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Title: Winding the Great Clock
>>Male Parliamentary clock manager: My name is Paul and I'm one of the clock managers at
the Palace of Westminster. There are three of us here, and we have to come up here three
times a week to wind the clock. So, the clock is still weight-driven. There are three weights:
there's a ton weight with a 'strike train', less than a ton for the 'chime train' and
about half a ton for the 'going train'.
These weights slowly work their way down to the bottom, so we have to come up here three
times a week to wind them back up again. The strike train and the chime train come with
the aid of an electric motor which was added in about 1942.
The chime train, as you see, you have to wind by hand. We come up here three times a week,
Monday, Wednesday and Friday. That's every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so Bank Holiday Mondays are not an option for us, unfortunately.
[Clock manager adjusts mechanism, partly kneeling on ground]
[Clock manager releases two levers] [Loud sound of clock working]
[Clock manager puts on headphones]
[Both clock managers take it in turns to wind a handle on the chime train. Both are wearing headphones]
Title: Oiling the clock mechanism
[One of the clock managers moves round the clock mechanism, adding oil to various parts of the machinery]
For more information about the Clock Tower and Big Ben, visit www.parliament.uk/bigben