General Superintendent S.T. Smith's General Order Implementing Standard Time, November 14, 1883

This General Order from November 14, 1883, circulated by S. T. Smith, General Superintendent of the Kansas Division of the Union Pacific Railroad, notifies all stations on the Kansas Division that "standard time" will begin at exactly 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 18, 1883. This order coincides with the establishment of time zones throughout the United States, a development necessitated by the speed of railroad travel.

UNION PACIFIC RAILWAY CO.
KANSAS DIVISION.

General Superintendent's Office.

Kansas City, Mo.,
November 14, 1883.

GENERAL ORDER.

On Sunday, Nov. 18th, 1883, at o'clock a.m., the standard time now in use on Kansas Division will be changed to 90th Meridian or "Central" time, for that portion of the road east of Wallace, and to 105th Meridian or "Mountain" time, for that portion of the road between Wallace and Denver.

90th Meridian time is nine minutes faster than Jefferson City time, (our present standard,) and one hour faster than the 105th Meridian time.

105th Meridian time is exactly Denver time, and is one minute slower than our present time between Wallace and Denver, and one hour slower than 90th Meridian time.

It will thus be seen that there is exactly one hour difference between the time east of Wallace and the time west of Wallace, the former being one hour faster than the latter, and that our present time east of Wallace is nine minutes slower, and west of Wallace one minute faster than the new standard to be adopted November 18th.

In order to make the change to the new time, nine minutes before nine o'clock a.m. Nov. 18th, employees in all departments east of Wallace will set their watches and clocks ahead nine minutes, or to nine o'clock; and at one minute after eight o'clock a.m., employees in all departments west of Wallace will set their watches and clocks back one minute, or to eight o'clock.

At nine minutes before nine o'clock a.m., standard time east of Wallace will be transmitted from the Despatcher's office at Kansas City, to all stations east of Wallace, and the time so given will be nine o'clock, 90th Meridian time.

At one minute after eight o'clock a.m., the standard time west of Wallace will be transmitted from the Despatcher's office at Wallace to all stations between Wallace and Denver, and the time so given will be eight o'clock, 105th Meridian time.

All train men East of Wallace must compare time at first telegraph office at which they arrive after nine o'clock a.m. with the standard time transmitted as above, setting their watches to correspond.

All train men West of Wallace must compare time at first telegraph office at which they arrive after eight o'clock a.m. with the standard time transmitted as above, setting their watches to correspond.

All trains stopping for corrected time will not proceed until O.K. to corrected time is received from Dispatcher's office. The new standard time will again be sent at ten o'clock a.m. for the portions of the road East of Wallace, and at nine o'clock a.m. for the portion of road West of Wallace, and at those hours respectively each day thereafter.

S.T. Smith Gen'l Superintendent.