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(erielack) Re: punch cards (was: EL way freight operations)

Hi Chuck...

I knew that you worked at IBM and I was hoping you would check in.  Thanks!
I had a feeling that anything having to do with punch cards would probably be quite large.  I doubt I will be able to convince my wife that we need to have a computer museum in a spare bedroom.

- -pat  

- -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Chuck Yungkurth" <raildata_@_comcast.net>
>
> As risk of diplaying my "geyserhood", I started working at IBM during the 
> punched car era ( "BT"...before transistor).
> 
> To mess around with punch card you would need a card punch. This was a bulky 
> affair like a small desk, although I think I recall a small hand punch for 
> doing a single card. It was pretty easy to read what was on the card by 
> simply examining the holes punched.
> 
> To use a card system you also would need a card sorter and a card printer. 
> All these were big, electromechanical devices run by motors and controlled 
> by relays.
> 
> Might add that starting back in the 1920s the railroads were one of the 
> largest customers for IBM card systems. The Lackawanna had almost a whole 
> floor of the depot in Scranton full of clerks working at machine to punch 
> data into cards.
> 
> Chuck Yungkurth
> Boulder CO
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: <pat.moore_@_att.net>
> To: <erielack1_@_yahoo.com>; "EL Mail List" <erielack@lists.railfan.net>
> Sent: Friday, October 03, 2008 7:27 AM
> Subject: Re: (erielack) EL way freight operations
> 
> 
> > Bob...
> >
> > Thanks for coloring in more of the picture.
> >
> > I'm willing to bet that some people have some blank EL punch cards out 
> > there, but does anyone have a working punch card reader?  Okay, that's a 
> > little scary, I know...  Maybe there is a point when a model railroad 
> > might get a bit too realistic, huh?
> >
> > -pat
> >
> >
> >
> > -------------- Original message ----------------------
> > From: Robert Stafford <erielack1_@_yahoo.com>
> >>
> > Jim, you did a good job of telling it how it was. The other step was the
> > inputing of the information into the computer system. The bigger stations 
> > had
> > terminals, teletype or IBM cards. When the crew got back to the terminal 
> > and the
> > conductor turned in his delay reprt and wheel report along with all of his
> > switch list the cars where then inputed into the computer system as to 
> > there
> >> actual location, what time they where spotted or pulled, etc.
> >>
> >> Does anyone remember what the EL computer progaram was called?
> >>
> >> Bob Stafford
> >> Marysville, WA
> >>
> >
> > The Erie Lackawanna Mailing List
> > http://EL-List.railfan.net/
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> 
> 
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