Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co., Stamford, Connecticut - 3 movements, Type T Automatic, Y-361

  A

    B

A. Model T Automatic, c. 1907. Sometime in 1906 the Consolidated Time Lock Company ceased production. Consolidated was the supplier of time locks for Ely Norris Safe Company's cannonball-style safe. Norris turned to Yale for a replacement. This lock was designed as that replacement until the introduction of the Y-361 introduced in 1908 (see below).(1) The Model T contained a key wound automatic bolt motor which would withdraw the safe door bolts when the timers would permit. Why did Yale choose to design a completely new movement and bolt dog mechanism in the Y-361 just a year or so later? It would seem logical and expedient for Yale to use an existing movement in current production, the T style rather than go to something entirely new. Perhaps this first design was not satisfactory, requiring the redesign. As a result very few of this type were made with only five known to survive. The last photo shows this lock next to its successor, the Y-361. 6 1/8" dia. x 3"d. Case #60, movement #T1510, T1511, T1512. file 151

B. Model Y-361, c. 1915. Successor design to the T- Automatic used in Ely Norris Cannonball safes (so named because of their overall ball-like shape). Uses consecutively numbered Seth Thomas pie shaped Type Y movements. These movements were unique to this style of time lock which, in turn, was unique to this style of safe making this time lock quite collectible. This lock contained a key wound bolt motor which would withdraw the safe door bolts when the timers would permit. In the picture one can see all the associated hardware that was connected to the lock - combination lock, slides, door bolts. A sister lock to this one, a two movement version, was concurrently produced and designated the Y-261. It has very limited success and only one example is known to have survived.

Last picture shows roughly how the components were positioned. Of the three thousand time locks produced about three hundred survive. The photos below show the actual safe from which this lock was removed. Cannonball type safes were one of the most popular models made and many time lock companies made locks that could work in this type of safe such as Diebold, Banker's Dustproof, as well as Yale's LS31 and Triple L . 6 1/8" dia. x 3"d. Case#991, movements #Y3259, Y3260, Y3261. file 14