. It even has an air damper cylinder to soften the resetting of the gravity arm.

It uses a 15 tooth ratchet wheel and gathering pawl like most other British master clocks. A single electromagnet is arranged at the bottom of the movement backplate. Padded stop screws are provided to set certain movement limits. The gravity arm has a roller which runs down an impulse ramp on the one second pendulum at half minute intervals. The gravity arm is dropped onto the ramp by a trip vane unlatched by the count wheel. A long wire and D-shaped jewel draw the count wheel around one tooth at a time on every swing to the right. So that the count wheel rotates once in half a minute [30 seconds.]

 Unlike Gents, G&J seems to have made a different WT for each installation. Or so it seems. I haven't seen two the same in the [only] several examples of which I have obtained images. Anybody out there with a Gillet & Johnston electric turret/tower clock in their charge is very welcome to add more images to the very meagre collection in the public domain which I have obtained so far.

These three images are all I have so far of this particular G&J, WT, turret clock movement. The original images were very dark as flash was not used for the photography. The WT movement was obviously still running because the slow exposure has not caught the bob movement sharply. Flash would have frozen the bob in its swing and helped to stop the camera shake visible in the images here. That said, any images, at all, of a movement so rare as a G&J WT are well worth having. I have done my humble best to lighten and sharpen these images using PhotoFiltre.

G&J has obviously used their own metal casting facilities to produce another very solid baseplate for its own unique WT design. The bob is massive and [very unusually] the cylinder is arranged horizontally so that it can swing in the oval cutaway provided in the main plate. This makes for a very compact movement. As does the shortness of the pendulum. Note that this is a working clock and not a perfectly restored example from a private collection. Lots of oil and a little rust are very typical of working turret clocks hidden out of public sight for 100 years!

Working down from the top, the first thing we notice is the use of bearing instead of a conventional spring blade to support the pendulum. The same, robust, construction feature was used on the Gents' Pulsynetic WTs.

At top right is a small electromagnet which we can safely assume is related to the Waiting Train mechanism. The armature is in contact with an L-shaped lever on its right. 

The horizontal, main drive shaft is driven by a wormwheel and worm. The worm is mounted on the same shaft [arbor] as the gathering wheel. The gathering, or count wheel, is pulled round a tooth at a time by the gathering pawl. A backstop pawl hangs at the left of the gathering wheel to prevent backwards rotation. I believe the wheel is rotated anticlockwise by the bifurcated gathering pawl.

Unfortunately none of the images is quite clear enough to be absolutely sure of the WT mechanism's actual function. If it follows Gents' practice then the gathering pawl will be briefly lifted out of the teeth of the count wheel by a pin on the count wheel where it is latched. The pawl is then allowed to drop [by a small electromagnet] to its normal [active] position to gather teeth once again. The electromagnet will be activated by the half minute, timekeeping pulse from the master clock.

I think it is safe to assume the following: The electromagnet's armature is horizontal and seems to be hinged on the left. A right-angled L-shaped lever is a two position latch hinged at its 'elbow.' As the count wheel rotates, a pin lifts the L-shaped arm and thence the gathering pallet. The armature will now be free to drop out of the deep notch by gravity. The armature tip will then lock the L-shaped arm safely in a raised position just below the [normal] latching notch. The gathering pawl will slide ineffectively back and forth, for a few brief moments, clear of the count wheel teeth.

Then the electromagnet gets its half-minute electrical impulse from the master clock and attracts the armature. Allowing the L-shaped lever to drop [clockwise due to gravity] so that the armature re-latches the L-shaped arm by the deep notch in its normal position and clear of the gathering pawl. The gathering pawl can now continue to gather teeth to drive the hands on the clock dials. The armature will be raised to its normal position against its electromagnet's core. 

It is the precise timing of the armature's release of the [raised] L-shaped lever [allowing the gathering pawl to drop into the wheel teeth] which resets the timekeeping to the master clock's own standard at every half minute. The WT must slavishly follow the accurate timekeeping of the precision master clock.

A Waiting Train movement is not a true clock. It is a rather complex slave with its own driving power for the clock hands but has no timekeeping ability of its own. Take away the master clock's electrical impulse and the WT [turret slave] will gain very rapidly indeed. In fact it must always get to the half minute a little too soon to allow itself to be paused by its own WT mechanism. It is the brief pause in the drive to the clock hands which gives the "Waiting Train" mechanism its name and ensures its remarkably accurate timekeeping ability. 

