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·I have several hankerings. I'm thinking about the Ultraman Speedy Tuesday, and I've been waiting for several years for Rolex to put a ceramic bezel on the Explorer II.
But lately I have developed in interest in a Ball watch. I'm not even sure which one yet, but the back story has captivated me. I'm leaning toward the Engineer II or maybe the Trainmaster. Two very different looks. The Engineer II looks like the Explorer I to me, but with the date window I so covet.
The backstory comes from an historical plaque near the Kipton, Ohio train station:
On April 19, 1891, a head-on collision between two trains of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Company occurred at the Kipton depot. Eight people lost their lives, and the depot was heavily damaged. The crash occurred when a fast mail train heading east near Kipton and a passenger train going west from Elyria collided. The passenger train was supposed to let the mail train go by, but the conductor had not realized that his watch had stopped for four minutes and then restarted. As a result the passenger train was late getting to the stopping point. Looking into the matter, the railway company enlisted Webb C. Ball, a well-known Cleveland jeweler, to investigate time and watch conditions throughout its lines. Ball instituted the current railroad industry's timekeeping program, which specified watches trainmen could use. His attention to accuracy and promptness led to the well-known saying, "Get on the Ball."
But lately I have developed in interest in a Ball watch. I'm not even sure which one yet, but the back story has captivated me. I'm leaning toward the Engineer II or maybe the Trainmaster. Two very different looks. The Engineer II looks like the Explorer I to me, but with the date window I so covet.
The backstory comes from an historical plaque near the Kipton, Ohio train station:
On April 19, 1891, a head-on collision between two trains of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Company occurred at the Kipton depot. Eight people lost their lives, and the depot was heavily damaged. The crash occurred when a fast mail train heading east near Kipton and a passenger train going west from Elyria collided. The passenger train was supposed to let the mail train go by, but the conductor had not realized that his watch had stopped for four minutes and then restarted. As a result the passenger train was late getting to the stopping point. Looking into the matter, the railway company enlisted Webb C. Ball, a well-known Cleveland jeweler, to investigate time and watch conditions throughout its lines. Ball instituted the current railroad industry's timekeeping program, which specified watches trainmen could use. His attention to accuracy and promptness led to the well-known saying, "Get on the Ball."
