clock Tower
Sometimes we get a job that's just plain fun. The firehouse here in Mont Vernon is being torn down after being condemed and a new one going up in it's place. As the town photographer (self-appointed), I volunteered to take photos of the entire process. I shoot the building as it was, to demolition and then to reconstruction. This series will be on the fire department website and will also be archived in the library and historical society.
I go down to the town center every day or so and climb up into the town hall, past the historical society rooms, up a narrow staircase into the third floor. This area shows the bones of the building. Large beams are pegged in place, knob and post wiring still used, lathe and plaster debris, and one section showing where a fire in ages past nearly got out of control. This is where all the out of date papers and books from town business are kept. There are old drawings, law books, boxes of miscellaneous stuff, blown light bulbs and fuses, empty paint cans and layers of dust over all.
Then another set of stairs that takes me up to the large mechanical clock. I hear a loud click - clank as the heavy pendulum escapement keeps the clock on time. Bill, from the road crew winds the works each Tuesday with a large crank. The clock is obviously a piece of industrial equipment. Nothing delicate here. Cast iron gears and bronze bearings are suitable for years of use. The chimes are set to only sound out once a day at noon. A rotary vane two feet in diameter keep the tempo slow and measured. From the clock movement are four shafts running up on an angle to drive the minute hand. Out at the end of those shafts are another universal joint that drives a planetary gear with a 12:1 reduction to drive the hour hand.
There is another climb to get to the clock face. Instead of stairs that would take up too much room, there are simple boards nailed to studs to make a barely adequate ladder. Except for me, they aren't used enough to justify further sophistication. Once at the new level, it's a matter of crawling under greasy cables and ignoring scattered wood screws and scrap pieces left over from long since finished construction.
On each clock face, just above the hands, is a small removeable panel, perhaps 10 x 12 inches that is held in place by a wooden stick. Remove those and I can see out over each quadrant of the tower. The north facing clock looks down on the firehouse where I can get a nice overview of all the work going on. The other openings look down the hill towards Milford, out East to Manchester and West towards the school and Mount Monadnock. Right now, there is too much foliage for detailed views, but I'm looking forward to fall for a nice perspective on the town.
There is one more level accessable through a narrow trapdoor. I've only been up there once, disappointed by the slats in the belfry that interupt the view. I wanted to install a hinge and lock on one of these slats, but decided that the clock area was good enough. As soon as I get a decent variety of the construction, I'll be putting them on my Flickr account so everyone can share these.
Earle Rich
Mont Vernon, NH
I go down to the town center every day or so and climb up into the town hall, past the historical society rooms, up a narrow staircase into the third floor. This area shows the bones of the building. Large beams are pegged in place, knob and post wiring still used, lathe and plaster debris, and one section showing where a fire in ages past nearly got out of control. This is where all the out of date papers and books from town business are kept. There are old drawings, law books, boxes of miscellaneous stuff, blown light bulbs and fuses, empty paint cans and layers of dust over all.
Then another set of stairs that takes me up to the large mechanical clock. I hear a loud click - clank as the heavy pendulum escapement keeps the clock on time. Bill, from the road crew winds the works each Tuesday with a large crank. The clock is obviously a piece of industrial equipment. Nothing delicate here. Cast iron gears and bronze bearings are suitable for years of use. The chimes are set to only sound out once a day at noon. A rotary vane two feet in diameter keep the tempo slow and measured. From the clock movement are four shafts running up on an angle to drive the minute hand. Out at the end of those shafts are another universal joint that drives a planetary gear with a 12:1 reduction to drive the hour hand.
There is another climb to get to the clock face. Instead of stairs that would take up too much room, there are simple boards nailed to studs to make a barely adequate ladder. Except for me, they aren't used enough to justify further sophistication. Once at the new level, it's a matter of crawling under greasy cables and ignoring scattered wood screws and scrap pieces left over from long since finished construction.
On each clock face, just above the hands, is a small removeable panel, perhaps 10 x 12 inches that is held in place by a wooden stick. Remove those and I can see out over each quadrant of the tower. The north facing clock looks down on the firehouse where I can get a nice overview of all the work going on. The other openings look down the hill towards Milford, out East to Manchester and West towards the school and Mount Monadnock. Right now, there is too much foliage for detailed views, but I'm looking forward to fall for a nice perspective on the town.
There is one more level accessable through a narrow trapdoor. I've only been up there once, disappointed by the slats in the belfry that interupt the view. I wanted to install a hinge and lock on one of these slats, but decided that the clock area was good enough. As soon as I get a decent variety of the construction, I'll be putting them on my Flickr account so everyone can share these.
Earle Rich
Mont Vernon, NH