New clock unveiled

[1D53]

It was live on the digital screens at Huddersfield this evening.

Upside down.

 

[Tester]

Yeah, I was not trying to be overly negative. Merely my impression of this, though, comes from what your average customer thinks when they see this for the first time, especially if they want seconds. It could get easier with time and as people adapt, but if you turned up and had never seen this clock before (new customer, tourist, etc), you would have no idea. As opposed to a standard conventional clock, which clearly shows the right seconds and in a way that is universally recognisable across the world. I do agree that to most people the seconds do not matter, and there will be cases of people rushing to make their train, regardless of the presence of seconds or not. Maybe you could argue that removing the seconds affects people's tendency to rush when they see it's 12:28:01 and not 12:28:59. I would actually be really curious if that has any psychological effect in removing the seconds in that way.

I think it would have been better to just include the GBR logo within the clock itself and take out that inner ring; that way, you only have to keep track of one arrow going in one direction. That way, it conveys the seconds without the whole mess of tracking two separate pieces at once. Even if the only one that really matters is the outer one anyway if you want seconds, it instinctively just confuses people right from the start. You could even keep the other half of the arrow static at either. end, i.e 60s or 30s, to mark those points so it still has the 'joins up' effect maybe?

The way it is now, someone who knows nothing about this clock or the context around it will have a hard time understanding it. The way it's designed leaves room for confusion, which usually means it's a pretty poor design. It is certainly not clear enough for the environments it will be placed in.. It is much better to stick with a general format that is internationally recognisable when it comes to showing seconds.

Your comments are absolutely correct and valid. It isn't how I would choose to do it - my preference* would be for a single dot to be added every second, like the SNCF clock shown in post #14.

But we have to play the hand we are dealt, rather than the hand we wanted - my point is merely that people will get the hang of it.


* - Second preference actually - my first preference would be to simply license the SBB clock and stick a double arrow on it

 

[styles]

I quite like it. Modern, simple, does the job of getting the BR logo in.

I think the importance of seconds is exaggerated. Casual rail users shouldn't really be aiming to get to a platform exactly 50 seconds before departure knowing that doors close 40 seconds before departure. Regular travellers and commuters will no doubt work out fairly quickly that the arrows represent part of a minute. Also really doors aren't often closed to the actual second so if you're rocking up to the platform that close to the wire you're risking it anyway.

I agree that there are clearer ways of displaying seconds and maybe I'd prefer them, but overall I don't think it's a big issue.

 

[thomalex]

So a little quirk is at the top of the hour, the double arrows unite and travel around the clock face together

https://x.com/mrtimdunn/status/1978899991637754030?s=46

 

[YorksLad12]

So a little quirk is at the top of the hour, the double arrows unite and travel around the clock face together

https://x.com/mrtimdunn/status/1978899991637754030?s=46

That I could get behind, but the halves of the arrow moving in opposite, concentric circles… bugs me. The inner track has to move slower than the outer, which is probably why it’s digital - try doing it as an analogue clock!

 

[Mojo]

So a little quirk is at the top of the hour, the double arrows unite and travel around the clock face together

https://x.com/mrtimdunn/status/1978899991637754030?s=46

lt’s hard to tell from the video as it’s sped up, but does that mean when it does the spin together you cannot tell the number of seconds, or does it spin around the clock taking exactly one minute?

 

[Tester]

So a little quirk is at the top of the hour, the double arrows unite and travel around the clock face together

https://x.com/mrtimdunn/status/1978899991637754030?s=46

Now if we are on to little quirks, the giant clock outside the SBB offices at Bern-Wankdorf station in Switzerland does all sorts of strange things every now and then. To be fair the clock, whilst clearly visible from trains and well worth watching out for, is not part of the station. Not of course to give GBR any ideas!

Attached (non-masterpiece) video shows the clock changing to fun graphics for a few seconds, then carrying on as if nothing had happened.....

View attachment SBB clock.mp4

 

[MrJeeves]

So a little quirk is at the top of the hour, the double arrows unite and travel around the clock face together

https://x.com/mrtimdunn/status/1978899991637754030?s=46

The Network Rail press release states it's every 12 hours! Noone can make their mind up seemingly.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Oct 2025 ==

lt’s hard to tell from the video as it’s sped up, but does that mean when it does the spin together you cannot tell the number of seconds, or does it spin around the clock taking exactly one minute?

