These watches were designed and developed to help managers and operators of trains, carrying valuable goods important to industry and trade, prevent railroad wrecks and delays. To make precise timekeeping possible, standards were put into place for railroad-grade pocket watches and since these watches are known for their highly accurate timing, they are very popular among watch collectors today.

Basic standards for timekeeping were developed by the American Railway Association in 1887, but it wasn't until a major accident in 1891 that these standards were widely adopted and codified even more stringently. A major collision occurred in the village of Kipton, Ohio because the watch that the conductor was wearing had stopped running for a full four minutes.

When looking for the ideal vintage railroad pocket watch, one thing to note is that they are always of American manufacture as required by the standards set. Also, pay attention to the watch movement's size. A watch movement's size is determined by measuring the dial across the center and then through to the point where it is narrowest. Noting the standards set by the Railways, the railroad-grade pocket watches were required to be at least size 18 or 15.227mm. This requirement changed to the larger size 16 (16.919mm) by the Thirties.

In addition, the watches were open faced instead of contained in a hinged case and they were marked with Arabic numerals instead of Roman. Each watch had at least 17 jewels in its movement. The watches needed the ability to be adjusted in at least 5 positions -- face up, face down, crown up, crown down, or sideways. As expected, the timepieces were required to keep accurate time within 30 seconds a week. The timepieces were also required to be able to compensate for temperatures at the range of 34 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Other requirements for the railroader's watches included steel escape wheels, lever sets, double rollers, regulators, winding stems pegged at 12 o'clock, white dials, and black hands. With these standards, the quality and accuracy of these pocket watches were indeed unsurpassed at their prime.

As American watch manufacturers rose to meet the challenge presented by the urgent needs of the growing railroad industry, they created ever more accurate timepieces, frequently surpassing the requirements of the railroads. The Waltham Watch company was the first to comply with the needs of the railroad industry, but they were quickly followed by all of the other major American watch manufacturers, including Illinois, Elgin and Hamilton. It is these pocket watches, frequently featuring as many as 23 jewels and six adjustable positions instead of five, that are most sought after by collectors.