Some photos Brad requested.

We got our 954s at about the same time and like to compare! I have to give thanks to Jared Brinker for his help on this one.

movement 1

movement 2

Wow! Very nice Mike! I'm jealous, 'cause my pictures are so small compared to yours. I love that fish scale demaskeening, it's gorgeous! And that is the style of dial I was looking to put on mine, when I found that "Richardson's Special" dial. Is yours a lever or pendant set? Brad

I think the size of the pictures is the least important thing. It is a Pendant set. The dial actually has a chip below the seconds register but doesn't show with the bezel on. Only thing I need now is a Hodge Special

I was just griping that it's hard to see the detail on mine because the pictures are a lot smaller. Mine has a small chip just under the hands. It's hard to see, and I decided not to mess with it. These are very nice watches, and I find myself wondering why Hamilton didn't make very many of them. Brad

Brad, I would think that the 974, or the 992 took over. If you needed a Railroad approved watch 992, if you needed a decent time keeper in a 17j the 974 was adequate, and probably cheaper to produce. Once a grade "caught on" they seemed to sell well. It would have been in Hamilton's best interest to have fewer grades available if the net resut was the same number sold. With so few 954s made I would think they just didn't sell well enough to justify the duplication of 16s timekeepers. JMHO

A very nice specimin indeed, I must cokmpliment you on twol levels, first for the watch itself and second sharing your enjoyment with learning more by collection of the the history, development and technology behind these masterpieces of time while so many collectors are enjoined only with "Headliners" such as the 992.

They also came out with the 972, which, as far as I can tell, is the same as a 954. They're both 17j, adjusted to 5 positions, and lever-set. Other than the fancy demaskeening on the 954, they look identical.

Yes, I think the numerals 97X meant more than 95X. Just like today.