Time

Before the railroad, time depended on your position. Diligently setting them to the sun, each town would set their clocks. When it came to stagecoaches, the system worked fairly well. But when it came to the railroad, the system failed. Priding themselves on maintain their time tables, the conductors would be constantly adjusting their clocks. This was due to the fact that noon in New York was 12:12 in Boston and 12:16 in Portland. This was a problem. Cities could be managed, but when it came to railroad, a second’s mistake could be fatal. Along came William Frederick Allen, who was a formal engineer on railroads. Leading a time reform, William divided the country into four time zones that were easy to understand. This would make the railroads safe. On 1/18/1883, Railroad Standard Time was adopted and put into use. In 1918, Congress gave the legal power to mark the time belts. Finally, our country was united in land and time. Decided, defined, and determined, time was no longer a problem for the railroads.

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