Cold War To Coal Trains: TOPS
13th October 2020 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
An Online Lecture from Jonathan Aylen
British Railways’ first computer based train operating system
TOPS (Total Operations Processing System) was a computer system implemented by British Railways (BR) from 1973 to control its freight traffic. It allowed BR to keep tabs on its rolling stock across the whole rail network using IBM 370 mainframe computers in London. It was a major step towards modern management of railways in the UK.
TOPS was developed in the USA through collaboration between IBM and Southern Pacific. The software had its origins in the US Strategic Air Command’s SAGE – Semi-Automatic Ground Environment – system which gave early warning of Soviet bomber attacks on the US. TOPS was not so much “swords into ploughshares” as “Cold War to Coal Trains”.
The research exhibited in this talk is the summary of a collaboration between Bob Gwynne of the National Railway Museum, York and Jonathan Aylen to understand the history of computerisation on British Railways. The research shows how railways shaped society and their contribution to modern management.
Questions may be submitted via email before the lecture to events@Newcomen.com or via Zoom chat during the lecture.
About the Speaker
Jonathan Aylen is President of the Newcomen Society and a Senior Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Manchester.
Booking information:
Tickets are free but subject to availability and are only available in advance through Eventbrite. To secure your place we recommend you book in advance.
Please click on the link below to register via Eventbrite, who will then email you a confirmation immediately after registration. You will receive a separate email with a link to access the event auditorium on the evening prior to the event itself. This link will be active approximately half an hour before it starts. The event auditorium will also provide access to the other items included in your ticket.
Please Note – Each link is unique and should not be shared; also as this is a Zoom Webinar, whilst you will be able to see and hear the Chairman and Speaker, they will not be able to see you and you will not be able to see other participants.
The Newcomen Society reserves the right to alter the event and its line-up, or cancel the event. The Newcomen Society will not be liable for any additional expenses incurred by ticket holders in relation to the event.
Your email address is held by the Newcomen Society to enable it to send you information like this. Your email address will never be used for other purposes or revealed to third parties. If you do not wish us to continue holding your address, please contact us at events@Newcomen.com and we will delete your details from our records.