page_title: Steam clock
section_title: Gastown steam clock
hierarchical_section_title: Steam clock / Gastown steam clock
caption_attribution_description: English: Whistles atop a steam clock. Taken and uploaded by User:Leonard G.
context_page_description: A steam clock is a clock which is fully or partially powered by a steam engine. Only a few functioning steam clocks exist, most designed and built by Canadian horologist Raymond Saunders for display in urban public spaces. Steam clocks built by Saunders are located in Otaru, Japan; Indianapolis, United States; and the Canadian cities of Vancouver, Whistler and Port Coquitlam, all in British Columbia. Steam clocks by other makers are installed in St Helier, Jersey and at the Chelsea Farmers' Market in London, England.
  Although they are often styled to appear as 19th-century antiques, steam clocks are a more recent phenomenon inspired by the Gastown steam clock built by Saunders in 1977. One exception is the steam clock built in the 19th century by Birmingham engineer John Inshaw to demonstrate the versatility of steam power.
context_section_description: Raymond Saunders' first steam clock was built in 1977 at the corner of Cambie and Water streets in Vancouver's Gastown neighbourhood. 49°17′04″N 123°06′32″W, It was built to cover a steam grate, part of Vancouver's distributed steam heating system, as a way to harness the steam and to prevent street people from sleeping on the spot in cold weather. Although the clock is now owned by the City of Vancouver, funding for the project, estimated to be about $C58,000, was provided by contributions from local merchants, property owners, and private donors. Incorporating a steam engine and electric motors, the clock displays the time on four faces and announces the quarter hours with a whistle chime that plays the Westminster Quarters. The clock produces a puff of steam from its top on the hour. The clock is featured on the cover for the 2011 Nickelback album Here and Now.
  The steam used is low pressure downtown-wide steam heating network (from a plant adjacent to the Georgia Viaduct) that powers a miniature steam engine in its base, in turn driving a chain lift. The chain lift moves steel balls upward, where they are unloaded and roll to a descending chain. The weight of the balls on the descending chain drives a conventional pendulum clock escapement, geared to the hands on the four faces. The steam also powers the clock's sound production, with whistles being used instead of bells to produce the Westminster "chime" and to signal the time.
  The steam engine that originally ran the clock is a Stuart #4 single expansion double acting 1" piston engine. This engine is still visible through the glass sides of the clock. However, owing to the clock's high noise levels and inability to keep accurate time, since 1986 the clock has been powered by an electric motor that was originally intended solely as a back-up system.
  In October 2014, the clock was temporarily removed for major repairs by its original builder, and was reinstalled January 2015.
  The clock appears on the cover of the Nickelback album Here and Now and is also featured in a scene from the 1991 Chuck Norris action film The Hitman.
caption: Whistles
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