How do you wind an old Elgin pocket watch?

To wind the watch turn the crown in the clockwise direction anywhere from 30-40 half turns until it stops. Push the crown back down into the normal operating position. Winding and setting of the time should be done daily. However, do not over wind, as this can damage the spring mechanism.

What was a railroad watch in the 1900’s?

Mechanically speaking, almost all 1900’s railroad watches shared a number of performance and reliability enhancing features.

What was the up down wind indicator on a railroad watch?

Some of the highest end railroad watches featured what was referred to as an up-down wind indicator. This is called a power reserve indicator on modern watches, and it visually communicates how much wind remains in the watch on a sub-dial at 12 O’clock.

What makes a watch a railroad grade pocket watch?

A railroad grade pocket watch is simply a watch that was approved by a particular railroad organization for use by conductors on their rail. The specific definition of a “railroad grade” watch evolved quite a bit over the years.

How are railroad watches put in time setting mode?

Perhaps the most prominent feature of 1900’s railroad watches is their lever actuated setting mechanisms (referred to as “lever-set”). Most watches are put in time-setting mode by pulling the crown (winding knob) away from the watch, then pushing the crown back towards the watch to return to winding mode.

Mechanically speaking, almost all 1900’s railroad watches shared a number of performance and reliability enhancing features.

What was the 999f grade of railroad watch?

The 999F grades were for sale to those customers who did not have to pass railroad inspection. They were the so-called “Commercial” grades. It is my understanding that “commercial” was a fairly common term in the watch trade for non-railroad watch movements.

What was the accuracy of the railroad watches?

With respect to accuracy for railroad watches, the criteria has been a variation not to exceed 30 sec. a week going back to at least 1900, so all that met this standard were very accurate timepieces. Tough call, appears that by the 40’s Hamilton had refined its 16 size watches to a level that few competing companies could match.