St. Christopher Catholic Church - Columbus, OH - 2/26 Peebles-Herzog organ - Swell Division

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St. Christopher Catholic Church - 2/26 Peebles-Herzog

St. Christopher Catholic Church
Columbus, OH
2/26 Peebles-Herzog
2007

Swell Division

Click on the photo to get a larger image

	The Swell Division is on the left side of the church when looking toward the back. This is the view from the entrance of the pipe chamber. About two thirds of the pipes in the Swell Division can be seen in this photo.
	On the left side of the room we see four ranks of pipes on the platform. The three in front are the III Mixture, and the rank in back is the 1 3/5' Tierce.
	The 1 3/5' Tierce rank has some of the smallest pipes in the Swell Division. The tuning slide on this pipe is quite long in relation to the length of the pipe.
	On the right side we see the majority of the remaining ranks of pipes in the Swell Division. The wood pipes in the back on the left are the 16' Lieblich Gedackt rank.
	Here's another view of the pipes on the right side. The differences in pipe construction make for an interesting photo. This also gives a decent view of how the ranks of pipes are mounted on individual pipe racks. Count the number of wood planks and you come up with eight racks holding nine ranks of pipes. From left to right the ranks are 2' Flute, 2 2/3' Nasat, 4' Principal, 8' Gemshorn (the metal pipes which are wide at the bottom and narrow at the top), 8' Voix Celeste T.C. (the older looking pipes behind the Gemshorn pipes), then additional pipes from the 4' Principal, 8' Stopped Flute (wood pipes on the right), 4' Waldflote, and the 8' Oboe.
	Here's a look at the same ranks of pipes. There are likely pipes from a couple different builders represented in this photo.
	Here's a good look at the tops of the pipes. The differences in construction can easily be seen, as can the differences in age. Some of the pipes look to be very old.
	Haskelled pipes are basically a pipe within a pipe. Bascially it functions the same way as a stopped pipe, except that it is actually a full length pipe. This type of pipe construction, though somewhat unconventional, can still be found even on newer pipe organs. These are undoubtedly some of the oldest pipes in the organ. In the bottom photo, "PAT 1910" has been stamped on the left side of the pipe, likely indiciating a patent for this pipe construction.
	On the left wall are the smallest pipes of the 16' Lieblich Gedackt rank. It appears that the pipe on the far left is anti-social since it is facing away from the others.
	A close up view of these pipes reveal some key pieces of information. "Lieb Ged" is shorthand for Lieblich Gedackt. Below that are the letters STD which stands for "stopped diapason" which somewhat classifies the type of pipe this is. Below this is the pitch of the pipe (A#, A, etc.), and finally "2524" represents the opus number of the organ. In this case, the opus number is for the original organ for these pipes. Opus 2524 is the 1926 Estey Pipe Organ installation at Worthington Presbyterian Church. However since this organ came from First Baptist Church this is the third home for these pipes!
	Written on the pipe rack is the rank and where it was installed, or in this case, where it originally was installed.
	On the back wall of the Swell Division chamber are the bigger pipes of the 16' Lieblich Gedackt rank. Note that these pipes have "1684" stamped on them. According to this Estey Pipe Organ opus list, Opus 1684 is from Christ English Lutheran Church (aka First Lutheran Church) in Galion, OH which was installed in 1918!
	This room actually has two sets of swell shades. In this photo, we can see the upper set up high, and the lower set below the light. This room is tall enough for a full length 16' pipe but lacks the space for it.
	Below the racks of pipes are the wind reservoirs, air supply pipes, and tremulant. Plastic air supply pipes in most cases have replaced the metal pipes which were much more labor intensive if they ever needed to be replaced.
	Last but not least are the electrical parts of the Swell Division, including the swell shade control box. Wiring often becomes the death of many organs because the cost to rewire an old organ can be very expensive.

St. Christopher Catholic Church - 2/26 Peebles-Herzog

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