The Portland daily press., 1898-12-22

ero,'yb on this movement, if properly
mada to carry four 20.foot dia]s, but 1t
is so nsed up in bad pitches, large bear
mos heavy wheels, and friction general
ly, that it is only by constant nursing
that it keeps moving. Thanks to long,
heavy pendulum, it does keep very far
time The weights are about 800. LOU,
and / 800 pounds, and drop fifty feet. a
large box is placed at the bottom of the
wells that holds about bale of cotton
waste. SO that if a cord should break the
cotton would check the blow. The clocks
thus far described are all English. Ii IS
regrettably that not one German clock IS
among those described.
| The next clock we come to is YANKEE
one. 1t was made by Simeon Willard,
| Roxbury, Mass, and belongs to old ST.
| Georges Episcopal Church. on the west
| side Of the square of Second Avenue and
| Sixteenth Street, the successor of the st.
| Georges which was built at Beekman and
! Cliff Streets in 1869, and stood there for
more than 100 years. The clock bears no
date, but as the church was burned at it's
present locality in 1874 and rebuilt in
l18t5 we may infer that it was about
fifty years old before the new one was
put up. 1t is smaller than the others the
frame being feet long, 2 wide, ard ls
high, The main wheels are 20 inches,
and all the other parts thrown in between
them and curiously mixed up. The scape
wheel is z 1-2 inehes, toothed and recoil
pallats The pendulum is simply an iron
rod feet long. with spherical iron ball
of about fifty pounds. There Is no attemp-
at coinpen sation, and yet no clock in the
city more than te y 4ars built had gained
such reputation Iur time keeping. some
years back q person who had not St.
Georges time was supposed to have no
time at all. 1t has a good motion, reco1ls
largely, is very steady in its gait, and
no doubt runs as we'll as in its palmiest
days. / think, however, its great reputa-
tion was gained before people were so ex.
acting in regard to time as now. The
new clock at St. Georges, in Sixteenth
Street, is the simplest of them all, and
excells in finish. The frame stands feet
long, wide, and high. The main time
wheel is 3 feet diameter, has $50 teeth.
turns once in twelve hours, has the figure
on it's face, and pointer gives the hour.
The second wheel Is " inches, has 800
teeth, revolves every hour. has the min
utes on its face, AMI pointer giving the
time. The third and scape wheel Is l-S
| inches, turns once in three minutes, and
| has the seconds pointed off, The pinions
all through, in both trains, have 1fteen
| leaves. The pendulum a1s 50 feet long,
and Yibrates in three seconds Ihe rod
| Is 2 Ia inches, diameter, and made 1nasec-
| tions of five feet, and secured by bands
and screws firmly together. The ball is
| ing 800 pounds The weight on the PEN
dulum spring is about 500 pounds. The
| strike main wheel is 3 feet in diameter;
| has 100 teeth, and thirty-two pins. with
| tempered steel rollers for lifting the ham
mer. The second wheel is 27 inches, has
| go teeth, and turns once to three strokes
| of the hammer. The winding wheels are
of iron, 80 inches diameter, and are driven
by pinion and arbor and crank. 1t
| takes about twenty minutes TO wind. The
| time weight is 800 pounds, Power exert
ed onsmoyement, 100; strikinggweight 750
pounds; direct weight, $50 pounds. The
weights drop forty feet. The clock stands
in the south tower, twenty-five feet below
the dials. A duplicate of this clock was
put up in the Arsenal of Rock Island.
They were designed by A. s. Hotchkiss.
The clocks in the Brick Church and st.
Theresa's s are small but well made, as is
also that in Grace Church. the clock at
the City Hall. the clock in the Alder
mems Chamber, the clook at the store of
Messrs. Blunt & Nichols, Water street;
the one at .5ones's. in Cortlandt Street,
which, however, is quite good-sized
tower clock, of German make, with
pendulum spring not to exceed a quarter
of an inch long. But that is an opposite
extreme. A long, heavy pendulum seems
indispensable for time-keeping. 1t
should be as long as convenient, and as
heavy as the clock is able to keep in
motion without requiring power out or
proportion to it's size, and not be ruled.
At the City Hall we find a really good
clock. The frame stands feet long, 2
feet inches wide, and 1-2 feet high.
The main wheels are 28 inches. Like the
others we have seen, it has four wheels in
the train. The scspe- heel is very small
a 1-2 inches-and has fifteen pins. The
pallats are ieweled with agate. The PEN
dulum is Is feet vibrating in two SEQ
onds. Joined at the top and running
down on each side are rods of 7-S inch
iron. These are spread to 80 inches at the
bottom, and have each a stirrup at the
end. A bar of one-inch brass and one
half inch steel Is laid in these stirrups
the brass side up. On the centre of this
bar the ball rests. The centre rod is q
piece of tubing. and runs into the bali to
hold it in position, but Is not attached to
it. The ball weighs 300 pounds All the
fittings are frst-class; there ara no intri-
cacies about it,; every part can be seen at
glance The adapt alton of wheel and
pinion is SO near perfect that the point of
contant, or pitch line, is only about one
eighth of an inch wide, which, on wiping
of the dust, shows no signs of abrasion;
it is not even frightened ON the main
wheel. The dials are feet in diameter
and about fifteen feet aboYe the move
ment
There are many other clocks. worthy of
notice, but for want of space can men
ton but one more, and that is the Third
Avenue Depot. 1t has 24-iuch main
wheel, a pin escapement, and about
twenty feet rod. 1t carries two dials, one
illumin ated on the avenue, the other in
the rear, and can be seen the whole length
of the stables and shops down to Second
Avenue. 1t Is exposed to greater range
of heat and cold than any other clock,
being close under an iron roof that heats
up to a higher point than the surround.
ing air in the summer, and is a little
lower than it is in the winter. 1t, how.
ever, fares much better since the depot
has been rebuilt.