Barcode Decals


macjet

macjet

Member
I am in need of several 1970's era barcode decals for the side of some freight cars.

Anyone know where to find a sheet of these?

Jacob
 
Ah, yes, ACI plates. I remember seeing the first ones and wondering what would happen when they got dirty. Since the ACI reader transmitted a beam of light that was supposed to bounce off the reflective striping and then back to the decoder. There was also the problem that all cars didn't have the ACI plates mounted at a specific height, depending on the type of car. Each ACI reader had to project a very tall beam of light to account for this, which reduced the chances of getting a good reflective reading off even a clean plate. The SP set up a careful test with 100 cars in Colton, I think in 1973. All the cars were identical and all the ACI plates were cleaned. The train rolled by at 20 mph, much below the normal speed. Even with all this, the ACI system had a 10% error rate. That was the end of ACI for the SP and I think the ARR shut down the whole system in 1974. It was an idea whose time had come before the technology. Todays' electronic car identification systems work well because the don't have the mechanical and visual requirements of ACI. It seemed like a good idea at the time but the railroads spent a ton of money on something that ultimately was a complete failure.
 
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