It’s a staple of the London skyline and a regular feature on the souvenirs that line the city’s shops: Big Ben. While once residents and tourists were used to hearing the iconic hourly chimes, the iconic sound of Big Ben is no more.
The four-year conservation project started in August 2017, which will see the clock silenced as the work is carried out. Work involves the clock’s mechanism, which will see it dismantled as part of a laborious process that will see each cog examined and restored, the hands removed and refurbished and repair work carried out on the glass.
Even though Big Ben can’t be heard, the clock will still keep time. However, passers-by can only see one of the four faces due to the tower’s scaffolding. This will be done through the installation of a temporary electric motor.
Electric motors have supported Big Ben on more than one occasion, as electric motor rewind specialist Houghton International discusses:
The shaft that collects the chiming train to its fly fan was victim to metal fatigue, which almost led to the clock being completely destroyed. At 3.45am, the shaft broke, dramatically increasing the speed of the mechanism’s rotation as a result of the shaft’s 1.25 ton weight and the lack of braking from the fly.
As a result, the chiming mechanism was completely destroyed. The speeds reached were so high that many components were thrown with such force they crashed through the ceiling of the mechanism room.
Following this large-scale destruction, the chiming train was completely reconstructed. Given the scale of the repair work that was required, the permanent installation of an electric motor was considered however, the eventual decision was made to repair the clock’s original mechanism, work that took a year to complete.
Big Ben has been plagued with many other disruptions over the years. In 2005, the clock reportedly became victim to the unseasonable temperatures London was experiencing at the time. As temperatures reached 31.8 °C in May, the clock stopped for in excess of 90 minutes in total.
In 2007, additional maintenance was carried out to replace the chime train and striker over a six-week period. Again, during this time, an electric motor was used to restore the clock’s functionality.
Some have asked whether it would be beneficial to replace Big Ben’s mechanism with an electric motor permanently. This has become a more pertinent issue given the growing cost of the current restoration works. Expected to cost £29 million, the figure grew to £61 million, as the work required was said to be more complex than originally thought.
Although an electric motor does offer increased reliability and lower maintenance, Big Ben’s original mechanism is part of its iconic history. The internal mechanism is as fundamental to the tower as its iconic chimes. For now and in the future, let electric motors remain as a temporary solution in the clock’s time of need.