Railroads Standardize Time: Five Zones Unite North America
On November 18, 1883, American and Canadian railroads imposed five standardized time zones, replacing a chaos of roughly 300 local times based on the sun's position at each city's meridian. Before 'Railroad Time,' a traveler from Washington to San Francisco would pass through over 200 different local times. Train schedules were impossible to coordinate: Pittsburgh had six different local times used by various railroads. The plan, devised by William Frederick Allen, secretary of the General Time Convention, divided the continent into Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific, and Intercolonial zones separated by exact one-hour intervals. Railroads synchronized their clocks at noon on November 18. Most cities adopted the new times immediately, though Congress didn't make standard time federal law until the Standard Time Act of 1918.
November 18, 1883
143 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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