On the left end of the main horizontal shaft [arbor] are the first bevel gears of the lead-off work to the distant dials. A second bevel gear turns the minute hand drive vertically. A typical universal-expansion joint takes up the vertical drive to allow for movement in the building's structure.

The main shaft is supported by sturdy cast brackets. As are the wormwheel and its worm. All very obvious from the images so far.

Well below the horizontal drive shaft is a set of electrical contacts. Presumably they are operated by a Hipp Toggle and V-block mechanism. The exact detail is rather hard to see in these images but the typical Hipp toggle and block may be hidden behind the pendulum rod. The actual contacts seem to be on the left of the two horizontal contact rods. A Hipp switch system allows the pendulum to swing freely until its arc falls below a predetermined limit. The Hipp Toggle drops into the V-block and the contacts are closed. The pendulum is then given a strong push and the pendulum regains its lost arc.

The problem now is deciding how the pendulum is pushed. The top image shows what appears to be an electromagnet  coil just below the bob. It is quite possible that G&J decided to use this classic and well proven method of maintaining a pendulum's swing. This same arrangement had been used for domestic and precision electric clocks since Hipp first presented his ingenious Toggle and V-block back in 1843.

I believe the two sturdy horizontal crossbars just above the swinging bob are there to catch the pendulum if the pendulum support should fail. Or perhaps to limit its maximum swing? 

Here we see the vertical lead-off rod emerging from the WT movement below to meet the crown-wheel cluster of bevel gears. Another expansion-universal joint allows for thermal expansion of the lead-off rod. The bevel gear cluster is strongly supported by am open, timber framework. Three further bevel gears lead off from the larger crown bevel gear to the exposed skeleton dials. All perfectly standard practice in turret clocks of all types and ages.






A close-up of the typically, very high quality bevel gear cluster produced by master turret clock makers. Note the sturdy, cast, hanging bracket. Each lead off rod to the dials has its own expansion-universal joints. The bracket must support not only all the bevel gears but all lead off rods as well. Including the vertical rod rising from the WT movement on a floor somewhere down below.

Here we see the high quality 12:1 dial motionwork and one heavy hand counterbalance. Each dial will be so equipped. As they will also have yet another expansion-universal joint. Not only are the lead-off rods quite long but temperatures in open bell and clock towers can soar in summer and plunge in winter. As the rods contract and grow in length, with changing temperature, these joints protect the clock hand drive system from binding and potentially damaging end-loads. They also allow for a degree of  misalignment due to changes in the building's structure with temperature, wind, settlement and humidity. The clamping screw on the joint can allow an individual change in hand setting on a dial after maintenance.

Here is a Gillet & Johnston bell dated 1922. Would it be a wild guess to assume that the entire G&J clock installation matches the date on the bell? The bell is struck electromagnetically by a large hammer driven by a powerful electromagnet in the box in the foreground.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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Some simple thoughts on technical photography.

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I am repeatedly indebted to fellow clock enthusiasts for sending me their excellent images to share on my blog. I just hope that my use of them repays their kindness in providing them for free public access.

Those who wish to share good quality images of Pulsynetic Waiting Train movements, or any other interesting or unusual impulse timekeeping system components, can find my email address at the top of every blog page.

By "good quality," I mean sharp, evenly lit and without any unnecessary background clutter. I am a firm believer in the use of common [buff] cardboard packaging backgrounds to photograph technical items like clock movements and components. The cardboard is dirt cheap, stiff, plain, matt, useful for instantly and cheaply hiding clutter and provides a nicely neutral reflective surface. One which does not confuse the camera's light sensors. Moreover, cardboard is such a normal part of our daily lives that the eye will often ignore it as a plain background. Careful selection will usually disguise the cardboard's source. A local supermarket or white goods store can often help if you ask politely and are not too specific. Bare, light exposed plywood and hardboard can make useful backgrounds too. 

White and black surfaces usually make very poor backgrounds. The white will cause the camera to produce very dark images without much detail in technical subject matter. Black backgrounds throw no light into the depths of the subject and will again hide most of the detail as the camera tries to lighten the image far too much. Worth remembering if you are photographing at home and have a free choice. Much more difficult if the subject matter is in another, more difficult setting.

