Blame It On The Railroads...!

First, let me say that I appreciate all the comments from yesterday when I took the day off.

I probably have some of the most considerate readers online...without a doubt!

Now, about today's little slice of history! I think that most of us have often wondered about how the different time zones came into being. I know that I wondered about it myself and to be honest...I didn't have a clue!

Thanks to the fine folks at History.com, I found the answer! At least, as good an answer as any! That's what I wanted to share with you today!

Nov 18, 1883:

Railroads create the first time zones

At exactly noon on this day, American and Canadian railroads begin using four continental time zones to end the confusion of dealing with thousands of local times. The bold move was emblematic of the power shared by the railroad companies.

The need for continental time zones stemmed directly from the problems of moving passengers and freight over the thousands of miles of rail line that covered North America by the 1880s. Since human beings had first begun keeping track of time, they set their clocks to the local movement of the sun. Even as late as the 1880s, most towns in the U.S. had their own local time, generally based on "high noon," or the time when the sun was at its highest point in the sky. As railroads began to shrink the travel time between cities from days or months to mere hours, however, these local times became a scheduling nightmare. Railroad timetables in major cities listed dozens of different arrival and departure times for the same train, each linked to a different local time zone.

Efficient rail transportation demanded a more uniform time-keeping system. Rather than turning to the federal governments of the United States and Canada to create a North American system of time zones, the powerful railroad companies took it upon themselves to create a new time code system. The companies agreed to divide the continent into four time zones; the dividing lines adopted were very close to the ones we still use today.

Most Americans and Canadians quickly embraced their new time zones, since railroads were often their lifeblood and main link with the rest of the world. However, it was not until 1918 that Congress officially adopted the railroad time zones and put them under the supervision of the Interstate Commerce Commission.

Just another case of not waiting on big government to handle the problem. Of course, this time the changes were made by folks that probably had a lot more power than the government wanted to butt heads with! Come to think about it, this is a lot like how it is today. Big money boys can pretty much do what they want and tell the government folks to "like it or lump it!"

Thanks again for keeping an eye on things for me yesterday. I really appreciate it!

Anyone want some fresh coffee out on the patio? I sure could use the company!