Actually, I don’t know what they’re called, but I’m referring to the black rectangular box (approx. 8.5"X11") that has several horizontal bars, one on top of each other, of different thickness and colors. If anyone could help me with this, I’d sure appreciate it.
What you are describing sounds like an ACI label. I believe this stands for “automatic car identification” label. It was an early attempt to track cars, and would be similar to a modern day barcode. There was a scanner that would be located along the right of way that was to read the label as the car went by. I believe that it was unsuccessful because, among other reasons, the labels would be obscured by dirt and become unreadable.
Following is a link: www.icrr.net/aci.htm
Regards
Sounds like you’re talking about ACI (Automatic Car Identification) labels. They were part of a system that was introduced by the AAR in 1968, and to be in place by 1970. The coded plates contained info on each particular car and were to be read by trackside scanners as the train passed. In 1978 the system was abandonned as an industry standard, as the plates couldn’t be kept clean enough to provide reliable data.
Wayne
ACI labels, like the big yellow polkadot wheel inspection label, are among the things that are very era-specific. If you’ve got them at all, they should be on everything - if you model the years between 1970 and 1978. Later, they would gradually disappear. Anything built after 1978 wouldn’t have them. Before 1968, they were unknown.
So, what replaced the big, ugly barcode? A little box about the size of a big candy bar, which can be read electronically rather than optically. It can be painted over or even ‘grafittifized’ and still perform its intended function.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Correct – and it’s called an ACI tag. It’s a passive transponder. When it receives a radio signal from an ACI reader it modulates the signal and reflects it. The ACI reader receives the modulated signal and compares it to a look-up table to identify the car. The tag has very limited range. It’s the same thing as an RFID tag that are becoming common for inventory control.
Where these cause trouble is when someone inadvertently mixes up the tag pairs between two cars when they’re being installed, and one side of one car says one car number and the other side says it’s another car number. It drives people nuts figuring that out.
While the ACI optically-read tag was an enormous flop, the ACI RFID tag is a huge success. The original concept was sound but was just a little too far ahead of the technology necessary to support it until RFID technology appeared.
RWM
Ya it was the same technology that a little later lead to barcodes on items at the grocery store. I think the DM&IR was one of the first railroads to use it, so they could scan ore cars while going over the scales at Proctor and Two Harbors more efficiently.
These “little boxes” are used outside of the railroad industry. In California we have Fastracks where one installs a transponder on one’s car for automatically paying tolls. They are about the size of the palm of a hand. With these, the government can track the whereabouts of a vehicle. Within a few decades this will be mandatory so tolls can be collected everywhere one drives and to impose geographical limits where one is permitted to drive. In a few generations governments will require miniaturized versions be implanted in its citizens so they can be monitored 24 hours a day.
Mark
You’re not one of those conspiracy theorists now, are you?
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1656880303867390173