As far as a watch for a locomotive, I know very little about those but the few I have seen are more clock than watch & were Seth Thomas plus others. If I remember right they were from the 1880-90's.
Tom, I am to mail it to dave. I may not see something that will bring everthing to light.your knolege has ben very helpful. All of the members are very helpful.I know we will figure out this mistery. Perry
Posts: 66 | Location: Silsbee, Texas in the USA | Registered: December 01, 2009
Perry, I think Tom may have hit a home run Pigeon timers were used in that era, I don't know exactly how but it had something to do with the racing bird arriving at the "coop" and a leg band was taken off the bird and inserted in a space in the timer. There was a bar across the back of the watch with a piece of piano wire that pushed into the balance and stopped the watch A very crude "hack" feature or stop feature. That would explain the hole on the back of the case and would explain the same hole that goes thru the dial of your watch you pictured where the screwdriver goes thru the middle of the balance. Here is a picture of the watches used with the cross bar, no backs on the watches but I allow thats what the hole on your watch back would have been for. Tom is our go to man in cracking cases and I am going with that to explain it a bit better for you with Tom getting the credit. Thank you Tom, it was a "cold case" and you are the man Regards, bb
Posts: 6376 | Location: Texas in the USA | Registered: July 27, 2009
Thanks Buster I am not positive about the pigeon thing, just something I thought of.
Of all the parts to the case the one thing that really puzzles me is that little screwed on cover that seems the only purpose is to cover the numbers 22, I can't figure out why would you make a plate just to cover a number?
Tom
Posts: 5107 | Location: New Mexico in the USA | Registered: January 27, 2007
Perry's Watch arrived here and it is becoming very clear that it is some sort of timer. The large hole machined in the back cover is exactly in line to the hollow bolt showing through the front face of the watch. The large hole is threaded for a pipe thread that would hold a fitting that would guide a wire through the watch balance wheel and out the front only far enough to stop the watch until the correct time to pull out the wire and start it.
Another kind of "trick" thing is the little spring mounted to the outside flange with a screw. The pin in the spring goes through the hole that would accept a wind and setting stem for preparing the watch. I think that will work with just about any "stock" 16s winding stem and crown.
As the staff is broken (easy to see how that could happen with someone trying to stop the watch by shoving in the wire), I think I will clean and fix the thing and find a usable winding stem so that Perry can say this is a complete working unit.
I have grave doubts about the Pigeon timer idea and tend to think it is some sort of elapsed timer device that can be "started" and then only indicates how long the event takes.
The movement is a higher grade quality with 4 mean time screws and gold Balance wheel weights. I do not know if it was upgraded above the unadjusted Gr 625, or that was just how these "came off the line" at that time
Posts: 6492 | Location: Southern California in the USA | Registered: July 19, 2007
A very crude "hack" feature or stop feature. That would explain the hole on the back of the case and would explain the same hole that goes thru the dial of your watch you pictured where the screwdriver goes thru the middle of the balance. Here is a picture of the watches used with the cross bar, no backs on the watches but I allow thats what the hole on your watch back would have been for. Tom is our go to man in cracking cases and I am going with that to explain it a bit better for you with Tom getting the credit. Thank you Tom, it was a "cold case" and you are the man 
