100 years ago a watch was what we call today a pocket watch. By the mid twenties the wristwatch became dominant and the pocket watch was relegated to workmen who couldn’t wear a fragile wristwatch (it wasn’t until the second half of the twentieth century that waterproof and shockproof became standard). This 1948 Omega is designed for the workman, a locomotive engineer in fact. I have another Omega pocket railway watch in this collection, that one from 1966. This one is bulkier and less stylish. The movements (38.5 in this and 161 in the other) look almost identical but the latter is much sleeker and I doubt if any part is interchangeable.
Like the more modern Omega, this is a former NSW Government railway watch with N.S.W. T.D. printed on dial (T.D. meaning Transport Department) and L8676 engraved on the back (L for locomotive).
As a footnote it was the railway that made accurate timekeeping important to the wide community. Station masters, loco drivers and other staff were issued with top quality pocket watches.
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