Time Zones, Trains, and a Giveaway!

What time is it? Throughout most of history, this question was answered according to the position of the sun. When the sun was overhead, everyone in the village knew it was noon—even before the technological advent of a town clock or pocket watch.

If one traveled, it was understood that an adjustment must be made to one’s personal timepiece.

But when the railroad came along, the times, as they say, started changing. Literally.

From http://www.railswest.com/time/

By the early 1880’s, there were more than 300 time standards in the United States. In addition, each train station set its own time standard, and oftentimes, it didn’t match the local solar time of the town it was in. Even if the time standards did match, published timetables listed dozens of arrival and departure times for the same train, each referencing a different local time zone. The railway station at Chicago boasted multiple "official" clocks, each bearing a different time. Passengers and employees alike were frustrated and confused.

"Great Railway Station of Chicago" around 1880. By Unknown or not provided (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

To keep trains running, a more efficient, uniform system of telling time was required.

The railroad companies were so powerful at this time they could avoid the U.S. and Canadian governments and set their own time standards. They created over a hundred of them. As one can imagine, it didn’t help much.

In 1870, Charles Dowd proposed four time zones for North American railroads, but it wasn't until 1878 that the idea stuck, when a Scottish-born Canadian named Sandford Fleming (1827–1915) developed a system of worldwide time zones. (In addition to being known as the father of standardized time zones, he was a railway engineer, inventor, and the designer of the first Canadian postage stamp! No wonder he was knighted.) 

Sir Sandford Fleming. Public Domain

Fleming proposed the earth's division into 24 time zones, one for each hour of the day, spaced fifteen degrees longitude apart, since the earth spins fifteen degrees every hour.

Fleming’s idea met some resistance. It took five years for U.S. railroad companies to abandon the hundred time zones they'd been using to implement the handful Fleming proposed, but the change became official on November 18, 1883. The continental U.S. was divided into Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones—for railroad purposes, at least. 

1883, Public Domain

Many citizens in both countries followed the new time standards, since railroads were such an important part of their lives. However, not everyone did, and it took another 35 years for the use of Fleming's time zones to become mandatory in the U.S.

Perhaps one reason folks hesitated was a resistance to the tremendous power the railroads held. Others may have assumed the notion wouldn’t stick, or would prove too difficult to observe. After all, condensing 300 local times zones to 4 was no minor undertaking. Nevertheless, all U.S. states complied when Congress passed the Standard Time Act of 1918. 

Time still fluctuates for us. Time zones shift to form new borders, daylight savings is debated, and we still watch the sun. But next time you hear a train whistle, you’ll know that’s how the time was set.

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GIVEAWAY!

Railroads and time zones have a part to play in my upcoming novella, One Word from You from the Austen in Austin Volume I Collection, which releases January 15 from White Fire. I’m offering an e-book of the collection to one randomly chosen commenter at the end of the post.

In your comment, share about a train travel experience you've had...or would like to have. I'll tell you one of my favorite train experiences, too! If you share this post on Facebook or Twitter, let me know in the comments and I’ll give you an extra entry—but please include your email address in your comment so I can contact you! Giveaway ends 1/8/16 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.

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Austen in Austin, Volume I

Four Texas-Set Novellas Based on Jane Austen's Novels

Discover four heroines in historical Austin, TX, as they find love--Jane Austen style. Volume 1 includes:

If I Loved You Less by Gina Welborn, based on Emma
A prideful matchmaker examines her own heart when her protégé falls for the wrong suitor.

Romantic Refinements by Anita Mae Draper, based on Sense and Sensibility
A misguided academy graduate spends the summer falling in love . . . twice.

One Word from You by Susanne Dietze, based on Pride and Prejudice
A down-on-her-luck journalist finds the story of her dreams, but her prejudice may cost her true love . . . and her career.

Alarmingly Charming by Debra E. Marvin, based on Northanger Abbey
A timid gothic dime-novel enthusiast tries to solve the mystery of a haunted cemetery and, even more shocking, why two equally charming suitors compete for her attentions.

Each novella is available individually, too.

ABOUT SUSANNE:

Susanne Dietze began writing love stories in high school, casting her friends in the starring roles. Today, she writes in the hope that her historical romances will encourage and entertain others. A pastor’s wife and mom of two, she loves fancy-schmancy tea parties, travel, and curling up on the couch with a costume drama and a plate of nachos. Susanne is the author of five new and upcoming novellas; her newest, One Word From You, is in White Fire’s Austen in Austin Volume I.