The Railroad watch and the rules in Tales of the Jointed Track

Dec. 15, 2014, 6:34 a.m.
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Public

On time .. The railroads set a standard. They also are instrumental in our time zones. Back when train orders were the essential instructions, a proper timepiece and in good repair was the norm.

We had a “Regulator” at Pueblo, Co yard office. Which was a System Certified timepiece. It had Mercury weighted pendulum , and a System Time inspector came out every 4 months to make sure it was accurate. We set our watches by it, the train order operator was to co ordinate, by the system Regulator in Topeka, and reset it or adjust by 200 am each day.

We had to “register’ our watch on the timepiece log book, each trip in Pueblo on the departure trip. And you would get called on the carpet, if you didn’t comply.
Last Name Initials Watch Make and Model serial number Time compared watch set Yes/No ( within 5 seconds, you did not have to reset) date last inspected. Yeah that important.

EXAMPLE
Terry RM | Illinois Bunn Special | 2591960 | 1056 pm | NO | 08/17/1979

Santa Fe AT&SF Depot Station regulators

This might have been in Winslow, AZ and / or Needles CA where the change from
Pacific to Mountain time zones are prevalent. Notice the placards stating whether
slow or fast. This is for the crews.

Some railroad clocks carried signage indicating
time variance to “Railroad Standard Time” as you can see
in this photo of a Santa Fe telegraph office .
The clocks immediately above are Seth Thomas
Regulator No. 19 - perhaps the most prized of the
ST Regulators - especially with a Santa Fe dial.

My Pocket watches

An ELGIN BW Raymond 1922
needs shopped broken Balance staff … damn Balance Staffs have cost me a lot

The ILLINOIS BUNN SPECIAL 1918. My pal who I magnetized while doing locomotive troubleshooting. The electrical resistance froze up the works. That didn’t happen in the steam days…lol Still is a champion runs great keeps time like it should

The inside of the back cap the etchings are the inspections the dark numbers well thats how they do it now … 2591960 is the serial number

The inner workings. You can see 4 of the “Jewels” of the 21 jewel watch..the rest are hidden below in the inner workings. The jewel facet points are the working pivot or axles for the gears. The bottommost clear looking wheel is the actual flywheel for the watch. It is working so you cant see the spokes. You can see the words BUNN SPECIAL engraved to the left side of the casing/ housing.

an older 1990’s era Citizen railroad approved watch I don’t use. As you can see it needs a watchband replacement

This is the retirement watch I received from the BNSF. I have not worn it, and not that I am not grateful. You can see it is railroad approved timepiece. New Technology …It is solar powered.

My “old heads” are ticking away in protest. They RULE!!!

This is the “Crown Jewel” which I really found out how old it really is. I bought it for 275.00 I spent 450.00 to repair it, ahh gag plus a balance staff and cleaning etc.

I was told this was a 1915 Seaboard Coast Lines watch. It has alloys that prevented corrosion from the salt air. I sent it in to the Last Wind Up in Bozeman, MT for repair. He said the case is 1915 the innards are 1907. REALLY !! 1907 !! what a find. She’s a runner as well.