Here's how watches won the West

From the 1830s onwards, thousands of miles of railways were laid across the USA and by the end of the 1860s the vast Transcontinental Railroad was completed, spanning all the way from east coast to west. As a swift way to travel back then it was unparalleled and railway companies uprooted the established transport order of canal companies, stagecoach companies and innkeepers, who all saw their businesses suffer as anyone in a hurry took to the trains.

With speed came risk, and as trains got faster, the accidents mounted up. One in particular caused a total rethink on how railwaymen kept an eye on the time. In April 1891, a fast mail train was heading full tilt along the track close to Kipton, in rural Ohio. Suddenly the driver spotted a passenger train coming in the opposite direction. He applied the brakes but it was too late, the two trains collided and the mangled horror of wood and metal claimed the lives of nine people.

The passenger train was supposed to pull into a siding to let the mail train past, but an engineer’s watch had stopped for four minutes before restarting, so he thought there was time to spare, when in fact they were headed for disaster.

The railway company engaged a watchmaker and businessman called Webster Clay Ball to investigate timekeeping on its lines. He found that there was no uniformity at all, and many railway workers were buying cheap, unreliable watches and “actually running trains by them, to the menace of human life and property”.

After his investigation, Mr Ball put together a set of standards defining the requirements for a railwayman’s watch. It should have an open face, ie no metal cover like the pocket watches of old. The dial would be large and plain white, to contrast with bold black hands and Arabic numerals for maximum visibility. It would also have a minimum 17-jewel movement with a steel escapement that was accurate to plus or minus 30 seconds per week.

The rules were laid out in the General Railroad Timepiece Standards and sent to railway companies across America. The railwayman’s watch became a vital tool that for reasons of life and death took pride in legibility and reliability over anything else. Getting the trains to run on time became a vital part of keeping the country ticking, and opened up the West like never before.

For Mr Ball it also represented an opportunity. The canny businessman rode his reputation as the tsar of railway timekeeping and began selling watches under his own name. His speciality, yes you’ve guessed it, railroad watches. The company still bears his name, and to this day has the Official Railroad Watch as its flagship piece.

Ball wasn’t alone in cashing in on the railroad revolution. It was a boom time for the American watch industry before it ultimately lost ground to the Swiss in the 20th century. Hamilton was another American company that got in on the act straight after it was formed in 1892, and marketed its own piece as the Watch of Railroad Accuracy. Hamilton is still going today and although it is now Swiss owned, the company makes much of the big slice of Americana in its back catalogue.

Taking a train is no longer the quickest way to get across America. And however you travel, you hope there are more reliable safety mechanisms than someone remembering to check their watch. But the railway watch still stands as a symbol of a time when trains were a dangerously exciting way to travel. And judging by how many companies have carried on making railway style watches, plenty of people around the world are still feeling that pioneering vibe.

This tribute to Ball’s early railroad pocket watches was made to celebrate the brand’s 130th birthday, with 14 micro gas tubes on the hour markers and hands ensuring low light legibility. Anti-magnetic, chronometer-certified automatic movement in 40mm stainless steel case. Water resistant to 30m.

ballwatch.com

A small independent company based in Camden. Among the inspirations are the trains that began chugging through when the fashionable area was more industrial hub than tourist hang-out. The railway inspired No 29 has a 43mm PVD coated stainless steel case and automatic movement. Water resistant to 50m.

camdenwatchcompany.com

The original Railmaster was released back in 1957 and designed for railway workers but also anyone who worked close to electrical fields. The modern version comes in a 40mm stainless steel case, is water resistant to 150m and able to withstand magnetism of 15,000 gauss. Chronometer-certified automatic movement with 55-hour power reserve and fabric strap.

omegawatches.com

Another US watchmaker that helped conquer the West, Hamilton is now part of the giant Swiss Swatch group along with Omega, Longines and others. The company’s other watches were worn by Elvis and featured in the Men in Black film, so links with America are still strong. This watch’s automatic movement can be admired through the 42mm stainless steel skeleton dial. Water resistant to 50m.

hamiltonwatch.com

American watch companies were at the cutting edge in the 19th century, but the Swiss took over in the 20th. The Swiss Railways clock was a Forties design and Mondaine launched a wristwatch version in 1986. With quartz movement, 40mm stainless steel case and leather strap. Water resistant to 30m.

uk.mondaine.com

For something a bit different the small French company Baltic offers you an interesting vintage-style watch for not much outlay. The railway inspired HMS 002 has a reliable Japanese automatic movement in a 38mm stainless steel case. Water resistant to 50m. All that on an Italian leather strap – not bad for around £285, depending how the euro is doing.

baltic-watches.com