Railroad Forums 

  • Watch Time Register / Comparison

  • General discussion about railroad operations, related facilities, maps, and other resources.
General discussion about railroad operations, related facilities, maps, and other resources.

Moderator: Robert Paniagua

 #1357114  by Bigt
 
Okay, in the days when a conductor had to register his watch for time comparison prior to
going on a run, what happened if his watch did not "pass" (if such a term) what I assume was
an allowable discrepancy? Was the conductor disqualified from that run? Did one of the train
crew then have to register and everyone compared with his watch? I am aware of the requirement
of having one's watch checked once every 30 days. This is a question that came up in discussion the
other day among some of my fellow collectors, and, we had never seen anything pertaining to it.
We know watch inspectors had "loaners", but, would the conductor be allowed to get to the inspector for a
loaner, then, take his train out, or, would he be forced to give up that particular run?
 #1358070  by Engineer Spike
 
The whole crew needed to have inspected watches, and so did dispatchers, operators, and section formen. Likely signal maintainers too.

A loaner could be used while a watch was repaired to specification. Robert W. Jones did some books about the Boston and Maine. I think in "City and Shore" he had a side article about the time service.

It is still a requirement to compare a watch to the standard clock, or the telephone Naval Observatory time signal. The style of watch isn't so strict. A digital watch, or a dial watch, with Arabic numerals, and a second hand will do.

I still wear a railroad wristwatch. But it is by choice.
 #1358087  by Gadfly
 
Engineer Spike wrote:The whole crew needed to have inspected watches, and so did dispatchers, operators, and section formen. Likely signal maintainers too.

A loaner could be used while a watch was repaired to specification. Robert W. Jones did some books about the Boston and Maine. I think in "City and Shore" he had a side article about the time service.

It is still a requirement to compare a watch to the standard clock, or the telephone Naval Observatory time signal. The style of watch isn't so strict. A digital watch, or a dial watch, with Arabic numerals, and a second hand will do.

I still wear a railroad wristwatch. But it is by choice.
I do, too! And I have my old Hamilton 992 Railway Special. It is now 105 years old, runs, and I have an old watch card to go with it! :-) It goes to my daughter when I'm gone! :-D Wonder how some rail buff would react to getting his hands on THAT? :wink:
 #1358365  by Engineer Spike
 
I feel that there's something to keeping some tradition. When I started, I was a passenger trainman on BN. The crews were religious about checking watches. Railroad watches stop the second hand while being set. That makes the watch set exactly to the standard clock, or Naval Observatory. Engineers would complain if they didn't get a highball exactly on time. One engineer told me that our conductor's highball was consistently 13 seconds late