Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 176, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 August 1917 — UNABLE TO GET INTO VAULT [ARTICLE]

UNABLE TO GET INTO VAULT

VAULT DOOR OF NEW BANK WAS CLOSED BEFORE TIME LOCK WAS ADJUSTED. The door of the new vault which has been placed in the new First National Bank building is closed and locked and the indications are that it will be locked for some time to come. As a result of the accidental locking of the door Friday the workmen who have been installing the vault have* been considerably retarded in their work. One of the workman unthinkingly closed the heavy steel door of the vault Friday and a few seconds later realized the mistake. The electric time locks were not adjusted when the door was closed and as a result the workmen are facing the task of drilling and cutting a hole through the top of the vault large enough to permit a man to crawl through and enter the interior of the vault. A mechanic from the factory acquainted with the locking system will then be called upon to open the door. The vault rests upon a reinforced concrete foundation, two feet in thickness and deeper than the surrounding footings. The walls, floors and ceiling of the vault are 18 inches thick and of concrete. In the exact center of these walk is a steel basket with six-inch meshes, made of 3-4 inch steel rods running both ways and wired together at each crossing. * The vault door itself is 6 1-8 inches thick, built of various layers and designed to withstand every known method of attack. The door is hung on a double gooseneck crane hinge. It is closed by bar pressure system, operated by means of a pilot hand wheel. This forces the door tight against the jambs after which it is locked by 24 round steel >olts, 2 inches in diameter, thrown >y a lever. There are two 72 hour Yale time locks and Town time locks on the door. The vault door alone weighs six tons and the entire system of locks on it are so intricate that it is impossible for anyone, outside of an expert of the company, which builds them to open the door. It is expected that the work of gaining entrance to the vault through the ceiling will 'be completed soon. All possible precaution will be taken after the door is opened to see that a similar occurrence does not take place again until the time locks are adjusted.