Here is the tale of Lt. Col. Key’s Richmond trip which I couldn’t find the other day.

Railroads at the time kept the time of their headquarters. In this case the two RR HQs. were located 6.5° of Longitude apart.

The sun travels a degree every 4 minutes, in this case, the sun time difference between the two cities is 26 minutes.

In a letter to his wife Lizzie from Head Quarters [Knoxville] 43rd Reg. Tenn. Vols, Lt. Col. Key writes: “You have heard of my trip to Richmond. I had a hard time of it - a most disagreeable trip. I left here on last Tuesday week, got to Bristol which you know is on the line of Tennessee and Virginia, on the evening I left. You must know that sometimes very small matters divide men. The Tennessee Road by its schedule purports to arrive at Bristol at 7 o’clock P. M. and that of the Virginia Road to depart at the same time, but the watch of the President of the Tennessee Road is half an hour slower than the watch of the President of the Virginia Road, hence the Virginia train leaves half an hour before the Tennessee train arrives. Both of them say they have the right time and won’t change it. The consequence is that passengers going up the Road have to remain from seven o’clock P. M. by Tennessee time until 7 o’clock Virginia time next evening. I had this misfortune with the others.”

[Key Papers, Chattanooga-Hamilton County Public Library, Chattanooga, Tenn.]