The full double arrows spins around the clock face taking a whole minute.

 

[Tester]

The full double arrows spins around the clock face taking a whole minute.

Thinking further, I think it would be better if it did that all the time.

 

[TRAX]

It was live on the digital screens at Huddersfield this evening.

Upside down.

Was it showing Australian time then ?

 

[devon_belle]

I saw it at London Victoria this evening. Seeing text in a red circle from afar, my first thought was "oh God, what's happened". Took me a while to clock what it was, although I did not stop long enough to work out what the arrows meant!

I'm all for change and national branding, but if this is to be our SBB Clock I think it could be a bit better!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Oct 2025 ==

So a little quirk is at the top of the hour, the double arrows unite and travel around the clock face together

https://x.com/mrtimdunn/status/1978899991637754030?s=46

Never mind the clock, the merch pictured in the replies to that thread looks amazing!

 

[sh24]

I like it, very much, apart from the lack of seconds. Smartly styled and very clean in design. Much more practical than analogue

 

[etr221]

I quite like it. Modern, simple, does the job of getting the BR logo in.

I think the importance of seconds is exaggerated. Casual rail users shouldn't really be aiming to get to a platform exactly 50 seconds before departure knowing that doors close 40 seconds before departure. Regular travellers and commuters will no doubt work out fairly quickly that the arrows represent part of a minute. Also really doors aren't often closed to the actual second so if you're rocking up to the platform that close to the wire you're risking it anyway.

I agree that there are clearer ways of displaying seconds and maybe I'd prefer them, but overall I don't think it's a big issue.

The importance of putting seconds - clearly, i.e. as a number - is to reflect the railway's message that 'seconds count'. My thought would be to put them (as a two digit number), below the hours and minutes. Keeping the red rings/arrows as more or less as they are, but with a short (but noticeable - maybe 1s, the Swiss one I understand is 1.5s) pause with the two arrows combined as the minute changes, to mark the critical moment, when trains change from being 'stopped at the station' (for station duties - alighting and boarding) to 'going'.

 

[edwin_m]

I like it, very much, apart from the lack of seconds. Smartly styled and very clean in design. Much more practical than analogue

Despite being brought up in the analogue era, I tend to agree digital is the way to go for stations. Not least because the departure screens are similarly digital. Some people still aren't comfortable with the 24hr clock so if they aren't too clear how soon the 1342 will depart it's helpful to have a clock nearby that says it's now 1337.

 

[etr221]

I think there is an exactness in a digital clock, that an analogue one misses (there speaks someone who has a 'Slow-Watch' (see https://uk.slow-watches.com/) - one hand, that goes round in 24 hours).

If we had only ever had digital clocks/watches, what would we think if someone said 'let's have analogue ones'?

 

[Dr Hoo]

The new clock doesn’t do anything for me. For one thing, red circles on road signs are intended to convey “No…” (overtaking, cyclists, pedestrians, etc.) at a distance. Secondly, the whole idea of a clock having any element of ‘going backwards’ is ridiculous.

Are these now going to be rigorously tested at environmentally demanding exterior locations - say Darnall, Dove Holes, Parton and Three Oaks to see how durable they are?

 

[Tomos y Tanc]

A load of old bollocks in my view. A pathetic PR excercise.

Just make the trains run in time. You don't need a w*nk of a clock to do that.

Question: How much did they pay to some shyster for this?

 

[LickeyIncliner]

That I could get behind, but the halves of the arrow moving in opposite, concentric circles… bugs me. The inner track has to move slower than the outer, which is probably why it’s digital - try doing it as an analogue clock!

Surely if you wanted to have the two halves of the arrow rotating in opposite directions on an analogue clock, you would just need two second hands doing one revolution per minute in opposite directions? The hands on any clock move more slowly (in linear speed) closer to the centre

 

[Michael.Y]

Needs seconds, otherwise it's purely an exercise in decorative frippery.

 

[0161]

For me this goes into the same box as RA2.

I want to like it, as Margaret Calvert is both a genius and a legend, so I should defer, but... just not loved it at first sight.

