State Museum's Steam Clock Whistling Again After 7 Years

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A steam-fueled clock that sat silent for years outside the Indiana State Museum is whistling a tune again following repairs.

The Indiana Steam Clock is linked to an Indianapolis steam line and designed to whistle the song "Back Home Again in Indiana" at the top of every hour, with shorter verses played every quarter-hour.

But the electric device fell silent in 2012 after corrosion and rust accumulated on its metal parts.

Chief museum curator Susannah Koerber tells WISH-TV that Smith's Bell and Clock in Camby, Indiana, repaired the clock, cleaned it and moved its electronics away from the source of its steam power.

The clock is whistling again and sporting new colored LED lights in its clock face, but Koerber says it will need consistent maintenance and tuning.