Photographs of subjects taken against a background window are usually far too poor to rescue with simple image handling software. The "flare" from the background window will often cover the entire subject matter with misty light.

Close-ups have their place when competently done. [Like these excellent images seen here] However, a slightly more distant view can often be cropped later and will have a much greater depth of focus. Which is often vital to researching the true function of the subject's component parts. Cropping automatically makes the image appear larger because the smaller chosen area expands to fill the original frame.

100ASA colour print using a hand-held Olympus OM1 50mm lens in office florescent lighting. Scanned, lightened, sharpened, contrast, gamma, B&W for detail all in free PhotoFiltre.

Where flash must be used a little distance is extremely valuable to spread the light more evenly. Reflections are very annoying and can often obscure detail or make an image of a technical subject look very poor. If flash is being used then move around and take a number of images from slightly different angles. With luck [and a little care] you may find an evenly lit shot without any reflections at all. A zoomed image taken from a meter away can often provide much better [even] lighting from flash.

Flash reflections from glass and similar shiny clock cases are often a disaster. The camera will read only the brilliant reflection and close down the lens. All you get is a bright spot and everything else is dark! 

Do take care to avoid glass and case reflections when shooting clocks in their cases in available light. Many clock enthusiasts have added their own full length reflection to otherwise interesting images of very rare clocks. Worse, their lighter reflection often obscures the vital details of the movement and parts now completely hidden behind the brightly reflective glass! If you cannot open the case [or obtain permission to do so] then move to one side [or the other] so that a darker background kills the reflections. This technique can often work its "X-ray magic" on difficult reflective surfaces.

If somebody with a dark coat could be arranged to stand in exactly the right spot you could use them as your background in a very light coloured space. Just be sure they do not make matters worse! Asking a bystander to hold up a black sheet [carried in the car for just this purpose] would be an ideal photographic background for glass-fronted cases. Flash may then help to bring out the detail behind the glass. But do check your images on your camera's viewfinder screen carefully for unwanted reflections. Patience and constantly monitoring your images for faults will improve your techniques.

I speak from many decades of experience as a keen amateur photographer. I had so many personal disappointments where prints were completely ruined simply by my own carelessness. So I had to become far more strict with myself when checking background, unwanted reflections, depth of focus and carefully framing the shot. In the end it became [almost] automatic. Eventually, I carried over the hard earned self-discipline to digital photography. Though, as a result, I have ended up with hundreds of gigabytes of almost identical images and many thick folders of prints from the "good old days" of  film.

In today's digital world multiple attempts to capture the perfect shot are usually rewarded at very low cost except for a little extra time, common sense and improved technical awareness. Images can be easily cropped but the lighting can only be adjusted within narrow limits. Noise and unwanted artefacts are the usual problem when using free software.

I have to resize every image anyway to match the requirements of the blog format. Otherwise blog pages of huge, original images would take forever to download on a slow Internet connection. Cropping automatically reduces image file size. So can be useful from several points of view. Not least, getting rid of background clutter. Cropping gives you another chance to succeed when something went unnoticed or could not be framed out. Image handling software can perform miracles with skill and patience but is a heavy investment in time and money. "Cloning" is a handy stencil tool for removing unwanted items from an image but again has considerable limitations in free software. Work in short sequences so a mistake can be undone. 

Sometimes the conditions for photographing technical subjects are really too poor to obtain high quality images. Dark spaces are a typical problem with photographing turret clocks and here flash is often essential to capture anything at all. Trying to use available light can result in very long exposures and lots of "noise" in the image. I have tried "security" halogen lighting without much success. Modern, multiple LED panels seem to offer more even light without affecting the electricity bill.

Never walk away believing that it is impossible to do proper justice to the subject. It may be impossible to obtain access at a later date. This has happened to me regularly where staff have changed. Or a helpful staff member was not handy second time around. Sometimes the building is demolished between visits! I even had one turret clock owner take up the floorboards of the hall leading to the turret clock room. Always take at least some pictures using as much care as you can muster and hope for the best.

Olympus OM1 50mm 100ASA colour print using 2 seconds hand-held exposure in a very dark clock 'shed' within a barn. Cheap flash gun failed again! Original print scanned and then improved in free PhotoFiltre software.

