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A scarce 1897 Ball railroad watch was sold last week on an internet auction site for $5,778. Also, a model #655 Rockford railroad watch went for $3,575. And just a short time ago, a Hamilton Burlington model railroad watch tallied at $3,703.br /
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Are these high values unusual? Well, yes - and no! Yes - these particular watches were vintage models in exceptional condition. But, no - it is not inconceivable for ANY authentic railroad timepiece to command prices from $500 to $5000.br /
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In todays volatile investment market there are no sure things. Take a look at what were so called blue chip stocks just a few short months ago. The best recommendation for any portfolio is diversification, and as a part of that diversity perhaps you would be well served to think about high grade vintage railroad watches. Why? Because collecting or investing in Railroad watches is HOT! And its heating up more everyday!br /
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What is it about old Railroad watches that makes them so desirable?br /
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7 Reasons to invest in old Railroad Watches.br /
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1) Craftsmanshipbr /
Today the Swiss are considered the worlds best watch makers; but that was not always so. At the end of the nineteenth century, American railroad watches where considered to be vastly superior in quality, reliability and accuracy to any other watch in the world. br /
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2) No longer made br /
Today a few companies are making replicas railroad watches, but genuine railroad watches are no longer being manufactured. The last to be marketed was Hamilton Watch companys model 992B, in 1969. br /
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3) Low Production numbersbr /
Authentic railroad certifiedtimepieces were made exclusively to meet the demands and specifications of one industry - railroads. The number of authentic railroad watches made was nowhere near the number of ordinary pocket watches marketed and sold to the general public. Even at the high point of the railways, the true railroad watch, just wasnt produced in large quantities. br /
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4) Many didnt survive.br /
Add to the small production numbers, the fact that few have lasted till today. Over the decades many were lost or inadvertently tossed out. Some where disassembled by watch makers for their parts. Many met the doom of being buried with the death of their owners. Perhaps the largest percentage of railroad watches that didnt survive, fell prey to being scrapped for the gold or silver value of their cases. Those railroad watches that still survive today, in ANY condition, are very hard to find. Those in GOOD condition are truly rare, and command excessive prices.br /
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5) Fascination and Allure of the Rails br /
The attraction that the public has for anything pertaining to trains and the railroad industry is amazing. Many hobbyists, both young and old alike, are spellbound by the spirit of the rails. Perhaps it is because over the last one hundred and fifty years, the railroads where such a significant part of mankinds evolution. For whatever the reason; the seduction of the railways draws collectors to railroad pocket watches like bees to sugar.br /
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6) Accelerating Prices br /
Perhaps the number one reason people are getting into Railroad watches as collectibles is for their solid performance as investments. The soaring prices of precious metals - in particular, gold and silver - has drawn astute collectors to evaluate vintage pocket watches in an all together new light. Like rare coins, gold and silver cased pocket watches will never decrease in value below the value of their precious metal content. br /
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7) Undervaluedbr /
Despite the reasons above, a href=http://www.oldrailroadwatches.com/Main_Station/Railroad_Watches_Auctions target=_blankrailroad watches/a are STILL drastically under priced today. As more and more collectors battle to own fewer and fewer watches prices will continue to spiral upward. And perceptive investors know this! Rarity and desirability, will always drive prices upwards. Surprisingly, railroad watches can still be found at quite modest prices on eBay and other on line auction sites. Costs have accelerated somewhat in the last 24 to 36 months, largely due to the fact that European investors are discovering them. But, according to experts, prices on are expected to elevate even more. Perhaps you should a href=http://www.oldrailroadwatches.com/ target=_blankinvest/a in some yourself.br /
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Shortcut to handy info about a href=http://www.wealthyaffiliatehub.com/reviews/6-figures-with-chris-review target=_blankorder 6 figures with chris/a - give a look to hyperlinked webpage.

