Times have changed for the City Hall clock.
Since last year, the large, double-sided clock that overlooks Main Street from on top the Susan A. Thompson Building was only right twice a day. The clock is now working once again, thanks to Machine Shop employees from our Fleet Management Agency.
“The aluminum hands on the clock are very large, with the hour hand four-and-a-half feet long and the minute hand over six feet long, so the wind would catch them, slowly loosening them from the steel shaft connected to the clock’s motor,” said Dave Gaudreau, the City’s Machine Shop Supervisor.
To make sure the clock could stand up to Winnipeg’s notorious winds for years to come, the Machine Shop team built custom inserts to create a tighter seal between the hands and the shaft. The repair was completed last February, and was followed by new motors and LED lighting installed by Municipal Accommodations.
“It was a windy, cold repair up on the roof in winter, but the team got it done,” said Gaudreau.
It won’t be the last journey to the roof, however, as the clock still requires manual resetting twice a year for Daylight Saving Time.