Dark conditions mean long exposures which can mean camera shake immediately crops up. Try to steady the camera or yourself against a wall or handy beam. I have taken images with up to two seconds exposure of turret clocks when my inexpensive flash gun became intermittent. The results were soft and very low in colour and contrast but still well worth having as a unique record.

Dark images can be brightened by adding a little extra gamma in PhotoFiltre. A little extra contrast will help to sharpen things up afterwards but will also darken the image slightly. Adding extra brightness is rarely successful. It tends to make things too soft and misty. Overdoing "improvements" digitally will usually spoil an image. So keep your changes subtle and avoid unwanted "artistic" effects. 

I have been using PhotoFiltre free image handling software for years and highly recommend it. I never had the patience to learn, nor the funds available for professional image handling software, like Photoshop. For my more humble needs PhotoFiltre does [almost] everything I want. Every change you make [up to six steps] can always be undone if you don't like the effect.

I use Picasa to organise my tens of thousands of images. Resized and "improved" images are collected in Windows Pictures folder with rsz added to the P........  title. They can then be easily found amongst the thousands of full size originals to add to my blogs.

Photography can be a hobby in itself and practice [and thought] definitely help to take better pictures. These days I no longer carry a heavy bag of SLR bodies and assorted lenses. I use an ageing, 6-year old, compact digital Panasonic Lumix TZ7 camera with 12x zoom. I can [and do] take images almost everywhere I go without drawing much attention to myself. And, I never leave home without it. In my pocket it lives in a snug fitting, no-name, lightly padded, pseudo-leather case. In my saddlebag the cased camera gets a close fitting, hinged, plastic, traveller's soap dish/container with snap-over locking lid, as extra protection from the shopping.  

Sometimes I look at today's amazing DSLRs and wonder how well they might perform. But I quickly decide that I will no longer be a slave to a heavy rucksack full of camera equipment. Nor its high price tags, annual model upgrades and endless, so easily-forgettable controls. For publishing my usual images on my blogs the compact does [almost] everything I need. Only if I wanted superb close-ups of distant birds and wildlife would I need more equipment. But then I could no longer carry my camera in my jacket pocket on my morning country walks or daily cycle rides.

My greatest regret is that compact digital cameras and computers weren't invented when I was still a child. There are so many things I could have captured and carefully stored over the years. But then I would be constantly waiting for the next breakthrough in media storage to cope with my countless petabytes of images and videos. There has never been a better time in history to be a photographer. Never before in history have so many cameras existed in so many hands.

We now take it completely for granted that a "live" image taken only minutes ago has been cropped, resized, relit, sharpened and generally improved for online publication to [potentially] reach billions around the globe. It's no wonder that the depots and dictators so heavily sensor their downtrodden people's online expressions of suffering at their hands! The politic-ooze must have nightmares at the thought of what images will appear online next.

Which only adds to our own responsibility not to put damaging visual fakes online. Photoshop is a tool for improving images. Not to produce the lying imagery so typical of the world's evil despots. Imitation does neither you, nor our cynical world, any favours. Remember the boy who cried wolf!  

Finally: The best camera [for you] is the one you use most often. Do not let yourself be dictated to by professionals, "experts" or manufacturers. They each have their own agendas and often commercial needs. The pro who uses tens of thousands worth of kit may have assistants to carry it all about. Read every online review your can find for the models which you have short-listed in your price range. Then read the reviews of their predecessors to see if they have really fixed the previous glaring faults in the latest camera or lens. By all means read the commercially sponsored "magazine" reviews but keep your cynical wits about you. 

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Time Machines website:

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While searching online for my regular dose of "gents+pulsynetic+waiting+train" I just came across a fascinating website. With lots of illustrations of electric clocks. Primarily of American clocks though with some exceptions. 

The image [right] of a C40A WT and turret clock dial  was borrowed [and cropped] for educational purposes. There is no attribution as to the owner or author of the image or the WT installation. 

http://www.oldtimemachines.com/collections/

Scroll down to near the bottom of the page for the full sized WT image.

Click on the image for an enlargement.

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Gents' WT [sealed] motionwork.

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The first image nicely shows the sturdy construction which safely hold the large hands of a turret clock dial. Note the hefty casting supporting the minute hand. The simple fixing bracket is perfectly acceptable for an indoor, turret clock exhibition. It would not do [at all] for an exposed dial!

