Local Time and Railway Time
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Railway Time Leads the Way
Throughout the ages, the way to measure time was usually by the movement of sun - daily, monthly and annually. Right up to the 19th century the majority of people didn't need a more precise measurement of time in their daily lives. It was the spread of railways that made an exact universal measure of time important.
Until the coming of the railways, towns just a few miles apart would set their clocks to a different time according to their local sundial. Places in the same country a considerable distance apart would have an appreciable difference in their local times. In Britain, the difference between the east and west of the country was around 30 minutes.
It didn't take long before railway operators realised that this was no way to run a railroad and used railway time for their timetables.
The Introduction of Railway Time
Great Western Railway, England, Sets a Trend
Bristol and Exeter Railway (part of the Great Western Railway) locomotive No. 44, built in England 1854, withdrawn 1870
The Great Western Railways (nicknamed God's Wonderful Railway) was founded in 1833 and its line linked London to the southwest of England and Wales. By 1840 GWR started to use 'London' time as its standard for the whole of its train service. This was, by 1840, Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and set by the Greenwich Royal Observatory in southeast London.
GWR station clocks were all set to railway time. In the beginning, stationmasters consulted a set of tables to convert their local time to railway time. By the end of 1852, telegraph offices were widespread throughout the UK and a time signal was sent to the offices by the observatory each day. The telegraph clerk would then set his office clock to GMT and he was authorised to allow local clock and watchmakers to enter and view the time so they could set their own timepieces to GMT. The stationmasters used this service too.
Map of the Great Western Railway Area
An enamel map of the Great Western Railway system circa 1930.
Paddington on the extreme right is the London station for GWR
Copyright © Geof Sheppard - Creative Commons License
The Railway Journey: The Industrialization and Perception of Time and Space
Amazon Price: $19.98 (as of 02/14/2012)
Wolfgang Schivelbusch argues that railways changed the 19th-century world in many ways - some were improvements but other changes weren't. Precise timekeeping was important and railways helped to make us all aware of time.
Railways did more than bring in standardised schedules, they cut the cost of traveling so allowing greater travel for more people. They also made it quicker and easier too with all the changes that this brought to people's lives and the way they looked at the world.
Railway Time Spreads to Other Parts of the UK
Some Places Prefer Local Time
Within eight years of GWR adopting Railway Time, several other railway companies had also changed to it.
This did not mean that all important local people accepted GMT or London Time, though. Many stubbornly insisted on keeping their public clocks at local time while some places had a public clock with two minute hands - one showed GMT while the other one kept local time as shown in the picture here.
In 1880 the British Parliament passed a statute setting Greenwich Mean Time as the universal standard throughout the UK. Four years later GMT was the time used as the international reference for setting local time around the world.
Yesterday's Railways: Recollections of an Age of Steam and the Golden Age of Railways (Trains)
Amazon Price: $17.95 (as of 02/14/2012)
Many still recall when the train was their principal means of travel, whether to school or work, to visit friends and relatives, or to go on a trip away from home. Trains were not only used to transport people; they were also an essential means for daily survival, delivering the coal that heated their homes and food that sat on the dinner table. It was a time when a train journey remained an adventure, and the steam locomotive that made such a journey possible provided a source of both awe and fascination.
These times are recalled in Yesterday's Railways, a fascinating book that chronicles England's complete railway history from the ground-breaking years of the 1900's to August 1968 when the engine fires were put out for the last time. Readers will learn not only about the varied cargo, routes and destinations of these historic trains, but also how they were used during times of war as necessary tools of victory for England and its allies.
Brunel's Great Western Railway
Railway Time in the United States
An Accident Prompts a Change
Railroad bridge and other bridge over the Norwalk River in Norwalk, Connecticut
Just like in the UK, time was set locally in the USA, leading to even bigger variations in time between towns and cities than in a small country like Britain.
In August 1853 two trains were using the same track in New England. Because their guards had their watches set to different local times, there was an accident leading to the deaths of 14 people. As a result, the railways in New England co-ordinated their timetables to avoid a recurrence of this type of avoidable accident.
In the rest of the country, though, accidents caused by the use of local time continued. A proposal to have one railway time throughout the country was not a popular idea. The General Time Convention's secretary, William F. Allen, came up with the idea of having five times zones across the country which would make timetables between areas and companies much easier to co-ordinate. He managed to get agreement from the decision makers involved throughout the country because of the fear of having a worse system imposed on them by Federal Government.
By November 1883 the new time zones were implemented throughout the USA and federal law made them mandatory in 1918.
Historic Travel US Chugging Across The Wild West
Amazon Price: $22.49 (as of 02/14/2012)
Surging rivers, rushing landscapes, thrilling train journeys, awesome structures, mind-boggling statistics, and delightful farmlands - this rare and historic set of DVDs has it all. This is easily one of the most comprehensive coverage of life in the west!
