Steam Clock Gastown Vancouver
A working steam clock, one of only a few in the world, located in Vancouver's victorian Gastown
Category Astounding Timepieces, Retro-Tech, Amazing Automata
Underneath Vancouver, Canada there runs a series of steam tunnels, with some of the tunnels apparently large enough to walk in. Running under major streets (Cordova, Water, Cambie and maybe Abbot) you can look down onto these tunnels through large grates in the sidewalk.
It is these steam tunnels, which heat much of downtown Vancouver, which power the steam clock, one of the world's few functioning steam clocks.
Despite seeming like a remnant of the Victorian age and being located in Vancouver's "Gastown" (which was indeed the rough and tumble downtown area of Vancouver in the 1870s) the Steam Clock is actually from a hundred years later, built in 1977 by horologist Raymond Saunders.
Saunders was hired by Gastown's local merchants to build the clock as a monument. It also had an alternative purpose, by being placed over a steam grate above one of the aforementioned tunnels, it kept local homeless from sleeping on the warm spot. The clock is likely only the second steam clock ever constructed, the first having been built by John Inshaw in 1859 when Inshaw operated the Steam Clock tavern to show off his steam powered inventions.
Because Inshaw's clock was long ago lost, Saunders had to reinvent the steam clock from scratch, and though he did have the aid of old blueprints, the first version was faulty. After raising more money to repair it, today the clock works perfectly. Saying the clock is steam powered is a bit of a misnomer, as the clock itself is powered by descending weights. The mini-steam engine in its base of the clock takes up the role of the human "winder" by raising a series of ball weights and delivering the weights to the clock drive train.
Every quarter hour, the two ton Steam Clock shows off a bit, whistling and shooting steam from its top. There are less than six other working Steam Clocks in the world.
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- Address Water Street , 300 block, Vancouver, Canada
Comments
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Anonymous
January 30, 2010
According to wikipedia the clock is run on a Stuart #4 single expansion double acting 1" piston steam engine. -
Anonymous
January 30, 2010
Actually the tunnels run right underneath the steam clock in gas town. Again the author of this article does not have the facts straight. Seymour, "burnard" lol and nelson were not a part of the downtown core back when Vancouver was known as Granville. The tunnels run underneath cordova, water, cambie and maybe abbot. Child please.
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Anonymous
January 30, 2010
Sorry to spoil it for you but the steam clock does NOT run off of steam. Yes there are weight's...not that much different from a wind up clock! But the engine itself runs from electricity. Also the tunnels you speak of run under "Burrard st" Not Burnard as you mention in your article. Perhaps do a little homework before you mislead people and spell street names incorrectly.
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