The Washington critic., 1888-05-10
THE UNIVERSITY ohooK.
An Intricate Piece OF work just Com
pteted.

An Intricate Piece of Work just Com
pleted.
Messrs. II. G.. and j. h. Wagner Of
Georgetown have just completed the
largest tower clock in the Dis
trict and placed It in the large centre
tower Of the Georgetown University
building. The weights are held by two
braided steel-wire ropes z of an inch in
diameter, capable Of holding up 8 tons.
The time side, inch at tons strain.
There are ,45O feet Of wire rope used on
the weights. The weights weigh respect
lively $50 $50 and 22j pounds. The pcn-
dulum ball weighs 800 pounds and is
held up by 3 compensating rods 2 inches
in diameter, forming so that heat or cold
will not affect it, and the rod is suspended
at the top by a finely tempered steel
spupg inches wide and the 9th OF an
inch thick and inches long.
The time part is driven by "A large brass
driving wheel, Is inches in diameter
fitted up with a self-acting maintaining
power, worked automatically, so that the
clock keeps running while being wound
up. The next wheels are quite compli-
Gated From this the rods, inches in
diameter, branch up to the hand gearing
which is 20 feet above the clock. These
are composed of bevel wheels, which
branch east and west to the dials. The
clock is driven by 3-log Denisen's gravity
escapement. This escapement is quite q
feature i'm this clock, as the pendulum
drives the clock, and Is the most accurate
escapement for large clock. The clock
is regulated by means of a large thumb
screw inches in diameter. The hour
striking movement Is composed of 8 brass
fs.v ta IA
ter and cams aud levers, and has the
rake and trip oscapement, so that the
striking will always right itself should it
strike one hour wrong at any time.
The quarterstriking movement is
something similar to the hour, but not
quito so large, and is struck by 3 cams in
stead Of rake cscapemcnt. The fly
wheel or fans are about so inches in
length and 6 inches wide; these each
have ratches, SO rs to let them stop
gradually and not with shock. The
frame is about g feet long aud feet wide
| and is made of heavy casting and stands
| 8 feet high. Each tick OF the clock is ! }
| seconds; the dials are S feet @ inches in
| height and are made of Pinch white
| pine, with galvanized iron front and
| painted black and smalted with heavy
| brass figures IL inches long and screwed
| on. These were hoisted in place by
| CroYly, the rigger of the S., w. and n.
| Department building.
The hands are 4 feet long, gilded, and
show out very plain. The clock was
| built at the Seth Thomas Clock Company
Works, Thomaston, Conn. Mr.. IL. w.
| Hayden, their superintendent, was in
charge of the construction of this clock
and placed it in position. The hour is
struck on the largest bell, which weighs
$50 pounds and is named Sancta Maria
Sedes Sapientice. 1t is struck by 35.
| pound hammer and is in major chord g.
The first quarter is struck on bells
weighing d50 and 800 pounds respectively
and are major chords II and G and struck
once on G and Il. The names of thesC
two bells are Sanotus Aloysius and Sane
tus Joannes Berchmans. They are
struck by a 20 and 15-pound hammer
respectively. The half hour is struck on
bells, and is struck as follows: Il G G +
the third quarter is struck l. G. Q j. G Il
which makes very pleasing chime.
The height of the dials, which face
east and west are 1870 feet from thu
ground and the bells 1S3 feet. 1t hal
taken three months time to construc
this clock