 

[Russel]

Looks nice, Out of interest why is showing seconds so important? If your cutting it that close you need to see less than 60 seconds of resolution to get your train you have probably missed it.

I'm with you on that one, I don't think the seconds are as important to most people as is being made out here.

 

[jon0844]

For those who are interested, I've put together a demo of the clock available to view on modern* web browsers:

Rail Clock

A reproduction of the Great British Railways clock

railclock.davwheat.dev

* Uses some features older, out-of-support, browsers will not support, so might not show correctly for some.

I really like it. Not only your excellent work to do this demonstration, but also the design in general.

While there may be a version with seconds, it's actually pretty decent without as the arrows make it possible to tell the time even if you can't identify the exact seconds. If you're waiting for a train, you can stare at it and watch the motion to pass the time very effectively.

You can also look at a glance and tell how much time you've got from the position of the arrows. You don't actually need to know the seconds as very quickly your brain can work out the speed of movement and you can effectively time in your head the progress.

All in all, much more impressive than when I saw the initial static image and wondered what they'd done with the arrows broken up!

 

[grdc]

Still a completely charmless typeface. I cannot help but think, the clock would look less boring/more modern, and be easier to see (as the numbers would be so much bigger) if the hours were stacked above the minutes:



For what it's worth, whilst I think the red band growing round the edge would be a nice way of showing the passing seconds, I think the animated split logo is pretty naff. Everyone sees things differently.

 

[Andy Pacer]

I like it, and good to have a nod to BR.

 

[DelW]

I really like it. Not only your excellent work to do this demonstration, but also the design in general.

While there may be a version with seconds, it's actually pretty decent without as the arrows make it possible to tell the time even if you can't identify the exact seconds. If you're waiting for a train, you can stare at it and watch the motion to pass the time very effectively.

You can also look at a glance and tell how much time you've got from the position of the arrows. You don't actually need to know the seconds as very quickly your brain can work out the speed of movement and you can effectively time in your head the progress.

All in all, much more impressive than when I saw the initial static image and wondered what they'd done with the arrows broken up!

I'm in agreement with those points. When I saw the first image, I thought the contra-rotating arrowhead would be confusing (e.g. between 15 and 45, or 20 and 40 seconds), but watching Mr Jeeves' animation, it's immediately obvious which part of the minute you're in. I'm not sure it's better than a conventional display, but it's distinctive, and for me it works much better in practice than a still image suggests.

 

[zwk500]

I don't think it's been posted yet, but the brand guidelines are available: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/NRGNCIV30008_Rail_Clock_v1.pdf

 

[williamn]

I think it looks great!

 

[Bletchleyite]

I don't think it's been posted yet, but the brand guidelines are available: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/NRGNCIV30008_Rail_Clock_v1.pdf

I note that shows a version with seconds. To me that's far more useful and it actually looks better.

 

[The exile]

I quite like it. Modern, simple, does the job of getting the BR logo in.

I think the importance of seconds is exaggerated. Casual rail users shouldn't really be aiming to get to a platform exactly 50 seconds before departure knowing that doors close 40 seconds before departure.

Half the time, you’re that close to the wire not because you’re aiming to be but because circumstances have dictated.

 

[99009]

I really like it. Not only your excellent work to do this demonstration, but also the design in general.

While there may be a version with seconds, it's actually pretty decent without as the arrows make it possible to tell the time even if you can't identify the exact seconds. If you're waiting for a train, you can stare at it and watch the motion to pass the time very effectively.

You can also look at a glance and tell how much time you've got from the position of the arrows. You don't actually need to know the seconds as very quickly your brain can work out the speed of movement and you can effectively time in your head the progress.

All in all, much more impressive than when I saw the initial static image and wondered what they'd done with the arrows broken up!

I completely agree with this, I like it and think it will be around for decades to follow. Simple, clear and with it's own railway identity as well as nice easter eggs with the logo joining and going around together at 00:00 and 12:00.

It may also help some people who feel anxious travelling or waiting at the station to feel a little calmer watching the arrows make their way around every minute.

It can also act as a meeting point for people at stations which Network Rail mention in their press release. Person A - "Where in the station/on the platform do you want to meet?" Person B - "Under/By the railway clock on Platform X"