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Railmaster ~ Why Not More Love?

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I suppose this could go in either Modern or Vintage subcategories so I went Open...

Anyway, why does the Railmaster (in any variation of Vintage or Modern) not get more love in the watch world?

To my brain: it's gorgeous, easily a worthy foe of a or any Cage Match with the Explorer and nicely blurs the crossover between Casual, Work, Dress and Sports.

I am biased for sure because my grandpa was a railroad man for the entirety of his adult life (he began working on the Erie Lackawanna RR at 14 and retired at 75 years old) and once my dad, his youngest son, had the career results financially in place to do so, purchased a Railmaster for his father in the early 1960's -- which grandpa wore with extreme pride until his death. It was on his wrist when he was laid to rest.
His watch is 100% responsible for my obsession with plain, 3/6/9 & 3/6/9/12, three handers to this very day.
 
Davidt
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I simply don’t think field/rail watches are the most popular style of watch.
Even with the Rolex hype and marketing the Explorer 1 sells for less of a premium than many of the OP41’s.
 
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Davidt Davidt
I simply don’t think field/rail watches are the most popular style of watch.
Even with the Rolex hype and marketing the Explorer 1 sells for less of a premium than many of the OP41’s.

Fair enough... but I would guess that the Explorer, based on sales numbers strictly, outsells the Railmaster -- and I wonder why?
I just feel like the RM doesn't get the same scope of attention as the Explorer or really any field/work watch. Seems baffling to me.
 
gbesq
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I'm surprised by the lack of love as well. I own a Ranchero and the two watches aren't dissimilar, but Rancheros are in great demand and not easy to find in good original condition.
1471500-8843d3d52331f463f085b0c6c1397fa2.jpg
 
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gbesq gbesq
I'm surprised by the lack of love as well. I own a Ranchero and the two watches aren't dissimilar, but Rancheros are in great demand and not easy to find in good original condition.
1471500-8843d3d52331f463f085b0c6c1397fa2.jpg

Thank you for posting my new favorite watch, and further eroding what little mojo remains in my brain that I can ever be satisfied with what I own.
 
tritto
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I also have a Ranchero and I'd love a vintage Railmaster or the 1957 special edition. Not some much love for me for the modern Railmaster a though.
 
Davidt
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There’s a clear distinction between vintage and modern though. Vintage Railmasters and Rancheros are obviously highly sought after due to the low numbers of good examples available and (imo) the generally more nuanced palette of vintage collectors compared to modern.

The RM 57 reissue wasn’t a huge success and was(is) available at ADs long after the Speedmaster and Seamaster sold out.

Re the Explorer, I assume it’s simply because it’s Rolex and due to current tastes, marketing and insta culture, does any Omega model outer it’s Rolex counterpart?
 
dsio
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This issue is pretty much always that you have the Railmaster then you have the Seamaster 300 which has a bezel as well, and people get the Seamaster. Every time the Railmaster comes back the watch is defined by what it doesn’t have, or what it lacks, rather than what it has. It can’t ever have anti-magnetism as a feature because the entire Omega lineup now is rated to over 15,000 gauss.

So when it came in the 1990s it was sort just an Aqua Terra with a dial that wasn’t as nice as the Aqua Terra because of the lack of applied indices and logo. You saw the Railmaster and the AT in the same case and the Railmaster just looked like a worse version of the AT, so people bought the AT.

Then there was the Railmaster XXL which I actually kind of liked but not enough to actually buy.
 
mcemeren
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Interesting, Railmaster is the third watch of mine which has got compliments on the wrist, other than Moonwatch and a Salmon Dial Montblanc. I love it.
 
watchyouwant
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dsio dsio
This issue is pretty much always that you have the Railmaster then you have the Seamaster 300 which has a bezel as well, and people get the Seamaster. Every time the Railmaster comes back the watch is defined by what it doesn’t have, or what it lacks, rather than what it has. It can’t ever have anti-magnetism as a feature because the entire Omega lineup now is rated to over 15,000 gauss.

