New Clock for a Old Station

In 2018 we were contacted by a gentleman from TFL concerning a proposed project, to supply and install a bespoke clock in to Chadwell Heath Station as it was being refurbished as part of the Elizabeth Line Extension.

It was decided that the new clock in Chadwell Heath Station was to be a contemporary replica in the style of Magneta Time Company Station Clocks, from the 1940s. The new clock will have the following features:

80cm round, double-sided analogue clock with GPS radio clock movements, a Special dial with roundel hour markers and CHSRA logo at 9 o’clock position and unique hands design with Elizabeth line colours. The Illumination would be LED 3000k lumen and casework with aluminium section and be brushed finish, complete with Mineral glass front covers and Central mounting post at 12 o’clock position.

Finally, after receiving confirmation of funding from Redbridge Council, the project was approved in 2019 and work commenced.

The clock’s case and internal workings were manufactured and assembled by our business partners MOBATIME.

The case of the clock itself required very special treatment. Anodising the aluminium case involved an electrochemical process which converts the surface of the metal into a long-lasting, high performance aluminium oxide finish that is durable and highly resistant to corrosion. It creates an incredibly hard and uniform protective surface that will not flake, peel or chip, and the metal remains porous enough so that it can be coloured if required and sealed accordingly.

The clock has a time signal receiver which is used for synchronisation via Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals. It consists of an antenna capable of receiving signals from GPS, Galileo, GLONASS and/or BeiDou satellites. The received time information is evaluated in the GNSS receiver and sent to the time base. All master clocks and slave clocks accepting a DCF (UTC or CET) code, capable of calculating local time, can be connected directly to a GNSS.

A custom-fitted LED lighting system is housed inside the case, allowing the clock to display prominently throughout the day and night.

The dial design includes the Chadwell Heath logo and the symbols behind the logo are as listed below:

• Volkskrone - A People's Crown. Used across Europe to signify communities of residents.
• Wangeyhall Farm - Home of Lance Corporal John William Sayer VC, a revered WW1 hero.
• St. Chad's Well - Possibly built in the 18th Century, water from the sacred spring was originally thought to have medicinal properties.
• The Three Windmills - "Long Sally, Little Jenny & Miss Bentley" once formed a triangle close to the eastern entrance of St. Chad’s Park.
• Embassy Cinema - Symbolising Chadwell Heath's Art Deco cinema and historic ties with the film industry (from manufacturers for film reels and parts for cinema projectors, to well-known actors on the Silver Screen).
• The White Horse Inn - More than 400 years old coaching inn. Known for its Italianate gardens, sundial, stables, livestock and terrace.
• Whalebone - Daniel Defoe claimed in the early 18th century that massive jaw bones of a whale had been discovered by Dagenham Dock workers, washed up on 3rd September 1658, after a great storm raged on the Thames (the night that Oliver Cromwell died). The bones were used to create Chadwell Heath's famous Whalebone Arch