More Illinois Watch Info

[Brian Hutchings]

Thanks to the Forum, I now know a lot more about my newly acquired 15j, 18s Illinois Pocket Watch. Some queries remain and I wonder if someone can enlighten me. The watch has been described as a GRADE 5 OR 5-S.Is that good bad or normal as I have been unable to find any discription of grades that includes these.
ID 15J-HG2L-TPI-RRG. Does the RRG denote RailRoad Grade?
Regards
Brian Hutchings

[Brian Hutchings]

Thanks to the Forum, I now know a lot more about my newly acquired 15j, 18s Illinois Pocket Watch. Some queries remain and I wonder if someone can enlighten me. The watch has been described as a GRADE 5 OR 5-S.Is that good bad or normal as I have been unable to find any discription of grades that includes these.
ID 15J-HG2L-TPI-RRG. Does the RRG denote RailRoad Grade?
Regards
Brian Hutchings

[doug sinclair]

Brian,

I detect that much of the information you have been given by others who have responded to your question has come from the Meggers & Ehrhardt bible on Illinois. The definition in that guide for RRG is Railroad Grade as you likely suspected. Meggers and Ehrhardt list yours as RRG. At one time, it was possible to have a watch approved for railroad use that did NOT have the number of adjustments, including position adjustments, isochronal adjustments, and temperature adjustments marked on the movement. This was later changed to insist that all adjustments (usually 8 or 9) be marked on the movement before a watch could be accepted for railroad use.

[Kent]

Brian:

You can find a brief description and list price of an Illinois grade No. 5 movement online in a 530 Kb scan of an S. F. Myers 1887 Catalog Supplement (http://static.flickr.com/27/43570061_f24bcaeb4e_b.jpg).

Yes, the RRG in the code indicates railroad grade. Any 15-jewel, 18-size watch of that era, up to the mid-1890s (and maybe later on some roads), adjusted to temperature, isochronism and position, would have been accepted into railroad time service. 17-jewel, 18-size or 16-size movements of similar adjustment could have entered service for at least another ten years beyond that.

P.S. I see that my friend Doug types faster than I do. This merely adds to what he has said.

[Brian Hutchings]

Many thanks Doug & Kent for the info.. Looks like I will have to get my hands on the Meggers & Ehrhardt book. Whilst on the subject, does anyone know how to obtain a copy of the Illinois Database by Dr Russ Snyder. I had a look on the Chapter 149 site but could find no reference to it
Regards
Brian Hutchings

[doug sinclair]

Brian,

The information I have for Russ Snyder is:

rwsnyder@uiuc.edu

Hope it works.

[Kent]

I have this link for Russell W Snyder's Illinois Data Base CD (http://nawcc-mb.infopop.cc/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/4316035461/m/2401056421/r/8541060521#8541060521).