So when it came in the 1990s it was sort just an Aqua Terra with a dial that wasn’t as nice as the Aqua Terra because of the lack of applied indices and logo. You saw the Railmaster and the AT in the same case and the Railmaster just looked like a worse version of the AT, so people bought the AT.

Then there was the Railmaster XXL which I actually kind of liked but not enough to actually buy.

Rubbish. The Vintage Railmaster till 1963 is simply the best bigger size Tool Omega available. Amagnetic watches like the Patek Amagnetic, Rolex vintage Milgauss, JLC , IWC and Omega Military and MK 11 are all sought after Tool watches. And the Omega is the only bigger size example . Her Time will come. Who needs a Bezel anyway.....
 
dsio
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watchyouwant watchyouwant
Rubbish. The Vintage Railmaster till 1963 is simply the best bigger size Tool Omega available. Amagnetic watches like the Patek Amagnetic, Rolex vintage Milgauss, JLC , IWC and Omega Military and MK 11 are all sought after Tool watches. And the Omega is the only bigger size example . Her Time will come. Who needs a Bezel anyway.....
I’m talking about the modern Railmasters which have been a repeated failure not the Ck2914. People keep saying bring back this but they have no intention of buying it then it fails and is withdrawn from the market again, it’s just a watch with no future at this point.
 
JayBe
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I agree with @dsio. To me, the Railmaster looks like a Seamaster 300 with a missing bezel.
 
madjestikmoose
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A noteworthy ambassador might help to shift a few more. But it’s got Presley Gerber 😗
 
Duracuir1
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SC1 SC1
I suppose this could go in either Modern or Vintage subcategories so I went Open...

Anyway, why does the Railmaster (in any variation of Vintage or Modern) not get more love in the watch world?

To my brain: it's gorgeous, easily a worthy foe of a or any Cage Match with the Explorer and nicely blurs the crossover between Casual, Work, Dress and Sports.

I am biased for sure because my grandpa was a railroad man for the entirety of his adult life (he began working on the Erie Lackawanna RR at 14 and retired at 75 years old) and once my dad, his youngest son, had the career results financially in place to do so, purchased a Railmaster for his father in the early 1960's -- which grandpa wore with extreme pride until his death. It was on his wrist when he was laid to rest.
His watch is 100% responsible for my obsession with plain, 3/6/9 & 3/6/9/12, three handers to this very day.
Nice story. He was laid to rest with the watch… did your dad have it engraved when he gave it to your grandpa?
20A45878-D03D-4E55-8BF5-CB3CA0687115.jpeg
 
abrod520
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Possibly compounding the issue too, is that some of the most highly-sought-after Railmasters don’t even say ‘Railmaster’ on the dial - they say ‘Seamaster’ or ‘Flightmaster’ instead. Mine:

157FD243-A554-44D5-9F7D-019F85D589AC.jpeg
 
RevZMan123
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The Railmaster was the first Omega I liked and then it was one of the first modern ones I bought. It replaced my desire for a Tudor ranger and probably an Explorer as well. Got my 2010 from a fellow OF member. It quickly became my favorite watch. Period. It doesn't even have a spot in my watchbox I wear it so often.
 
PXL_20221010_125731903.PORTRAIT.jpg PXL_20221010_125622795.PORTRAIT.jpg PXL_20221010_125947095.PORTRAIT.jpg
gbesq
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abrod520 abrod520
Possibly compounding the issue too, is that some of the most highly-sought-after Railmasters don’t even say ‘Railmaster’ on the dial - they say ‘Seamaster’ or ‘Flightmaster’ instead. Mine:

157FD243-A554-44D5-9F7D-019F85D589AC.jpeg
Isn’t that more of a “Seachero” than a Railmaster? Looks like a Ranchero 2990/2996 case.
 
Deafboy
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Why is the Rolex Explorer compared to the Railmaster? Wouldn't the Rolex Milgauss be the natural comparator as they were both aimed for the engineering market?
 
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