From its humble beginnings in the 1870s till its takeover by the Union Pacific Railroad in the late 1980s, The Southern Pacific, or "SP", as it is fondly remembered, played a pivotal role in the development of the western states. Ferrying loads of timber, farm products and mineral ore out to the east and bringing back dairy products and other essentials to the west, the railroad served both as a means of transport and livelihood to thousands.
This set of two DVDs presents a fabulous insight into the detailed working of the SP. It also provides a thrilling and picturesque travelogue of the western states that the SP passes through.
Howard Astronomical Regulator Clock
Howard Astronomical Regulator Clock
Drawing of a precision astronomical regulator clock made by the E. Howard Clock Co., from a publication by Lick Observatory, CA, USA, 1887.
It was installed at Lick Observatory and served to generate electric time signals that were distributed by telegraph wire to railroads and factories in the city of San Jose.
For this it had internal switch contacts that generated signal every 2 seconds, connected to the 4 electrical terminal posts seen at the top of the clock.
This description of the Howard Astronomical Regulator Clock is adapted from Wikipedia. All pictures on this lens, including this one, also from Wikipedia.
America & the Passenger Train
Amazon Price: $19.95 (as of 02/14/2012)
Explore America's passenger trains from the 1830's to the first decade of the 21st century. From wooden coaches to streamlined trains; from dome cars and Santa Fe's high-level trains to Amtrak's Acela Express.
At one time; America's passenger trains set the standard for rail passenger service in the world. Famous trains; with names like 20th Century Limited; Super Chief; California Zephyr and Daylight; are profiled in this program. Also included are the American Orient Express and today's GrandLuxe Rail Journeys.
Bonus footage shows GrandLuxe Express plus Canada's Rocky Mountaineer and the rail journey through Mexico's Copper Canyon. This program traces the development of passenger trains that Americans have remembered and cherished for nearly two centuries.
Visit the Great Western Railway Museum
A tour around the Steam Railway Museum in Swindon, Wiltshire looking at ancient steam locomotives from Great Western Railways. Great Western Railway creator Isambard Kingdom Brunel puts in an appearance as does Queen Victoria! The tour is topped off with a DIY steam train driver's experience.
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PositiveChristian
Feb 2, 2012 @ 8:58 am | delete
- Very interesting lens. I've learnt a lot from you today.
Angel blessed.
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aishu19
Sep 7, 2010 @ 11:29 am | delete
- This is indeed very interesting
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LaraineRose
Aug 10, 2009 @ 1:12 am | delete
- News Flash! This lens has been featured in LaraineRose
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paperfacets
Aug 1, 2009 @ 2:03 am | delete
- Very interesting. In1916 Henry Warren invented the synchronous electric clock and life I think was changed forever. Dairies gave their delivery men clocks named "Dawning" and "Morning Glory" etc. as anniversary gifts.
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LaraineRose
Jul 31, 2009 @ 3:03 am | delete
- Wonderful lens Carol! What a great use of your TIME making this lens. Very interesting and well done. 5*s
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mbgphoto
Jul 29, 2009 @ 2:53 pm | delete
- Very interesting. 5*
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kimmanleyort
Jul 28, 2009 @ 1:07 pm | delete
- Wow! I didn't know the railways had such an influence on time. Great lens!
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flipflopnana
Jul 28, 2009 @ 10:54 am | delete
- What a wonderful lens! I had no idea that is pretty much how time (as we know it) began. This was a great read!
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BevsPaper
Jul 28, 2009 @ 7:48 am | delete
- Carol, this is awesome! I didn't realize that the Railways were the ones that were instrumental in making us all look at our clocks so much. ;)
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A Clock that's Fun to Watch
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Can You Imagine Time Machine Tabletop Clock
Amazon Price: $34.05 (as of 02/14/2012)
The manufacturer says, "Time Machine is the clock that's fun to watch! Just turn it on and its precise mechanism transfers a chrome ball every sixty seconds for the perfect time. With its custom acrylic display case and ultra-modern design, Time Machine is destined to become the centerpiece of any room or office and will entertain and amaze for years! "
I want one and I want it NOW!
Sony Automatic Clock
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Sony ICF-C318 Clock Radio with Dual Alarm (Black)
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Pre-set to Eastern Standard Time, it's easy to reset it to your own time zone. Then, even if the power fails, its lithium battery means it remembers the setting - a great feature, I hate having to reset clocks. Even better, it automatically adjusts to Daylight Saving Time - one less thing to remember. It's small enough to have on your nightstand but the LED display can easily be seen from across the room if that is where you want to put it. Altogether, this is a really useful little clock.
What is Time?
A Scientific or Philosophical Question?
In Search of Time: The Science of a Curious Dimension
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Author Dan Falk looks at time from a historical, scientific and philosophical perspective. The answer to the question 'What is time?' is illusive and perhaps depends on the context of the question and who gives the answer. Read this book for an interesting look at time.
