I recently received this clock from an individual that said it was from a railroaders collection. He was told it came from a locomotive. I see three mounting holes in the rim and it is angled for viewing. I thought maybe from a General Electric locomotive, but not sure.
Has anyone have more knowledge regarding this clock?
Thanks
TJ Sposato

I have never seen a clock in a locomotive. Most railways required their crews to carry personal watches that were regulated for time keeping. A clock in a vibrating locomotive would have not kept accurate time, would have confused the crew if it deviated from their watches, and would have been worthless.

I think "motor clock" means automobile clock. "8 day" refers to how long it would go between windings.

TJ, something in a photo for scale/size comparison may be helpful.

I'll offer a bit of opinion since it is worth what you've paid for it - This strikes me as more nautical than railroad. I don't doubt it may have come from a RR collector but folks are allowed to and have a tendency to collect whatever strikes their fancy.

On the face markings - It may also mean the clock has an "8 Day Motor" so it would only require winding once a week..........mld

I may not be right but now that you've seen it on the internet it must be true!

My first thought was Marine too, but clocks used for navigation would generally have a second hand, and I don't see one on this.

Could this be a clock used in an railroad office for a clerk, telegrapher, agent, etc?

Or an office car? I tend to agree with nautical however.

Ken Miller

I’m fairly sure this is an antique automotive clock. I can’t find any info on a clock company with “Venus” in it’s name other than the Swiss watch company. It looks similar to other vintage automotive “motor” clocks.

As a guy who used to make a living restoring true Classic cars (as defined by the ACCA, ie: Rolls-Royce, Packard,etc.) I can tell you this is an accessory Automobile Clock. The mount is a little unusual, as is the key wind, most are rim-wound. 8-day movement is common with these too. They are not accurate enough for Railroad work either!

They are right...automobile clock. It's the extended base that gives it away. If you look at very old cars (big brass era) you find the dash boards are fairly far away from the driver...so they made these accessory clocks to sort of extend the face of the clock up so the driver could see it better. But people collect these kind of things so you should be able to sell it to a car person.
T7

The numbers in that clock are painted with radium paint, and are radioactive, mildly. It should be safe as is but if someone opens it the dust inside should be controlled and disposed.

It probably does not glow much at all anymore, but supposedly you can have someone overlay new phosphor paint on the numbers, and the existing radium will make it glow again. AFAIK you can't get new radium paint anymore.

Dr Harrod got this right. If a working railroader asks for a time check, the usual answer is "It's time to get a watch".

There's an old story of a Conductor that carried two watches, just to be absolutely sure. One day somebody asked him which watch he was going to believe, should they ever disagree...

(TJ, something in a photo for scale/size comparison may be helpful.)

The bottom measure 3.75" diameter.

Thank you all for the insights, I was skeptical having never seeing one before.
The base mounting holes are very similar to the pattern of of mounts for gauge
on small early GE engines.

It is a very small amount. Did you know the women who painted those used to wet the brushes in their mouths?

I found an advertisement for clocks similar to this in the auto accessories section of various early auto magazines, such as

https://books.google.com/books?id=cKgAA ... ck&f=false

I worked with an older man in the late 1970's who lost his first wife to mouth cancer - from painting those dials just as described...

Marine chronometers would be at an altogether different quality level. I'm with the car clock people ...