Exposed clock hands not only have to keep accurate time but are subjected to gales, icing, wind blown debris and everything else the elements can throw at them. Resistance to rusting is a serious matter over very long periods of exposure without easy access. 

  

Gent's also made sealed motionwork units to protect the [normally bare] gears from dust and debris. Tower clocks and their lead-off components are often subject to very dirty conditions in elderly buildings. Most older roofs have no under-felt and are subject to massive temperature swings. Motionwork can also be subject to the outside elements blowing between the roofing tiles. Or even through the dial aperture through which the hands are driven.

Sealing the motionwork within a closed container provides the rare chance [with clockwork] to apply a long-lived lubricant. Without the risk of contamination from the often-dirty environment. Motion work is often housed in poorly sealed roofs and towers. There is the risk of falling whitewash in stone and brick buildings. With the added risk of woodworm dust and birds nests in all others. Larger birds can fill a tower with decaying twigs and nesting debris over time unless the open louvers are wire mesh screened.

Here is an image of the "business end" of a turret/tower clock, hand fitting system without the hands. Both the minute shaft and the hour pipe are squared for a solid drive to the hands. A screw on the end of their minute hand shaft provided a simple and secure fixing by threaded nut.

While a securing, spring washer, with locking screw, is provided for the hour hand. The hour hand fits onto its machined square on the pipe first. Then the square hole in the washer is fitted over the pipe. Rotating the washer by 45 degrees brings the sides of the square aperture into the slots provided by the hour pipe. The screw stops the washer from rotating away from the locked position. A very simple, but robust and reliable, fixing. The spring washer is likely to be made of phosphor bronze for very long life.

A screw-threaded barrel has large screwed rings to fix the assembly firmly onto the dial board and allow some linear adjustment. In this case the length of the barrel suggests a dial board or wall about 3-4" [70-100mm] thick. Longer and shorter threaded barrels would be specified for various dial and wall thicknesses at the time of ordering and later installation.

Here a sealed motionwork is housed in a cast, protective cylindrical can or case. A short lead-off rod, with typical universal joints at each end, is seen fitted between the WT output shaft and the motionwork housing. The universal joints provide for thermal expansion and misalignment without binding. The outer screws [with washers] are not tightened but merely avoid dislocation of the forked and pinned joint arrangement. Some of Gents' universal joint designs have a thickened centre section to the pinned half to ensure the joints remain safely together. But still allow the pins to slide freely in the slots without friction.

The inside of the cast, metal case shows the gears embedded in a complete fill of lubricating grease. The input end of the minute shaft is protruding. Oil would easily run out of such a simple container over time. While grease stays in place and will offer long life without any maintenance at all. If the grease should harden over time it can leave bare tracks where the gears rotate. While a grease which softens with higher temperatures would allow the grease to slump back into contact with the gears.

The large support bearing for the hour pipe is seen here just above the surface of the grease. The closing cap is provided with threaded screw holes for dismantling and grease replacement at long intervals.

Here the complete motionwork components are shown free of their housing. The brass hour pipe, with attached gearwheel, lies at the top. The steel minute shaft lies in the middle ground with its fixed pinion on the right. While the pair of meshing gears [larger wheel and smaller pinion] lies in the foreground. The motionwork case, sealing cap is at top right and provides bearings for some of the components.

The sealed gearing arrangement is identical to open motionwork. Using combinations of different metals ensures that the minute shaft does not wear rapidly against the inside of the hour pipe. Nor will they rust fast together over time. As would a steel minute shaft in an iron hour pipe. The combination of dissimilar metals runs together with low friction without the galling expected of using similar metals.[Steel on steel is usually a bad choice, for example] Gents' were early user of stainless steel and hard chrome plating to ensure maximum longevity. The minute shaft [minute arbor in clock-speak] is probably made out of stainless steel.

For the clock enthusiast finding original components like these is all part of the pleasure of owning a WT turret 'clock' movement. Very often demolition crews will see the value in saving the clock movement from a long-disused factory or office block. Since it can be so easily turned into cash. However they will usually ignore the motionwork and lead-off work as being too insignificant to be worth the trouble of dismantling it. Nor is there much metal scrap value to be had. Access to exterior clock hands is very likely to remain difficult to impossible on old, industrial buildings. So all these vital parts are usually lost to the collector.

