Point Atkinson’s original light was a catoptric system of two coal oil lamps set in a hood reflector of silver plated copper. Light rays were reflected from the silvered mirrors to form a parallel beam visible at a distance. The light was turned by a clockwork device with a winding crank at the top of the tower, which ran all the way down to the rock below the house. Eight hundred pounds of lead in sections of twenty-five pound weights, were slipped on the wire, by a slot in them. The weight kept the machine running like a clock. When the weight reached the bottom, about twenty-five feet, the machine stopped and the keeper went to the top of the tower and wound it up again with the crank handle, and the wire wound around a drum. The light could run for eight hours between windings.
When the new tower was built in 1912, Chance Bros. of Birmingham shipped out the third order Fresnel lens. This dioptric system allowed light rays to pass through the optical glass and become refracted as they entered and emerged from it. The four-faceted two tonne arrangement of brass and lead crystal floated friction-free on a tub of mercury. A petroleum vapour mantle with 500 candle power was magnified 200X into 10,000 candle power. Bent into four strokes, with a focal plane of 32.9 m above high water, the light was visible as 2 quick flashes every 5 seconds up to 18 miles away. It was still run on clockwork. Every 2.5 hours every night the keeper climbed the stairs, cranked up a stem loaded with 200 pounds of lead weight and gave the lens a shove to keep it turning.
When the station was electrified in 1962, a ¼ horse-power motor took up the work load. The gas mantle was replaced by a 500 watt bulb, one of four mounted on a spring loaded carriage. This arrangement, with minor modifications, served reliably until 1987. Similar, larger classical lenses are still in service at Langara, Triple Island (another National Historic Site) and Pachena Point light stations.
After 1985, Coast guard replaced the Fresnel lens with a series of automated prototypes. Point Atkinson, along with five other B.C. lightstations, became fully "automated" in June 1996. Solar panels and 12 volt dc batteries now power a small motor which rotates the current beacon, a model TRV400 quartz 20 watt halogen.
When the new tower was built in 1912, Chance Bros. of Birmingham shipped out the third order Fresnel lens. This dioptric system allowed light rays to pass through the optical glass and become refracted as they entered and emerged from it. The four-faceted two tonne arrangement of brass and lead crystal floated friction-free on a tub of mercury. A petroleum vapour mantle with 500 candle power was magnified 200X into 10,000 candle power. Bent into four strokes, with a focal plane of 32.9 m above high water, the light was visible as 2 quick flashes every 5 seconds up to 18 miles away. It was still run on clockwork. Every 2.5 hours every night the keeper climbed the stairs, cranked up a stem loaded with 200 pounds of lead weight and gave the lens a shove to keep it turning.
When the station was electrified in 1962, a ¼ horse-power motor took up the work load. The gas mantle was replaced by a 500 watt bulb, one of four mounted on a spring loaded carriage. This arrangement, with minor modifications, served reliably until 1987. Similar, larger classical lenses are still in service at Langara, Triple Island (another National Historic Site) and Pachena Point light stations.
After 1985, Coast guard replaced the Fresnel lens with a series of automated prototypes. Point Atkinson, along with five other B.C. lightstations, became fully "automated" in June 1996. Solar panels and 12 volt dc batteries now power a small motor which rotates the current beacon, a model TRV400 quartz 20 watt halogen.