In the 1880s, in a fit of technocratic enthusiasm, the railroad industry hatched an audacious scheme. They would force every town in America to abandon what was called time for all recorded history and instead adopt a new conception. The goal was to make it easier to follow train schedules. The trouble, as they saw it, was that every town had a slightly different time on the clock. You could ride the train for an hour and be at the destination at a time not different or even earlier from one...





















