Ball Watch was born when Webster Clay Ball from Cleveland, Ohio, was enlisted by the Lake Shore Railroad as Chief Time Inspector after the horrible crash. Events that led to the crash were simple enough. Investigations later revealed a simple cause: an error in timekeeping due to a faulty timepiece.
The watch of an engineer on one train, unknown to him, had stopped for four minutes. He sped on, thinking he had seven minutes to his destination where the train would give way to another locomotive. He was actually just three minutes away from death.
Determined to prevent similar accidents from ever happening again, the rail authorities entrusted Ball with - among other responsibilities - the key task of timekeeping.
The watchmaker set about immediately and put in place fortnightly checks on the watches worn by all railroad workers. The inspections were only carried out by approved watchmakers, and Ball set strict standards. A variation of more than 30 seconds was forbidden.
It was Ball's system that led to accuracy and uniformity in timekeeping and established Railroad Time and railroad watches are the standard for precision timekeeping. The Ball network would eventually extend to 75 percent, about 125,000 miles, of America's railways. Ball's accomplishments received international acclaim, not only for his civic contributions, but also for his role in the history of horology.
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