vintage pocket watches

Vintage pocket watches, such as Railroad models  by Waltham, Rockford, Elgin and Hamilton, and Illionois, are more than simply a hobby.  Many models of these uniquely American time pieces often sell for thousands of dollars at auction, making them wise investments, as well as beautiful pieces of history.

Railroad watches are not only popular with collectors in the United States — antique watch enthusiasts from Europe and Asia are also actively buying up these pieces of Americana.  Because of the limited number of railroad watches produced, they are becoming increasingly  rare.

Other pocket watches manufactured in the 1800′s and early 1900′s, such as Waltham and Hampden, were mass-produced. Even so, these pocket watches are also valued by many collectors and antique jewelry enthusiasts.

By Roger L Smith

railroad pocket watch

To understand how important the railroad watch was, first we need to know a little about the railroad. By 1880 there were thousands of miles of track and hundreds of trains sharing these tracks at the same time. To be sure that no two trains met in the wrong direction, time was of great importance.

In those days there was no time standard, each city and town operated on their own time schedule. During this period the many railroads had 50 different time zones to manage.

The conductor of the train had to be aware of the always changing time zones to be able to avoid accidents. The railroads soon developed a standard of times zones across the country the Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific which was later adopted by congress as the national time standard.

However a great many accidents still happened due to inaccurate time keeping devices. In 1893 after a major accident claiming several lives, a standard for the manufacture of watches for railroad use was presented.

The following general standards had to be met to qualify for railroad use.

Railroad Watches shall be:
Of american manufacture in size 18 or 16.
Compensated for temperature.
Lever set.
Fitted with 17 or more jewels.
Adjusted for 5 positions.
Fitted with a patented regulator,double roller and the steel escape wheel.
Open face with winding stem at 12 O’ clock position.
Black Arabic numerals, each minute delineated on a white face
Must be timed to +/- 30 seconds per week.

Along with these standards the approved watches were required to be inspected and certified by a local inspector to see that each watch met the accuracy standards set by the railroad. Commonly these watches were submitted by employees on a quarterly basis.

American manufacturers answered this call by producing what was then known as the Standard Watch or Railroad Watch. Following this standard allowed for the manufacture of the most accurate time pieces ever developed and still marveled at today for their superior ability to keep time accurately.

These actions brought about a railroad system that was much safer and on time.

For more about the amazing world of railroad pocket watch collectibles visit with me at Vintage Pocket Watch

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