Station clock takes timeout

There are no manuals explaining how to fix the iconic clock atop South Station, just a professional tinkerer named Paul Calantropo.

He spent yesterday in the station's dusty clock tower, oiling gears of the 110-year-old timepiece that he plans to take apart - one pin and gear shaft at a time - and then painstakingly manufacture any worn-out parts in his Downtown Crossing workshop.

"Every single piece has to be handmade," he said. "There's no parts available."

Calantropo understands the gravity of his task. The clock harkens to another era, when the precision of its hands, moving around cast-iron Roman numerals, branded Boston as a modern and punctual city....
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