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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