telecom@eecs.nwu.edu (TELECOM Moderator) (11/02/90)
In response to the inquiries about Western Union Time Service, here is
the scoop ...
For about seven decades, from late in the nineteenth century until
about 1965, Western Union offered 'Time Service', a highly accurate
rendition of the time of day, using wall clocks with their name and
trademark, along with that of the Naval Observatory.
The clocks came in many styles and sizes. Typical was the version with
the 12 inch dial, brown metal case with glass front, cream colored
dial and brown lettering/numbering. There were thousands of that kind
around, and probably a few thousand also with 'sweep-second' hands.
Some were in wooden cabinets which latched on the side. The most
ornate model in the series was a grandfather clock which stood six
feet tall and had a four foot pendulum. The only one of the
grandfather clocks I ever saw was the one in the lobby of Telegraph
Federal Bank For Savings (nee Telegraph Workers Credit Union) on
Jackson Boulevard downtown, next door to the Board of Trade. That bank
has been gone for years.
In each case, the clock was driven by a spring which in turn was wound
by two 'telephone cells' rated at a volt and a half each which were
housed in the case with the works. The works were manufactured by the
'Self Winding Clock Company' of New York City, which went out of
business during the depression in the 1930's. As the clock unwound
itself, contacts inside the works would eventually work their way
around to making contact with the wires from the 'telephone cell'
batteries, which would re-wind the spring using a small motor
enclosed. Rewinding took about 8-12 seconds once an hour. If the
batteries were dead (not likely, because they lasted about five years)
or disconnected (more likely because the wires would come loose from
the contacts), the clock spring had enough tension to run the clock
for about three hours before stopping. Western Union must have had a
huge inventory of those clocks, as they were able to replace them as
needed and install new ones for subscribers until sometime in the
1950's when new orders were no longer taken and the service was
grandfathered to existing customers.
As one correspondent points out, there was an extra pair of wires
coming from the clock. These were connected to dedicated wire pairs
which ran to the local Western Union office, where the 'master clock'
was located in each community. In a town the size of Chicago, there
were actually several such clocks: clocks in one part of town were
served by a 'sub-master' clock; the various 'sub-masters' were in turn
connected to the 'master clock' downtown. But really, it was a
sub-master clock itself, since the master clock -- sometimes then
called the 'Grand Master' was located at NAVOSBY, the US Naval
Observatory in Our Nation's (drug and murder) Capitol.
Well ... schools and other public buildings had dozens of the clocks,
and they had their own master clock (really a sub master) as well.
I've got two in my possession here, both of which are running just
fine at the age of 91 years and 77 years respectively. Mine came from
the cafeteria at the Board of Education Building and the lobby of the
Chicago Temple Building, both downtown. I was lucky to get those two
after the Time Service was discontinued. Every local telegraph office
(at least if it was a Western Union agency) had one or two clocks; all
office buildings had them, etc.
When Western Union announced that the Time Service was being
discontinued, about 1965, they told their subscribers they were free
to keep the clocks if they wanted them but that there would be no more
setting signals after a certain date. Believe it or not, the clocks
were tariffed, and WU had to get permission from the FCC to
discontinue service.
Once WU announced the end of the service, the clocks were snatched
up almost immediatly. One day in the Western Union Headqarters office
downtown I counted a couple dozen of them ... a week later when I was
in the building *every single one* was gone ... with a bland looking
electric wall clock in its place. Every executive in the place
probably took one home with him.
The idea behind their operation was rather simple. Twice daily,
NAVOSBY would outpulse voltage to all the master clocks all over the
nation. I think they did it at 12:30 AM and 12:30 PM. This was timed
so the setting of the master clocks would not interfere with the
masters synching of the local clocks, every hour on the hour. This
pulse would jerk the minute hand of the clock exactly to the six and
shove the sweep-second hand exactly to the twelve. In turn, the local
'master clocks' would outpulse exactly on the hour to set all the
local clocks. A small red light in the base of the local clock would
flash for about a half-second during the synching. If you had nothing
better to do you could stand in front of the window at the telegraph
office and watch exactly on the hour as the red light would flash and
the minute hand would barely move as necessary.
During the period from 1930 to about 1955, the FCC had a requirement
that all radio and television stations *had* to have Western Union
Time Service in order to time their station breaks and programming
properly. In fact one Chicago station, WGN (720 AM) was famous for
their 'beep' on the hour. They took the lightbulb out of their clock
and attached two wires in the same place. These wires fed something
which made the tone which went over the air hourly on that station.
