Alexei Volkov
Illinois railroad watches are highly collectible vintage timepieces, with a rich history dating back to the late 1800s. The Illinois Watch Company, founded in Springfield, Illinois, played a pivotal role in standardising time across global railroads. Their railroad-grade pocket watches were renowned for their accuracy, durability, and bold, highly legible dials. While the specific criteria for a railroad grade watch evolved over time, Illinois watches consistently met the stringent requirements of railroad service, where precise timekeeping was essential. So, do these esteemed timepieces feature plastic faces?
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Watch Type | Pocket Watch |
| Brand | Illinois Watch Company |
| Model | Bunn Special |
| Year | 1924 |
| Size | 16 |
| Jewel Count | 21 |
| Grade | Railroad Grade |
| Dial | Arabic numerals on white enamel |
| Face | Open Face |
| Case | Hunting Case |
| Features | Temperature and isochronism adjusted |
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What You'll Learn
Illinois Watch Company history
The Illinois Watch Company, founded on 23 December 1870, was previously known as the Springfield Watch Company, based in Springfield, Illinois. The company was founded by John C. Adams, John Whitfield Bunn, and several other financiers. John Todd Stuart served as the first president of the corporation.
The company encountered severe financial difficulties during its early years, which led to a reorganisation in 1877. The corporation changed its name to the "Illinois Springfield Watch Company" in July 1877, and Erastus Newton Bates, the second president of the corporation, took over its leadership until July 1878. However, the company continued to face financial challenges, leading to another reorganisation in 1878. The company was renamed the "Illinois Watch Company", and Jacob Bunn Sr., an Illinois industrialist and railroad financier, assumed leadership.
Under Jacob Bunn Sr.'s administration, the company experienced significant growth in both manufacturing and revenue. In 1879, they manufactured 33,285 watch movements, and in 1880, they produced 47,065 movements. By 1890, the company had established corporate offices in Chicago, New York City, and San Francisco. The Illinois Watch Company played a pivotal role in pioneering the logistical technology that standardised railroad time worldwide.
The company was particularly renowned for its railroad-grade watches, including the Bunn Special and the Sangamo Special grades. The Bunn Special was named after John W. Bunn, one of the founding directors, and these watches were specifically marketed for railroad use. The Sangamo watches were also advertised as durable and designed for railroad service, requiring accurate timekeeping.
In 1927, the Illinois Watch Company was sold to the Hamilton Watch Company, and watch production in the Springfield factory continued until 1932. Subsequently, Hamilton continued manufacturing watches with the Illinois Watch Company markings at their main factory in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, until 1939. The Illinois Watch Company ceased manufacturing watches in the USA in the mid-1930s.
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Illinois railroad watch grades
The Illinois Watch Company was founded in Springfield, Illinois, and began producing its earliest branded models in 1872, though it had been producing small batches of watches with various other markings as early as 1869. The company's first group of 100 watches were 18-size, 15-jewel, full plate, key wind, adjusted Stuart railroad-grade watches. The Bunn family name was used on Illinois' most famous railroad watch grades, starting with the first 18-size, 15-jewel, adjusted Illinois Bunn movements introduced with serial number 201. The 18-size, 15-jewel, full plate, key-wind, adjusted Miller movements were also advertised as having "a good reputation with Railroad Men".
In 1875, Illinois introduced its first stem-wind, hunting case watch, the Model 2. The stem-winding Model 2 Stuart, Bunn, and Miller grades were adjusted for temperature, isochronism, and positions, and were manufactured for railroad time service starting in 1878. The open-face, stem-wind Model 3 was introduced in 1879, with the Stuart, Bunn, and Miller grades manufactured for railroad time service.
In 1891, Illinois introduced new Model 4 (open face, pendant set), Model 5 (hunting case), and Model 6 (open face lever set) Bunn movements with 16-jewel, nickel plates, adjusted for temperature, isochronism, and positions. Model 4 and Model 6 Grade No. 5 15-jewel, gilt plates, adjusted movements were also manufactured to meet railroad service requirements. In 1895-96, Illinois introduced the 18-size, 21-jewel, and 24-jewel Bunn Special grade watches, available as open-face (Model 6) and hunting case (Model 5), and adjusted for temperature, isochronism, and positions. The Bunn grade was later upgraded to 17-jewel, with the same adjustments.
In 1896, Illinois introduced the Model 4 (hunting case) and Model 5 (open face) "Thin Model" movements, designed by Fred I. Getty. Several grades were manufactured to meet railroad requirements, including Grade No. 179, 21-jewel, adjusted to six positions, which became Illinois' highest-grade 16-size watch at the time. Grade No. 177, 17-jewel, adjusted to six positions, and Grade No. 178, 17-jewel, adjusted to six positions, were also introduced during this period.
In 1907, the 18-size, Model 6, 21-jewel, nickel plates, A. Lincoln grade was introduced and widely used in railroad service.
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Illinois Bunn Special features
The Illinois Bunn Special is a grade of pocket watch movements manufactured by the Illinois Watch Company, founded in Springfield, Illinois. The company produced watches from approximately 1869 to 1948, with the Bunn Special grade ending in 1919. The name "Bunn" comes from John W. Bunn, one of the founders of the company, whose signature is engraved on the movements of all Bunn Special watches.
