I am curious about the Electric Railway/Railroad model watches with that particular dial. In the Hamilton line I am thinking it needs to be the 974Special and in the Illinois line I think it could possibly be any 17 jewel movement, BUT just as long as they were lever-set models and had a steel escape wheel.
I do realize the trolly, electric, and short line rails did not have to meet all of the AAR requirements that the full line rr's did, but I would believe that management would dictate to its work force the equipment they required of its employees.
A large number of these watches that I see in the marketplace with the correct dials seem to be totally wrong in the movement department.
Would there possibly be anything that can be contributed to this discussion, as to fact, on these "little brother rr" type watches? Regards,bb

If you haven't found it yet, Buster, here's a good thread where this was discussed a while back.

https://ihc185.infopop.cc/eve/f...881060322#9881060322

Regards! Mark

Thanks Mark, I read that post a while back and really haven't been comfortable with it totally. A lot is speculative, which sounds good, but I'm searching for some facts which probably could be found if anyone may have some short line or trolly car mandates by management as to some or any requirements in their respective watch requirements sent down to their employees in that time frame. I'm thinking that if there is any found documentation, that possibly all of the smaller or connecting rails would possibly have adhered to the same rules as a whole. Why? because most of the rails managements tended to abide by the "other lines" rules, since they were all in competition from a business standpoint. I say that having spent 40+ years service on one of the nations largest rail carriers. Perhaps someone out there can contribute a small needed piece of that info I am searching for. regards,bb

Buster, I share your interest in finding some answers to these questions. The Hamilton Interurban special dialed watch in the thread Mark referred to and this Illinois Electric RR Standard are both dials that were obviously intended for advertising their use on electric railways. However there is quite a difference between the 3 adj Hamilton and this 17J 5 adj Bunn, so which (or both) may be "correct"? [btw I added the case, as this came as a movement only]

Not sure if this helps, I am still searching for more, the last sentence mentions requirements for the watch.

This is from Electric railway transportation By Henry William Blake, Walter Jackson 1924

Tom

Apparently the owners of the lines were not in agreement about watches, this is from April 1916 American Electric Railway Association Vol 4.

Tom,
Now thats what I'm talking 'bout!! In your documentation for Electric railway transportation concerning Interurban Watch Inspections the last sentence does say;
" The standard watch specified, if the original is not good enough, is a 17-jeweled lever-set Brequet hair spring, patent regulator, adjusted, size 16 or 18."
We are now getting somewhere with documentation on exactly what was appropriate and would have been required even though some of the messengers in different branches said yea or nay as to the memo. I believe that without further documentation as to the individual lines said requirements that we have a very good base to start with as to what to look for in these particular watches with the Electric Type Dials. I always know that Tom has more information than most folks would know what to do with! Regards,bb

I was always under the impression that many 16 size adjusted to 4 position watches were for inter-urban, most were 17J version but I think Illinois had the 19J 3 position which should have been able to conform to the 30 second per week standard. I think many like the Elgin grade 342 and 466 were all 17J, adj 4 pos and Waltham and South Bend also had watches in that classification. Not jeweled or adjusted enough for RR purposes but definitely produced for a purpose, most likely being the inter-urban use. In regards to the Bunn the one pictured would have met RR standards at the time and would have been "grand-fathered" when the standards increased during the early decades.