In 1891 in Cleveland, Ohio, two trains collided because a watch of one of the engineers stopped. Following the disaster, the railroads were given a set of universal precision time keeping standards introduced in 1893. The American watch industry started developing a special category of railroad watches among which the Waltam watches enjoyed real appreciation. Their success helped Waltham begin the export of its timepieces, especially of fine watches in “hunter” style to Great Britain.