Michael Holley wrote about an interview he had with Gary Kay, the designer of the SWTPC 6800 computer. Gary had some interesting stuff to say about the Datapoint 2200.
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Am interested in (researching) TOPS, hoping to write an article (or video?) about Datapoint’s part in the TOPS BR rail system. As I’m in the USA, the BFI Player won’t play the video for me. (Tried using a VPN, too, but still did’t work!)
There (apparently) was a YouTube link/version, (see link, above), but that’s not active anymore.
Any ideas / suggestions / help appreciated! Thanks …
Welcome Joe! There’s an archive of that video here. Also I found a 122 page document all about BR TOPS
TOPS: The Story of a British Railways Project (PDF)
The 1979 report on the introduction of the Total Operations Processing System, which for the first time allowed automated tracking and control of freight consists in the UK. This document was published in 1979 by British Railways Board. It was written by Robert Arnott.
A second plan was produced in 1970 to update the previous one, called Freight Plan 1971/1975. This plan particularly highlighted the disproportionate amount of resources allocated to wagon load traffic compared with train load, frequently as high as 5 to 1, and it was proposed that the wagon load traffic retained should only be that necessary to retain train load business.
It also unequivocally recommended the installation of a powerful computer system to tighten up the utilisation of resources and avoid transit delays…
Of primary importance in our decision to install TOPS was the ability to provide central control of our property, equipment and operations, while at the same time to provide local people with information they need to manage and control their areas of responsibility.
Our experience to date indicates that these objectives are being attained in the form of greater service reliability with more effective control of the service resources, namely people and equipment. The economic value of these controls is 5 to 6 million dollars annually to Southern Pacific Company. In addition to the tangible benefits obtained from TOPS, there are other benefits, while very real and important, are not directly measured. The information provided to our customers on movements over Southern Pacific, marketing and sales analysis, operational analysis and accounting outputs, are some of the additional benefits that have been attained from TOPS.
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You probably know this already, there’s a system design report from 1962 on the IBM - Southern Pacific TOPS project, on wich the BR TOPS was based, on Bitsavers:
Thanks for finding this report for me. I wouldn’t have even heard about TOPS, if it were not for discussion / comments in Retro Computing — so am grateful for that reader’s comments about the Datapoint 2200 (which I had been Googling, seeking information about that ‘retro computing’ past.
I have not yet read through the 1962 Southern Pacific report yet … not looking forward to that much on-screen reading on my laptop, as my eyesight is not what it used to be … macular degeneration, etc. I remember, before I retired, having access to Adobe’s Acrobat Pro software, which could convert such a report (via OCR) from photocopied image back to searchable text! Unfortunately, I no longer have access to expensive software like that, so cannot easily find/search text in such scanned legacy documents. But, I will eventually find my way through reading it online.
I’m sure there’s a lot more I’m going to learn from Retro Computing, and am looking forward to the trip(s) down memory lane.
I’ve (lately) established some email connections with former pioneers, founders, and other ex-employees of Datapoint - where I worked more than 40-years ago. I know they’ve been trying to share their experiences / stories over the years, and am anxious to help spread the word, as well as learn for myself … before even more of they pass-away, leaving their stories (and personal history experiences) untold.
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forwarded:
Hello!
I have an ongoing project to restore a Datapoint 2200 version II and in the
process of doing so I created a small simulator for it to understand it
better. The simulator is now in the condition that it runs the cassettes
that I try on it quite well.
The simulator compiles on Macos and Linux.
A short movie clip when it is running:
Having a simulator for a 2200 if there is no software around is no point.
There are some tapes on bitsavers.org and a couple of other collectors do
have cassettes that can be read.
But is there anyone else out there that is sitting on tapes for a Datapoint
2200 (or 5500, 6000, 6600)?
Tapes can be read on a normal mono audio cassette tape recorder and fed
into a PC which samples the signal, preferably at 44100 kHz with 16 bit
resolution. It is important to not overdrive the input of the computer so
that the signal becomes a square wave.
/Mattis
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Well, long time ago, but I am interested. Anyone who consider to sell a Datapoint 2200 (or even other models) can contact me via my website https://www.achimbaque.com
Here’s another video on the Datapoint 2200 (or rather: the Ventek 2200, as it is called here) as used in the BR TOPS system and its integration. This also includes some close-up views of various equipment and a fair bit of technical details.
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A new article just posted, about BR TOPS!
I posted a link, in the Comments section of the YouTube page, to locate the full 1979 BR report from the project manager - Robert Arnott. Page 29-30 of that report describes the equipment shown in this video … Datapoint 2200s, Decision Data 96-column card reader/punches and printers.
I’ve found some additional reports and videos about the TOPS computer installations at Southern Pacific Railroad (where the software was originally developed (with IBM and Stanford U). It was also installed in Canada and British Rail in the UK. Very large installations, utilizing vast data communications networks, IBM mainframes, and many Datapoint 2200s!
Quite a 1970s railroad(s) success story!
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Datapoint Corporation’s original company name was “Computer Terminal Corporation” (not Control Terminal Corporation, as you had stated). I have found this same error on David Larson’s popular blog, as well as at:
I don’t know where the mistaken name first-appeared, but others are picking-up / repeating it. Please correct this mistake, if possible, to avoid further repetition of this error.
You are right, CTC is Computer Terminal Corporation. While I do have Lomont Wood’s book on the subject, reading the “popular variation” again and again probably sticks,.