Hamilton 992B Railroad Watch (1940-1969)

Hamilton 992B
Railroad Pocket Watch (1940-1968)
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Hamilton 992B with Montgomery Dial in a Wadsworth bar-over-crown (BOC) 10k gold-filled case (21 jewels, factory adjusted for 6 positions, lever set, 16 size, 3.410 oz./96.7g, about $300 used in more worn condition than this one). enlarge. I'd get it at this link directly to them at eBay (see How to Win at eBay).

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The Hamilton 992B Railway Special is a high-quality railroad pocket watch. It has 21 jewels, 16 size, is factory adjusted to keep accurate time in all 6 positions and is lever-set. it is among the highest quality consumer items ever made in the USA.

The 992B is all about accuracy. How accurate is it? The sample seen here has gained only 1.4 seconds from when I set it to standard time on 03 November 2013 to when I'm writing this three months later on 05 February 2014. It's varied a little over the months, but has never been more than ±15 seconds different from WWV.

Its regulator is adjusted not with a simple "F - S" lever, but with a zero-backlash (spring loaded) micrometer screw that adjusts the regulator far more precisely.

None of my quartz watches run within a second per month; this is more accurate than my Casio Atomic watch, if neither is reset and has to free-run for a month. (My Casio free-runs 1/3 of a second per day fast (+10 seconds per month) if it doesn't reset itself each night.)

I run my 992B in ideal conditions, usually sitting on my desk all day and left in a different position at night depending on if it's a little fast or slow, but any 992B in proper operating condition should run within a few seconds per day.

"Railway Special" was registered as a trademark on 24 December 1939. At introduction in late 1940, it was advertised boldly as "America's finest and most accurate railroad watch." It was also the last railroad watch, made and certified after others went out of production in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The Hamilton 992 and 992B may be the most popular railroad watches ever made.

The 992B is the movement. Hamilton sold the same movement with your choice of many different cases and many different hands and faces. The original 992 (1902-1931) was often sold uncased and you then purchased a case at the same time from your jeweler, while the 992B seen here was usually sold as a complete cased watch.

The 992B (1940-1968) had different internal engraving as the years rolled on. The earlier versions had flowery script, while the very recent version shown here has much plainer lettering.

As railroads became more popular, trains started crashing into one another as the tracks got too crowded. If one train was running early and another was running late, instead of passing each other in the opposite directions as intended, they might be on the same track at the same time running in opposite directions. Whoops!

Men realized that accurate timing was critical to keep trains in the right place at the right time. An inaccurate watch could put one train in the same place in the other direction as another train.

Each railroad adopted different standards, but generally they required watches that kept time to within 30 seconds per week. Each railroad had a "Watch Inspector" or inspectors who were in charge of setting and maintaining the fleet of watches carried by the men. Typically the men brought their watches to the watch inspector every other week to be checked, and set if necessary. The man would receive a "watch card," or a certificate that his watch was inspected on a certain day, and would need to produce a current certificate if challenged by a manager.

The watch inspector kept his reference time with a pendulum clock in his office. From about the 1950s, the pendulum clock was set to WWV.

The original Hamilton 992 was their most popular pocket watch. Most are 16 size (made until 1931), and other sizes were made until 1957.

The 992 is lever-set and has 21 jewels, a double roller escapement and is adjusted to five positions.

Elinvar was invented by the same Frenchman in the late 1800s who also invented Invar.

Invar doesn't expand as heated and is used as a standard of length. Elinvar, a different alloy as used in the 992E, doesn't change its springiness as heated. Keeping the same springiness lets the 992E keep the same time regardless of temperature.

The 992B reviewed here is a completely new watch. Design and research was started in 1931, the first was built on 27 June 1940, and the first 992Bs shipped to dealers on 05 November 1940.

It was made until no one wanted to buy them anymore in the late 1960s. Regular men's wristwatches became as accurate as pocket watches, so there was no more need to fiddle with a larger pocket watch.

The center wheel is round arm gold, and the third and fourth wheels are round arm gilt.

992B has the new Elinvar Extra hairspring. It is white; the older regular Elinvar hairsprings were blue.

Factory specifications permitted variations of no more than -0, +5 seconds per 24 hours with the crown up at room temperature, as tested over 5 days before putting in a case.

Additionally, the movements needed to vary by not more than these amounts when stored in these positions:

Additional variation per 24 hrs.	Dial Up	Dial down	12 up	3 up	9 up	6 up
± 6 seconds	X	X
± 10 seconds	X	X	X
± 15 seconds	X	X	X	X	X
± 20 seconds	X	X	X	X	X	X

With dial-up, variation was not allowed to be more than 8 seconds per 24 hours at temperatures from 40ºF to 95ºF.

Collectors fart all over themselves trying to track all the cosmetic variations of both the movement and all the cases and dials and hands with which it could ship. I don't care about this minutiae, but here are some basics.

There was but one 992B movement at any time, but you could order it and today you can stick it in an almost unlimited number of cases.

The case seen here is a Wadsworth bar-over-crown 10k gold-filled case. That case design was introduced 11 March 1926, and was called the "number 2" in catalogs. It was very popular. The rear cover and the crystal unscrew in the model seen here.

