System of National Time and Its Application by Means of Hour and Minute Indexes to the National Railway Time-Table

Item 84 HE2727 D69 1870 (1).jpg
Item 84 HE2727 D69 1870 (2).jpg
Item 84 HE2727 D69 1870 (2).jpg

Creator

Charles F. Dowd

Title

System of National Time and Its Application by Means of Hour and Minute Indexes to the National Railway Time-Table

Coverage

Albany

Publisher

Weed, Parsons

Date

1870

Description

Charles Dowd was the among the first to propose time zones for the railroads of the United States. He published his idea in this work in 1870 and continued to promote it to state, municipal, federal, and business leaders. The idea of time zones would improve railroad operations by eliminating local standard times that could vary by 15 to 30 minutes or more between various railroad companies. Such variances often led to missed connections for passengers.