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Steam Clock !
Posted by: Peter Heid (IP Logged)
Date: January 21, 2003 02:56PM
<HTML>I know this doesn't quite fit in the transportation theme of this forum but I just saw an article of a sight seeing tour in Canada that included a day in Gastown, the birth place of the city of Vancouver, and a high light of the tour was seeing the "worlds first steam powered clock". I would imagine this is the only steam powered clock and a great attraction for steam buffs like me. I see vapors coming off the clock in the picture so I am lead to believe this is running non-condensing.
Peter Heid</HTML>
Peter Heid</HTML>
Re: Steam Clock !
Posted by: chuk williams (IP Logged)
Date: January 22, 2003 04:25AM
<HTML>Peter-
You are indeed correct--the Gastown clock does not have
a condenser! I saw it a coupla years ago--it whistles on the
hour(maybe even the half-I can't remember), and is quite
spectacular when the weather is cold.....
Cheers---Chuk Williams</HTML>
You are indeed correct--the Gastown clock does not have
a condenser! I saw it a coupla years ago--it whistles on the
hour(maybe even the half-I can't remember), and is quite
spectacular when the weather is cold.....
Cheers---Chuk Williams</HTML>
Re: Steam Clock !
Posted by: John Winter (IP Logged)
Date: January 24, 2003 01:06AM
<HTML>Sorry to disappoint. This clock may look like the real thing to most people but you guys will see at first glance that the once great and one of a kind clock has fallen on hard times and has no maintenance budget to speak of. No longer recognized by the City as a big tourist draw the clock has been allowed to fallback to a low-pressure electric boiler, electric driven steam engine and electric clock. Yes the whistles, two of the four, blow on the hour and half hour but just a short wet blast for a few seconds. The original whistle set when in tune played the first 8 notes of the Westminster chime followed by a long blast to mark the hour. By time the boiler came back to pressure following this whistle display the clock was back by 7 - 15 minutes.
This accumulated so the clock had to be reset twice daily
I have seen people set their watch by this clock and walk away quite pleased and secure in having the exact correct time on their wrist.
But people still wait half an hour, watching the steam leaking from the mouths of the whistles. Comments like "is that it" and "I waited for that" can often be heard in the summer crowd.</HTML>
This accumulated so the clock had to be reset twice daily
I have seen people set their watch by this clock and walk away quite pleased and secure in having the exact correct time on their wrist.
But people still wait half an hour, watching the steam leaking from the mouths of the whistles. Comments like "is that it" and "I waited for that" can often be heard in the summer crowd.</HTML>
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