Connecticut western news., 1892-01-21
AN ELECTRIC TOWN CLOCK.
Description of Iimepieoe That is
 Really Unique and Interesting.

A Description of Iiuepiece That Is
 Really Uniqua and Interesting.
 The first tower clock actuated by electricity in the United States is in successful operation in the court house in Los Angeles, Cal. This pioneer tinepiece, that is commonly termed s'the big clock" might be called in bo- tanical parlance a composite, for it is in reality fonr clocks, as each dial in the tower is supplied with it's own separate apparatus, operated by wires from the main battery There are also sixteen smaller clocks located in various parts of the building, and these twenty clocks beat time together without tick ing, but with instantaneous precision.
 The regulator which does the time keeping is large eight day clock that differs from an ordinary regulator only in being provided with two Insulated wires, and when its second hand com pl9tee is roR5id U c.a.isea Ii contSet wilt, 4 pialjstn,is pvlist. penicls i,stanta neuas i4,,!,.a ,nssSes $ muts2y'tafy etee- tric circuit oy ueans 0, the wires. tine flash communicating with all the other clocks, and each obeys the telegraphic mandate by pointing new minute,
 The source of the electricity for all this automatic whispering is found in batteries that are located in one of the tower rooms, where two separate install lations, each containing 211 cells, are in a cabinet together. Only one of the two sets is, however, required at a time the other is simply for use in case of an emergency, and it is but the work of an instant to connect the whole appa- ratus with the unused battery by sim ply turning the handle of a compound switch. The clocks need not lose a minute in the change, for the switch ing can be accomplished between the electric flashes. Among the interesting parts of the ingenious mechanism is a relay through which all the electric currents pess.
 This relay ilas at one end an arma- ture end nagpet similar to but larger than those seen in a common tele- graphic sounder The lever of the mag net works shaft that causes eighteen brass fingers to vibrate. When the fingers fall they complete the electric current in eighteen wires that run to the twenty dials-connection being as simultaneously broken when the fingers are raised Ocular proof of the pres sence of electricity is given in green sparks on the tips of the brass points when the connection is broken.
 Many persons climb the extra flights of stairs above the battery room and only pause in the section of the tower where the four great disls are placed The gigantic hands of rolled steel each weigh forty pounds and are to be seen dimly through the translucent glass of the dials that are about sixteen feet in diameter. The shaft that carries the hands pierces the center of the disk where it is connected with large arm ature with an attachment of brass cog wheels.
 Each flash over the wires leading from the battery room whiris through the big spool of wire in the armature, magnetizes the soft iron core and shield, swings ratchet lever, gives a turn to the brass cog wheels, and thus causes the minute hand outside to swing along nearly ten inches. We go down to the outside world, 200 feet below, and when we turn to look up once more at the minute hand we understand that its seeming short steps each announce that down in the heart of the great building the tiny, trembling second hand of the regulator has just com pleted another delicate cycle and marked the flight of another minute - Cor Springfield Republican.