Check out this dial!

IMHO Canadian RN dials don't get much cooler than this.

Cool-looking but hard to read in the final analysis. Perhaps that's why this style wasn't made in large numbers.

Was the engraved locomotive standard on these watches? That one looks awfully 'sharp' to me compared to the other engravings on the plates, and since I've never seen one of these before, I'm just curious.

Regards! Mark

Mark,
On page 99 of the Illinois book it says that the railroader no. 4 grade was the only illinois grade to be marked with a picture on the movement and to be furnished with a 24-hour dial.

Thank you Tony! Regards! Mark

I believe these style 24 hour dials have shown up in a few other grades and models, but are most commonly seen on this grade 4 "Railroader".

Similar locomotive engravings on the movement have also shown up on a very few 18 size gilt Illinois watches besides the grade 4, but is typical to the grade 4 and I believe all grade 4 will have this engraving.

I am sure Russ Snyder can add to this discussion and I remember him commenting on these watches a few times before.

Russ?

Fred

I wonder why Illinois produced these watches. A total of 5000 were made, all in 1887. I believe these were half-jeweled watches. Did Illinois make a lower cost watch with a railroad theme to sell to an unsuspecting public, or to sell to a cost conscious public enamored with the railroad cachet? Was Illinois trying to expand their market or were they trying to shift production to lower priced goods to maintain profits? According to this ecconomic report, there was a recession beginning in March of 1887 lasting 13 months but arrcoding to the Illinois database, Illinois production expanded modestly in 1887 and 1888 from the previous years before and dramatically falling off the following year and didn't recover until just before WWI.

Did these watches sell well or was it a mistake which company management rectified by canceling production and focusing attention elsewhere?

Any thoughts?

Ron

The first time I recall seeing the split
roman numerial/arabic was on a model 3
(fifth pinion) Ill Grade 5 that #171,248 (1887)
that I acquired in 1998 at the National
in Oregon.
Since then I have seen other 24 hour dials
split and not split.
My "assumption" is the split dail is a later version and has fancy embellment around the
name Illinois where as the non split version does
not have the embellishmant.It is just an
assumption on my part.


bernie levine