Time-Telling

Solar Timekeeping: A Brief History of our Reliance on the Sun for Time

By Nathan Moore

In Time-Telling

Solar Eclipse Totality - April 8, 2024 - Paducah, Kentucky Last week marked the first total solar eclipse visible in the United States since 2017. My family journeyed to Paducah, Kentucky, to experience totality on April 8. The wonderment of this celestial event serves as...

The Freak Show: Webb C. Ball’s “Freakish” Railroad Dials: Fitch Marginal Dial

By Nathan Moore

Pictured: Waltham’s Staggered Marginal Minute Dial, Attributed to Ezra C. Fitch, c.1900. Webb C. Ball was arguably the most prolific figure associated with time inspection on the railroads. As general.

Dials , History , Patents & Innovations , Railroad Watches , Railroads , Time-Telling

Henry S. Montgomery Defends His Safety Dial Against Attack by Webb C. Ball

By Nathan Moore

Even though the Montgomery Safety Dial was not directly targeted by Webb C. Ball’s paper presented at the 1920 National Safety Council meeting, it was understood the dial was classified.

Adoption of the 24-Hour Standard Time System on Canadian Railroads

By Nathan Moore

In Dials , History , Railroad Watches , Railroads , Time-Telling

In June 1886, the Canadian Pacific Railway Company established new requirements for dials, specifying that the figures 13 to 24 must accompany the conventional hour indicators, aligning with the newly-adopted 24-hour standard time system. Small paper dials featuring the “new afternoon hours” were issued to...