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Construction of a railroad providing access to the mineral-rich interior of Alaska was completed by the United States Government in 1923. The line originated at Seward, a deep-water, ice-free port on Alaska’s southern coast, and proceeded north 470 miles to Fairbanks. At Milepost 114, a “tent city” of railroad workers on the banks of Ship Creek became Anchorage. In 1985, the Federal Government transferred ownership of the Alaska Railroad to the State, which operates the road today as much for tourists who come to experience Alaska’s wonderful scenery, as for the transportation of freight, primarily coal, lumber and petroleum products.

The principal passenger service on the Alaska Railroad is the link between Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska’s two largest cities, via Denali National Park. During the summer tourist season, the flagship Denali Star covers the route daily in each direction on an all-daylight 12-hour schedule. The train carries coaches for all passengers, two dome cars, a traditional diner and a bistro car. This train also conveys the full-length dome cars operated by Princess Cruises, Holland America Line and Royal Celebrity Tours, called respectively Midnight Sun Express , McKinley Explorer, and Wilderness Express, whose accommodation must be purchased directly from the cruise lines. From the autumn till mid-May, frequency on the “Mt. McKinley Park Route,” as the railroad historically referred to its Anchorage-Fairbanks corridor, is just one round trip per week, the off-season train re-titled Aurora.

Most patrons of the Denali Star are destined for its namesake Denali National Park, home of Mt. McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America, and abundant wildlife including caribou, moose, grizzly bears, wolves and eagles. But the entire railway traverses pristine wilderness, offering frequent views of Mt. McKinley in the distance as the line travels from the Chugach Mountains overlooking Anchorage, then along the eastern flank of the Alaska Range. Approximately mid-way between Anchorage and Denali, passengers may opt for a scheduled stop at Talkeetna, a classic frontier village that serves as a staging area for Mt. McKinley climbers as well as a base for McKinley “flight-seeing” tours.

In contrast to the northerly route of the Denali Star , where the mountains tend to be distant, the southern division of the Alaska Railroad’s main trunk connecting Anchorage with Seward cuts right through the mountains of the Kenai Peninsula. This route boasts the scenery of Cook Inlet’s Turnagain Arm between Anchorage and Girdwood, location of the Alyeska Ski Resort, Portage Glacier and the glaciers, gorges and waterfalls of the Kenai Mountains. Seward lies at the head of Resurrection Bay, surrounded by the Kenai Fjords National Park which can be viewed on half-day cruises. The Anchorage-Seward line hosts two different passenger trains, summer only. A daily scheduled service called the Coastal Classic runs southbound in the morning, returning northbound in the evening, takes 4¼ hours each way, carries coaches, a dome car and café-style diner. The Grandview is a newer train featuring low-level dome and lounge cars; however, this service is operated on an irregular schedule, exclusively for several cruise lines calling at Seward, and the train is available only to cruise ship passengers transferring between Seward and Anchorage.

During World War II, the U.S. Army built a branch from Portage on the Seward division of the Alaska Railroad to the port of Whittier on Prince William Sound. Requiring two long tunnels through the mountains, the Whittier Cutoff reduced much of the distance and grade between Alaska’s interior and the sea, facilitating the movement of heavy cargo. Today, Prince William Sound has become a popular destination for day cruises showing off tidewater glaciers and marine wildlife, so the railroad obliges summertime tourists with its Glacier Discovery train, a daily RDC (self-propelled Rail Diesel Car) service between Anchorage and Whittier. Rather than lay over all day at Whittier, the Glacier Discovery doubles back up the branch to Portage and then down the Seward trunk as far as Grandview, stopping at Spencer Glacier for an optional Float Tour on the Placer River and glacier sightseeing nonpareil.

The Alaska Railroad’s seasonal passenger service has become the foundation of an extensive repertoire of packaged tour selections - rail and one-way air transportation, transfers and hotels, sightseeing and adventure choices - along all of its routes. While the railroad was originally built for commerce and remains an active freight carrier, the company’s involvement in the travel business has grown it into a major tour operator in the state of Alaska.

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