There must be original WT installations still in use. Though maintaining them must be very difficult without skilled help. Or the continued employment of trained, existing staff. Not that long term employees are likely to be found in our modern, ephemeral world. It is so much easier [and cheaper] these days to simply replace everything mechanical with a compact electric motor. Fitted just behind the dial, switched on and usually forgotten. Modern clock installations will often have a computerized "box of tricks" to ensure automatic summer time changes. Thus, has turret clock practice changed to match the latest technology, yet again.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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Gents' WT 'open' motionwork.

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I have been kindly sent some excellent images of various Gents' WT motionworks. These would have been connected to the lead-off rods from a WT movement. Motionwork is a simple four gearwheel train [in two pairs] to reduce the 1rpr  [1 revolution per hour] lead-off [minute shaft] speed [from the WT] by 12:1. The simple gear arrangement drives the hour hands on a public clock dial once in 12 hours from the minute hand drive input.

The first image shows an (almost hidden) WT driving the large, bare hands of a [missing] dial which might easily be 6' [2m] in diameter. A second WT movement is situated on the wall in the background. The active WT being seen end-on, in lighter grey paint, almost hidden behind the clock hands. Part of the bottom half of a controlling, electric master clock is seen on the extreme right.

Motionwork has another important task in supporting the large and [often heavy] clock hands without adding too much friction. The inner shaft carries the minute hand concentric within the outer hour pipe which carries the hour hand. Arrangements are usually made to secure the hands against rotation under their own weight or when covered in ice. Or even when supporting a perching flock of birds. The security of the hands in all weathers is obviously a very high priority to avoid injury to life or property below the raised clock dial. A hand falling from a great height would cause very serious harm!

Note how the thin metal hands are typically ribbed along their length for stiffness without added weight. The counterweights for the hands are often hidden behind the short extension beyond the hub. As can be seen from the rivets in this case. Alternatively the counterbalances can be fixed direct to the minute shaft and hour pipe within the safer environment of the clock room. This arrangement saves adding overhanging weight to the very exposed clock hands. Counterbalances for the clock hands are quite normal practice for the hands of even quite small public clock dials. When the hands are not counterbalanced they have to be lifted uphill for one half of their rotation. They will then try to "run away downhill" on the second half. This would not help accurate timekeeping with most turret clocks. Which are usually weight driven and "friction governed" by their gear trains and escapements.

Motionwork can be "open" [as seen here] or housed within a protective case. Dust and dirt being common factors in clocks rooms and bell towers. The following images show open motionwork with exposed gears seen from many different angles for greater clarity.

The usual arrangement is two pairs of gears giving speed reductions of 3:1 and a 4:1 ratio in series. Being in series the two ratios can be simply multiplied by each other to give the final drive ratio. [12:1]

The substantial pairs of brass [or bronze] gears are well seen in these images. Avoiding lubrication to the gear teeth will prevent dust adhering to them which would cause accelerated wear. It is normal practice not to oil or grease most clock gears. Falling dust can then drop through or off the gear teeth without adhering. Gears are known as wheels [large] and pinions[small] in horological circles.

The projecting, silver coloured, double forked device is a universal joint [or expansion coupling] to the leading off work's shafts, pipes or rods. These joints allow for the movement of the building under settlement, in changing weather and temperature without the lead off work binding. This is important because most lead off work is situated in exposed and draughty conditions in towers and roofs. Often attached to ancient timber constructions. The temperature can plummet in winter and soar in high summer. The sheer length of many lead off systems allows considerable changes in the active length of the metal shafts and pipes. This is due to the linear coefficient of expansion [and contraction.]

Clock dials fixed on both gable ends of a large building are quite typical. These would use huge lengths of lead off work to reach both dials from the clock movement. Which may not necessarily be situated in the center of the building. The lead-off shafts [or pipes] would pass through simple, plain bearings to ensure they rotated in a reasonable straight line. These bearing brackets would be fixed to available timbers and walls to keep costs and complexity to a minimum. Though wooden troughs are sometimes constructed to house the lead-off work. Particularly where the space might also be used for storage.

