The Railways owned a very
large selection of Clocks as knowing the correct time was
always of vital importance to the setting of timetables and
the efficient running of the Railways. Large clocks such as
the one above would be in the Booking Office or Waiting
Rooms for passenger information and smaller ones would be in
various other station departments and most importantly in
the Signal Boxes. Railway employees whose duties related to
the correct running of trains would be issued with pocket
watches and these were predominantly carried by train
Guards.
As with most Railway items
most Clocks and watches are clearly marked with the
Companies name and also were usually numbered as then
records were kept so that they could be returned to the
correct location when sent in to the owning Companies Clock
department for overhaul.
Clocks of all types shapes and
sizes were used by the Railways and are readily available to
buy through Auctions and other sellers. There are a number
of fakers out there who take an ordinary non railway clock
and by some repainting of the dial and internal stamping
produce a Railway item. As the price for Railway clocks is
twice or more than that of the general item this can be a
prosperous pastime. Our advice would be to only buy from
Auction if you are confident in inspecting a clock and
understand the signs to look for on a restored item. For the
beginner we would suggest that you talk to
David Parr who has a sales stand at the major auctions and
from our experience can be relied on to only sell only
completely "honest" Clocks with guarantees. This may cost
you more than buying at auction but at least you can be
confident that you have an ex Railway item and as they have
access to clock records they will give you information on
the various places that the clock was located.
Clock prices tend to be higher
the smaller the dial with other considerations being - how
early it was made - how attractive to look at - whether
fusee or spring driven. where it was located and finally if restored or not.
Watches can be generally
obtained quite cheaply as there is no longer any demand for
them as timepieces.
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