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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Cleveland, Ohio USA
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    1,433
    Country: United States

    Default World's Largest Round Vault Door

    Did a job there a couple of days ago and found a couple pictures I hadn't seen before. Doug
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails VaultDoor002.jpg   VaultDoor004.jpg  

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Seattle WA
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    1,327
    Country: United States

    Default

    How thick is that door? 3 ft? 4?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
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    1,755
    Country: Wales

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    Is it 5 feet?

    If Doug's right on the doorstep in Cleveland and gets to work there (lucky lucky man!) then he's got to know for sure-

    I spent ages researching a few years back- there's not that many pics on the net. Although it was de-commissioned a while back and it's open to 'tourist' visits, I get the impression that they still won't allow any photography at all, as apart from a couple of 'official' color pics the majority are old black and white shots from the 40s and 50s.

    I also found the facts and figures varied quite a bit- I think the FRB's official site puts the door at 5 feet thick and about 100 tons in total, with the hinges. Other sites say 47 tons for the hinge and 40 tons for the door casting prior to machining, which leaves a big question mark, as how 'hollowed' was the casting in order to allow for the in-fill of the laminations and barrier materials they typically used- And, how much additional weight would they add etc. Plus, most vault doors (or strongrooms as they tend to be called here in the UK) are usually given as overall weight including the frame, so again there's massive scope for variation.

    Anyway, looking forward to Doug's answer, and in the meantime I discovered this picture appeared on the net only days ago-
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails CFRB door closed.jpg  

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
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    1,755
    Country: Wales

    Default

    And while on the subject of the 'World's Largest Round Vault Door', is this the 'World's Smallest Version of the World's Largest Round Vault Door'? Lol
    Doesn't get worn very often, but on days of Maximum Vaultage I occasionally hang it around me neck
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails P8100070.JPG  

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Cleveland, Ohio USA
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    Oh, I can see you are going to be very popular on here, at least with some of us. The door plug is 4 feet and 5 feet overall. Just the emergency door, hinge and jamb is 100 tons and I think I have a photo of that. I believe the main door, hinge and jamb is 300 tons in total. It seems every time I do a job there I forget my camera, but I don't foresee any problems of getting some photos. It is a very impressive door in person. Doug

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
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    1,485
    Country: United States

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    Quote Originally Posted by Doug MacQueen View Post
    Just the emergency door, hinge and jamb is 100 tons and I think I have a photo of that.
    A photo of the emergency door would be very nice. I've never found one in books or on the Web.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Cleveland, Ohio USA
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    1,433
    Country: United States

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    Here is the emergency door still in the factory. Quite a few years ago I knew a rigger who had worked on the installation with several of his brothers. He was the only one left. Doug
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Vault001.jpg  

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
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    Here's a construction image and most of the related text from a book "Monuments to Money" which is a history of bank architecture.

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Cleveland2.jpg 
Views:	95 
Size:	1.01 MB 
ID:	7873

    (You may need to save the image and view it outside your browser's attempt to show it, to get the best readability and image quality).

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Gilbert, AZ 85298
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    319
    Country: United States

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    Quote Originally Posted by wylk View Post
    Here's a construction image and most of the related text from a book "Monuments to Money" which is a history of bank architecture.

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Cleveland2.jpg 
Views:	95 
Size:	1.01 MB 
ID:	7873

    (You may need to save the image and view it outside your browser's attempt to show it, to get the best readability and image quality).
    Here is the 'The Vault' article in "Monuments To Money" where Fredrick S. Holmes is quoted throughout:
    Attached Files Attached Files

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
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    1,485
    Country: United States

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    Some other thoughts on the "doorstop".

    We rarely see pictures of big doors with the floor dropped (or in this case, missing entirely). So there's not much to compare.

    Looking at images of other Remington-Sherman and York doors, and spot-checking others, the Cleveland Fed door seems quite unique in that the crane extends well above and below the door itself. Thus, this device could not be fitted in this manner to any other door.

    I wonder if it was fitted during construction for safety, then removed or disabled after installation. Doug, can you comment on this?

    I can't remember if this has been pointed out, but at the top of the door and frame you can see the typical "periscope" electrical connections for alarm and status.

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