Note the sturdy construction of all the support brackets and gears. Reliability over decades without maintenance is a vital feature of most public clock installations. Access to the lead-off work is often difficult to impossible with modern safety demands. Rotational "play" or backlash must be avoided between the clock movement and and the dial[s]. Multiple dials would run fast or slow of each other if their was any slack in their respective drives. Such "competition" between various clock dials was a cause for worker irritation when very few of the working classes owned watches. It must be remembered that for several centuries timekeeping was usually provided by public clocks and bells.

The cast brackets of the motionwork are designed to allow dismantling of one set of gears without touching the other pair. This is an important factor where access is often difficult and the security of the heavy, attached clock hands is absolutely vital.

The deep blue-green paint is familiar to Gents' WT made sometime around WW2.

Here the arrangement of all four gears is nicely seen. Only the pair on the right are connected together [as one unit] on their short, offset shaft. The larger of this right hand pair is driven by the input [minute hand] pinion. This is the steel gear just behind the universal/expansion coupling. While the smaller gear of the second pair drives the larger gear fixed to the hour pipe. This motionwork arrangement is common to almost every clock and watch, fitted with two hands, regardless of size.

Usually only 'early' or village church clocks continued with one [hour] hand. At one time it was normal for rural clock owners to have their long case [grandfather] clocks made to order with only one hand. So used were they to reading their one-handed, village, church clock. City dwellers, with their far greater collective wealth, would have enjoyed two handed turret clocks. They would order clocks with two hands despite its greater expense.

The difficulty with one handed clocks was that the hour hand is driven directly. It is very difficult [to impossible] to add a special motionwork to increase the speed to drive a [new] minute hand at 12 times the speed. Not without having serious 'slop' in the movement of the minute hand.

Many early and rural-made, 30 hour grandfather clocks have been converted to have a minute hand to match demand and modern tastes. Often these clock's dials have no minute markers. Usually the dials have only 1/4 hour markings in a ring further towards the dial center. Many antique dealers have profited from having a minute hand fitted. Because they could fool the gullible buyer into believing they were actually buying a much more expensive [and therefore far more desirable] 8-day clock. A glance at the engravings on a brass dial clock will soon show that it was originally fitted with only one [hour] hand and NO motionwork!


WARNING: Those finding themselves with a public clock installation in obvious need of repair should be very aware of the great importance of safety. Particularly where motionwork and the clock hands are concerned. Attempting to dismantle the motionwork [inside the building] could easily release the heavy clock hands. Even if they did not actually fall from the clock tower they might turn suddenly around their axes. The hands will always seek to balance themselves on their shafts and pipes. They may even have built-up torque in the lead-off work which caused the original stoppage.

It is not impossible for rivets to rust away allowing the hand's external counterweights to fall away unnoticed. The clock hands, hidden outside, on the other side of the obscuring dial plate, would then be non-counterbalanced!

If serious rust has set into the minute shaft or hour pipe [through poor material choice or great age] then a dangerous situation could easily arise. Easy access to the outside of the dial and the hands is not normal turret clock practice. Steeple jacks may well be needed to examine the dial, hands and counterweights! Or to bring them down for safety and subsequent repair. Preferably in the workshop of a skilled, experienced [and qualified] turret clock repairer. Mechanics and DIY enthusiasts are likely to make poor and dangerously ignorant clock repairers.

While clock botchers can [and will] ruin any clock they can lay their hands on, public safety is rarely an issue. Public clocks tend to use very large and very heavy components by their very nature. These same components are often raised high above the ground in very public spaces. The results of even a simple mistake could easily be fatal! How could the untrained amateur have any concept [at all] of the very real risks involved?

Just because a WT is a compact movement does not make it any less dangerous in its other parts. The hands on the WT's exposed dials used much the same techniques as all other turret/tower clocks. The hands and dials may even be considerably larger than normal weight driven clocks thanks to the enormous torque generated by the WT movement!

In many cases, though, the WT would be installed in place of an existing, possibly obsolete or badly worn out, weight driven clock. Being so compact and lacking any need for weight shafts, cables and weights made the WT an extremely flexible timekeeping option. It could be and was installed in many inaccessible places like war memorials and chimneys. Where regular maintenance was often all but impossible without the aid of a steeplejack.

ALWAYS SEEK PROFESSIONAL ADVICE WHEN DEALING WITH A PUBLIC CLOCK! LIVES MAY EASILY DEPEND ON YOUR ACTIONS!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
Click on any image for an enlargement.

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