The Illinois Watch Company began producing its earliest branded models in 1872, although it had been producing small runs of watches with various other markings as early as 1869. The first 18-size, 15-jewel, adjusted Illinois Bunn movements were introduced with serial number 201. The company constructed an astronomical observatory on its grounds in 1912, allowing it to measure its time with its equipment.
The Bunn Special grade watches were available in both open-face (Model 6) and hunting case (Model 5) designs. They were adjusted to temperature, isochronism, and positions, with "adjusted" engraved on the balance bridge. The Illinois Bunn Specials had either 21 or 23 jewels, with the 23-jewel version introduced in 1924-1925. There were also 19-jewel Bunn watches. The 16-size Bunn Special 23-jewel and 21-jewel grades were renumbered to 163-A and 161-A, respectively, around 1932.
There are three types of 60-hour Bunn Specials, designated Type I, II, and III. Type I is marked with "Motor Barrel 60" on the barrel bridge, while Type II and III are marked with "60 HOUR" on the train bridge. The Type III movements have variants, with the earlier "A" variant having "Illinois Watch Co., Sprinfield" on the train bridge. The Illinois Bunn Special is considered one of the best and top-notch Illinois watches, with about 500,000 Bunn and Bunn Special watches made between 1872 and sometime in the 1940s.
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Railroad watch dials
The Illinois Watch Company, founded in 1870 in Springfield, Illinois, began selling watch movements under the name Springfield Watch Company in 1872. The company's inaugural model was the Stuart, followed by the Mason, the Miller, the Currier, and finally, the Bunn Special, a railroad watch that became central to the Illinois pocket-watch lines. The Bunn family name was used on Illinois' most famous railroad watch grades, with the first 18-size, 15-jewel, adjusted Illinois Bunn movements introduced with serial number 201.
The Illinois Bunn Special is considered an iconic railroad watch, featuring bold black Arabic numerals on a highly contrasting white enamel dial with large hands. This design ensured that timekeeping was clear and straightforward, creating a distinctive and functional aesthetic. The accuracy and reliability of these watches were enhanced by specific mechanical features, making them highly desirable.
The Illinois Watch Company's early models were produced in Springfield until 1932, after which the Hamilton Watch Company, which had acquired Illinois, continued manufacturing watches with Illinois Watch Company markings at its main factory in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, until 1939.
The term "railroad grade" refers to a watch approved by a railroad organisation for conductors' use. The specific definition of a "railroad grade" watch evolved over time, and before the 1890s, different railroads had varying standards and qualifiers for timepieces. This makes evaluating older watches as "railroad grade" challenging, as a watch may have met one company's standards but not another's.
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Railroad watch requirements
The Illinois Watch Company produced several railroad-grade watches, and while there was no universal standard for all railroad lines, there were some general requirements that a watch had to meet to be considered a railroad watch.
Regulations for watches used by critical personnel on the railroads, such as engineers, conductors, and switchyard controllers, were specified almost from the beginning of widespread railroad use in the 1850s and 1860s. These regulations became more widespread and specific over time, with some early "railroad standard" watches becoming obsolete as technology improved.
In 1853, the Superintendent of the Boston and Providence Railroad instituted the first watch inspection program to determine whether the watches used were "fit to be trusted or not". In 1887, the American Railway Association held a meeting that resulted in a fairly standardized set of requirements, but not all railroads adopted them.
By the 1890s, 18-size, 17-jewel pocket watches dominated sales for railroad service, and requirements included:
- Open-faced dials, with the stem at 12 o'clock (post-1908)
- Minimum of 15 functional jewels in the movement (pre-1895), changed to 17 jewels post-1895
- Watch adjusted to at least three positions (pre-1895), later changed to five positions: face up and face down; crown up, crown pointing left, and crown pointing right. Occasionally, a sixth position, crown pointing down, was included.
- Adjusted for severe temperature variance and isochronism (variance in spring tension)
- Indication of time with bold, legible Roman or Arabic numerals (Arabic numerals only post-1906), outer minute division, second dial, heavy hands, and a lever used to set the time
- Be lever-set (to set the time, the case had to be opened, and a lever pulled out to set the hands, preventing accidental changes)
- Have a minimum of 17 jewels, a double roller, steel escape wheel, micrometric regulator, and grade on back plate
- Be adjusted to at least five positions: stem up, left side up, right side up, face up, and face down
- Temperature compensated for 34 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit
- Keep time accurately to within a gain or loss of only 30 seconds a week
By the mid-1920s, the production of 18-size railroad-grade movements had ended, and smaller "16-size" pocket watches became more common.
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Frequently asked questions
No, Illinois railroad pocket watches do not have plastic faces. The faces of Illinois railroad pocket watches have highly contrasting white enamel dials with large bold hands and big, bold, black, Arabic numerals.
Illinois railroad pocket watches have big, bold, black, Arabic numerals on highly contrasting white enamel dials with large bold hands. This feature made telling the time as easy as possible and created a distinctive and functional railroad watch aesthetic.
A "railroad grade" pocket watch is a watch that was approved by a particular railroad organization for use by conductors on their rail. The definition of a "railroad grade" watch evolved over the years, and different railroads had different qualifiers for watches before Webb C. Ball was commissioned by railroad officials in the 1890s to create a standard set of qualifiers.
