[AVANTI]

Always liked these Railroad Approved 214's with the dual hour hands, used to see a lot of them for sale a few years ago but not very often now. How did they use the 2nd hour hand? Being a 214, I assume it set the time the same as all 214s so the 2nd (red) hour hand seems to be "fixed" one hour ahead of the regular hour hand and wouldn't seem possible for it to be advanced independently of the other hands, so what was the purpose/advantage of the 2nd hour hand?

 

[mikeyt_53]

I believe 'OliverB' has both a 214 and 218 version of this watch. Perhaps he'll chime in?

 

[Chromspec]

Always liked these Railroad Approved 214's with the dual hour hands, used to see a lot of them for sale a few years ago but not very often now. How did they use the 2nd hour hand? Being a 214, I assume it set the time the same as all 214s so the 2nd (red) hour hand seems to be "fixed" one hour ahead of the regular hour hand and wouldn't seem possible for it to be advanced independently of the other hands, so what was the purpose/advantage of the 2nd hour hand?
View attachment 234880

These were used by railroad personnel that travelled through time zones. As you pointed out the hands are fixed one our apart, it is really just a reminder of the time difference when crossing time zones. These come in an East or West version with the colors flipped. East has trailing red, West has leading red like in your picture. Here in Canada, if you were based in Atlantic Canada (AST) you would typically have the "East" version showing the earlier hour in red when you cross in to Quebec (EST). If you were based in Quebec and travelling to Atlantic Canada you would typically have the "West" version.

 

[Chromspec]

As MikeT_53 mentioned there are also versions for 218's

The 214 version is a little longer:

 

[AVANTI]

Thanks for your reply. Is there any difference between the hour/minute/second stem on the 2 hour hand watch and a normal 214 RR approved? I ask because I'm wondering if a 2nd red had can be put on a conventional 214 to mimic the dual hour hand watch or is the stem different in some way?,,,

 

[AVANTI]

I only ask not to reproduce a clone to sell but to have in my collection since I currently have 2 non-working RR 214s, one being beyond the value of repair costs,,,

 

[Chromspec]

Thanks for your reply. Is there any difference between the hour/minute/second stem on the 2 hour hand watch and a normal 214 RR approved? I ask because I'm wondering if a 2nd red had can be put on a conventional 214 to mimic the dual hour hand watch or is the stem different in some way?,,,

No, the hour and minute wheel are the standard height. The double hour hand is the same thickness as a standard hour hand. I'm not sure there would be enough clearance to stack hands to give the same effect.

That said, there are taller cannon pinions and hour wheels available for the accutron clocks and astronauts that might work.