Without them, we’d miss our trains, but how much attention have you paid to those beautiful, historic and downright quirky clocks that adorn the world’s railway stations? Here’s our pick of the best.
10. Flinders St Station, Melbourne, Australia
Flinders Street station is known for its distinctive timepieces. Each of the nine clocks above the entrance shows the next departure for a different line. Once, they were changed manually – 900 times in an eight hour period – but now, fortunately, a computer does the job.
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9. Antwerp Centraal Station, Belgium
Antwerp Central Station regularly tops the polls for the world’s most beautiful railway station and we think its clock should too. The ornate design features the city’s coat of arms.
8. Tianjin, China
Technically, this quirky clock occupies a site on a nearby roundabout rather than on the station building itself, but Tianjin’s Century Clock is so unique most train passengers will walk the few hundred metres to see it if they haven’t done so before.
Tianjin Clock, China.
7. Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Not only does this station have an exceptionally beautiful clock, Pietermaritzburg station is also the place where Mahatma Gandhi was thrown off a train when a white man objected to him riding in the first class compartment – even though he held a valid ticket.
Pietermaritzburg station clock .Image: Fran Simmons
6. Waterloo Station, London, England
More of a meeting place than a thing of beauty, the clock at Waterloo Station is a popular meeting point for travellers. It was made by Gents of Leicester and is thought to date back to the 1920s. It was under this very clock that Del Boy met Raquel. Cushty!
5. Osaka, Japan
Japan’s well known for being innovative, and so the water clock at Osaka Station should come as no surprise. Osaka’s position as the third busiest station in the world means that this clock isn’t going unnoticed.
4. Every railway clock in Switzerland
The iconic design of the Swiss railway clock has been adopted and adapted the world over. Originally designed in the 1940s by Hans Hilfiker, Apple famously had to agree to pay $21 million in licensing fees after using a similar clock when it launched iOS6’s Clock application back in 2012.
The iconic design of the Swiss railway clock adorned stations, office buildings and wrists around the world.
3. St Pancras Station, London
Another entry for dear old England! The Gothic clock tower that rises above St Pancras station is a unique London landmark. The tower beneath the clock has been redeveloped into a penthouse that can be hired out for drinks receptions and private dining.
2. Porto, Portugal
Look closely and this classic century-old Art Nouveau clock in pretty São Bento station has an unusual dial. IIII is often used on clocks as it looks better opposite the VIII than the conventional IV.
1. Grand Central Terminal, New York City
This could well be the world’s most expensive railway station clock. With four faces crafted from opal and encased in brass, the timepiece that sits on top of the information desk at Grand Central Station has an estimated value of over $10 million.
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