Britain's nineteenth-century railway companies traditionally play a central role in histories of the spread of standard Greenwich time. This relationship at once seems to embody a productive relationship between science and capitalism, with regulated time essential to the formation of a disciplined industrial economy. In this narrative, it is not the state, but capitalistic private commerce which fashioned a national time system. However, as this article demonstrates, the collaboration between railway companies and the Royal Greenwich Observatory was far from harmonious. While railways did employ the accurate time the observatory provided, they were also more than happy to compromise the astronomical institution's ability to take the accurate celestial observations that such time depended on. Observing astronomical transits required the use of troughs of mercury to reflect images of stars, but the construction of a railway too near to the observatory threatened to cause vibrations which would make such readings impossible. Through debates over proposed railway lines near the observatory, it becomes clear how important government protection from private interests was to preserving astronomical standards. This article revises our understanding of the role of railway companies in the dissemination of standard time and argues that state intervention was essential to preserving Victorian British astronomical science.

中文翻译：

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颤抖的过境：铁路、皇家天文台和资本主义对维多利亚时代天文科学的挑战

英国 19 世纪的铁路公司传统上在标准格林威治时间的传播历史中发挥着核心作用。这种关系似乎体现了科学与资本主义之间的一种富有成效的关系，受管制的时间对于形成有纪律的工业经济至关重要。在这种叙述中，形成国家时间系统的不是国家，而是资本主义的私人商业。然而，正如本文所示，铁路公司与皇家格林威治天文台之间的合作远非和谐。虽然铁路确实使用了天文台提供的准确时间，但他们也非常乐意损害天文机构进行时间所依赖的准确天体观测的能力。观察天文凌日需要使用水银槽来反射恒星的图像，但是太靠近天文台的铁路建设可能会引起振动，从而使此类读数变得不可能。通过关于天文台附近拟议铁路线的辩论，很明显政府保护私人利益对于维护天文标准的重要性。本文修正了我们对铁路公司在传播标准时间中的作用的理解，并认为国家干预对于保护维多利亚时代的英国天文科学至关重要。通过关于天文台附近拟议铁路线的辩论，很明显政府保护私人利益对于维护天文标准的重要性。本文修正了我们对铁路公司在传播标准时间中的作用的理解，并认为国家干预对于保护维多利亚时代的英国天文科学至关重要。通过关于天文台附近拟议铁路线的辩论，很明显政府保护私人利益对于维护天文标准的重要性。本文修正了我们对铁路公司在传播标准时间中的作用的理解，并认为国家干预对于保护维多利亚时代的英国天文科学至关重要。