Volume 10 Number 15

Public Relations and Advertising Department Windsor Station Montreal Que. H3C 3E4   November 19, 1980

One Moment Please:  Conductor Jean-Jacques Sirois, left, is seen here having his watch inspected by Jacques Barbeau before boarding the Montreal-Ottawa train. On hand is Mr. Barbeau's wife, Pauline, who is a receptionist in the boutique and keeps the shop's bookkeeping in order.

Jacques Barbeau's watch repair shop, situated at the 910 Peel St. entrance of Windsor Station, has moved into the concourse. And with the move comes a new image, that of a jewellery store.

The family enterprise, which Mr. Barbeau took over from his father a decade ago, was originally purchased from a Mr. Foster in 1950. Mr. Barbeau's father and uncles had worked for Mr. Foster since 1947.

Back then they were also opticians and would sell glasses to clients following a cursory examination. The client need only explain that he wasn't seeing too well; a case containing glass lenses would be brought out and a number of the lenses would be tried until the "patient" said "that's much better". Glasses would then be ordered. The eyes, which were the source of the problem, would not even be looked at, let alone examined. "Needless to say a diploma in optometry was not necessary in those days", added Mr. Barbeau.

Mr. Barbeau learned his trade from his father and has been responsible for verifying the railway's watches since the beginning of his career. As for the company's clocks, he only works on them in cases of urgency or to help out. Railway companies, such as CP Rail, whose operation is subject to strict regulatory control, choose their own watch inspectors. Mr. Barbeau is among five in Montreal.

INSPECTIONS

The regulations governing railway operation stipulate that, while on the job, all employees designated by the company must ware an approved railway pocket watch which is in proper working order. These employees are required to have their watches examined by a company-designated watch inspector - there are about 113 on the system - every six months, in May and in November.

At CP Rail, some 1,100 employees are affected by this regulation and at Montreal, Mr. Barbeau sees 200 to 300 railway men twice a year.

"A watch which shows a time of 30 seconds difference from the correct time would have to be adjusted until the difference in the times is less than 30 seconds. Employees should not adjust the time regulator of their watch themselves", said Mr. Barbeau.

"The employees who use the railway watch at work are required to carry with them a card attesting to the fact their watch has been inspected by a watch inspector".

Asked about his opinion of the new quartz watches, Mr. Barbeau simply finds them "marvellous". He added:  "To give you an idea of their precision, a pocket watch looses a minute every two weeks, an electric watch a minute a month, and the new quartz watch would loose only two minutes a year. As for maintenance, a quartz watch requires hardly any cleaning while the pocket watch, for example, must be cleaned every two years.

According to Mr. Barbeau, the railway men themselves also prefer the quartz watch. They find the wrist watch more practical and can wear them outside of work, whereas, because of present fashions, men's suits no longer have the little pocket into which they can slide their pocket watch.

SILLY INCIDENTS

Always in good humor, Jacques Barbeau cherishes a number of silly incidents which have occurred during his career. Among others, the conductor who brought in his watch for cleaning and affirmed on returning to pick it up that he never had the least bit of trouble with it. Just as he left the watchmaker's shop he dropped the watch which shattered into a million pieces.

In another humorous incident, a conductor had not worn his pocket watch during the first five years of his retirement and returned to the watchmaker to find out how to set the time. It seems he forgot how to flip open the cover.

But with the disappearance of the mechanical watch, Jacques Barbeau has redirected his talents towards jewellery making. He began taking courses in this vein two nights a week last year.

For a watchmaker, such as him, who has fabricated a number of difficult parts, jewellery making represents a horizon of challenges and opens a new creative avenue.