There are names for each kind of lettering and a zillion variations in dial materials, numbers and what's shown on the dial.

Note that this dial has every minute marked on the dial, making it easy to read 10:08 for example from the dial in the picture at the top.

Adjusted for inflation in 2013, catalog price for a 10k gold-filled cased 992B was $800 ($90 in 1951 dollars). For a solid 14K gold case, it sold for the equivalent of $2,700 ($300 in 1951 dollars, what a professional person earned in a month).

Adjusted for inflation in 2013, catalog price for a 10k gold-filled cased 992B was $780 in 1954 and 1955 ($89.50 in 1955 dollars). For a solid 14K gold case, it sold for the equivalent of $2,400 ($275 in 1955 dollars, what a professional person earned in a month).

The sold prices at eBay (see How to Win at eBay) will vary from about $130 for a very beat-up 992B to about $175 for most of those that sell every day, to about $500 for a really nice one as seen here that shows up every few weeks.

The sold prices at eBay (see How to Win at eBay) will vary from about $225 for a well worn 992B to about $300 for most of those that sell every day, to about $650 for one about as nice as this one.

Sadly in 2024 I don't see any really nice ones like the one I show here. The ones I do see all have cracked dials and movements loaded with tool marks. Any movement with tool marks must be avoided. Competent watchmakers leave no marks, so anything with marks on the movement mean some chowderhead has been mucking around with it and only God knows if it will keep good time ever again.

Also in 2024 I see no professional shots of the watches in eBay listings. Instead I see those shot in iPhone Macro modes, which keep sharp edges sharp, but actually filter out most of the fine details and textures that will tend to hide wear.

The watch seen here wasn't run for years. I started it up, and it ran exactly 12 seconds per day slow, every day.

I had it regulated, and it now runs to within ±0.5 seconds for the past day. This is as accurate as quartz; I have quartz clocks and watches which are ten times less accurate than this, and others which are more accurate.

One in great running condition ought to run to within a few seconds per day. Remember, the railroad specifications back in the 1800s permitted no more then 30 seconds per week error in the field on steam-powered trains, and the watches got much better as the decades passed. Get a good 992B tuned up and it ought to be much better.

It's easy to set precisely, and the hands usually read very precisely. The hands lie close to the dial for little parallax error.

The watch seen here, from a random stranger who never used it, ran for 53 hours on my first winding.

If you let it run down completely, mine takes 32 finger twists (not revolutions) to wind fully. It has a big motor.

I see no reason your watchmaker wouldn't be able to service this for another 50 years.

Hamilton points out on the warranty and care certificates that watch backs should never be opened unless absolutely necessary, because any dirt or dust will make the watch run less accurately. Don't take off the back to show your friends if you want your watch to run well; leave that to your watchmaker.

In order to keep men on the trains from resetting watches accidentally, which could be fatal, "Lever Set" was invented. Lever set simply means that you have to unscrew the front crystal to uncover a small lever at about the 1 o'clock position. Flip out the lever, and now the hands will move as you turn the crown. Otherwise, the crown only winds the watch, and does not pull-out to set. You pull out the hidden lever, not the crown, to set a lever-set watch.

Push the lever back in when done, and reattach the crystal. If you forget to push the lever back in, the crystal won't thread properly — your hint that you forgot.

You may be able to turn the crown to set back the hands, which may stop the watch from running to set seconds — or it might keep going.

If you can't set seconds, no problem. Learn if your watch tends to run fast or slow, and set the watch so that it will run towards perfect time. If you know your watch well, you'll be able to calculate the correct time in your head knowing the error that day.

Whenever it becomes 30 seconds off, move the minute hand ahead or behind to the next minute, and you'll always be within 30 seconds.

In its day, no one needed to know time to closer than to a minute. The seconds hand was more of a feature to let you know the watch was running if it was too noisy to hear it ticking, and the seconds hand was used for timing short intervals precisely, like one minute or ten seconds.

This is done by your watchmaker. Never open the back yourself; you'll let in dirt and dust, and will probably leave marks or worse.

One full turn of the precision regulation screw changes the rate of the 992B by about 20 seconds per day.

Back in the day, Hamilton suggested routine service at 12-18 month intervals, even if it was running perfectly. Unlike wrist watches which only need service if they run erratically, pocket watches have such powerful motors that they'll still run fine if internally dirty, and grind themselves to death.

Today with hot-rod synthetic oils, people seem to suggest about a 3-5 year service interval.

If you want a nice one, wait. About five of these a day sell at eBay, but to get a nicer one may take a couple weeks — or months — of looking.

Look at the big screw heads on the movement: if you see any wear, mangling or "technician tracks" on them, that watch has been serviced by an incompetent who used the wrong screwdrivers. Most watchmakers make their own special screwdrivers that have thin blades, and are wide like these screw heads.

Get one, and it will outlast you unless you do something foolish or have an accident with it.

If you've found all the time, effort and expense I put into researching and sharing all this, this free website's biggest source of support is when you use these links, especially this link directly to them at eBay (see How to Win at eBay), when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Thanks! Ken.

Official US Time (I use a shortwave radio for the WWV broadcasts at 5, 10 and 15 MC/s for more accuracy)

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