The telcos all used the Time Service to set the little time-clocks on
each operator's position so that long distnace charge tickets could be
accurately stamped in and out. Many companies used the Time Service to
set their employee time-clocks also.
I think Western Union got fifty cents *per clock, per month* for the
service in the early days. When the service was discontinued, they
were getting $1 per clock/month.
My friend of many years standing worked for Western Union as a clock
installer and repairman for about thirty years, until the day the
service ended, which was coincidentally the day he retired. He'd
install them for new subscribers, go around and collect the money from
delinquent customers (fifty cents please, or I have to remove your
clock!) and repair the circuits to the master clock as needed. He
commented on the 'fun' they always had twice each year when daylight
time started and stopped. The clocks could calibrate within a
two-minute grace period either side of the hour. That is, the minute
hand could be pulled backward or forward as needed. To adjust it by
one hour, this man had to go around and set each one by hand.
He said that he and a helper would start on Friday before the Sunday
adjustment. They would literally rush from one office to the next in a
large building and change one clock after another. It took less than a
minute to open the case, move the hand forward or backward one hour,
close the case and leave. Accuracy was not important ('we would just
move the hand (forward/backward) to within a minute of the time; on
the next hourly setting, the clock would cure itself for the
difference'). Starting on the Friday before, they would finish on the
Tuesday following ... only to do it all in reverse a few months later.
Except, he said, the state office building, the Board of Education and
all the schools: under state law they stayed on 'standard time' year
around, '... so we did not set those clocks when we did the rest ...'
Even without the setting circuit active, the clocks are highly
accurate if properly hung ... you have to make them hang *perfectly
level*. He pointed out to me that the workmanship in hanging the
clock made a big difference:
'Once I came to work on Monday morning; the clock circuit had gone
open on Friday night in the Board of Trade; the clocks had not synched
all weekend; yet when I fixed the wire then went around to each office
to look at the clocks, none of them were off more than a minute, and
most were less than that, so the next time there was a pulse they all
became accurate again. I guess I had to set one or two in the whole
building which were out by more than two minutes.'
And sometimes people would not pay for the Time Service, nor would
they allow the clock to be removed ... 'well, then we had to fix their
clock, so to speak, or I guess you would stay stop their clock. We'd
go to where the setting circuit came into the premises and put a
'load' on it ... the current would hold the minute hand and keep it
from moving. We'd leave the load on for maybe a couple minutes at most;
that was all it would take. Once the minute hand was unable to move,
it would force the escapement to stop; that would retard the pendulum,
and soon the clock was stopped. Now the folks had a clock alright, but
it was not running. We then had to go to all the others on the same
circuit and restart their clocks ... but not restart the fellow who
would not pay us. Usually they would come out to get us and pay at
that point ... '
Retired Western Union workers and executives have the clocks put away
safely now, and maybe they use one or two, like I do. I'd still like
to find out what happened to the grandfather clock in the Telegraph
Federal Bank for Savings though ... *someone* has it put away!
And strangely enough, of the thousands that were out there, I've not
seen any at all but my own two for about twenty years. The last two I
saw -- still working, but without setting circuit -- were in the lobby
and back stage at Orchestra Hall, 1970 or so. I had lust in my
heart; but so did the box office manager who snuck them home with him one
night during the summer the Hall was closed for renovations beating me
to them by only a few days.
Patrick Townsonbriang@eng.sun.com (Brian Gordon) (11/07/90)
Once upon a time (late 60's) the University of South Carolina opened a new classroom building. In each classroom was a reasonably large electric clock "built into" the wall over a door. As I recall, they said "IBM" on the face. Once a day, at 8am (?), the clocks would "hmmm" and jump to exactly 8am. This sounds like it was after the WUTS era. Does it sould at all familiar? Brian G. Gordon briang@Sun.COM (if you trust exotic mailers) ...!sun!briangordon (if you route it yourself)
shprentz@bdmrrr.bdm.com (Joel Shprentz) (11/07/90)
Just two days after I read your article about Western Union Time
Service, I found a Western Union clock for sale at a railroadiana
show. Thanks to your information, I knew what I was looking at and
was able to strike a bargain with the dealer.
The clock I bought is a model 37-SS with a 15-inch dial, a second
hand, and a red light that signals synchronization. I haven't hung it
yet, so I don't know how well it works.
The clock came with a copy of the Western Union Time Service Marketing
Guide circa 1961.
Joel Shprentz Phone: (703) 848-7305
BDM International, Inc. Uucp: {rutgers,vrdxhq,rlgvax}!bdmrrr!shprentz
7915 Jones Branch Drive Internet: shprentz@bdmrrr.bdm.com
McLean, Virginia 22102