KarTrak ACI on the Kings Port Division

I made reference to an ACI (Automatic Car Identification) scanner in my previous post.   If you read my New Year's Resolution post you know I planned to add ACI labels to all of my rolling stock this year.  I hadn't planned to make scanners to compliment those labels but the serendipitous discovery of the video below gave me a great look at an ACI scanner in action during the PC era!

The video is a very optimistic 1968 view of the future fortunes of the Penn Central.  Its fun to watch and at 10:49 you'll see some nice footage of cars with ACI labels rolling by a scanner.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPlLt1Wsor0

After seeing that, I did some internet searching to find images of similar ACI scanners but didn't come up with much, so I used the image in the video as a guide to scratch building one.  I drew a quickie sketch for reference and then used readily available materials to cobble one together.   The upright pole and cross bar is a cut down telegraph pole.   The other components are made from scrap styrene and a bit of wire.

I made a second one, this time with a longer post that extends below the base.  I figured drilling a hole for the post would secure it more easily on the layout.

The scanners after painting.

Here is one installed at West Mill.   The photo is an attempt to emulate the scene in the PC video.

I installed a second scanner at the other end of West Mill Yard.

...and a third in Kings Port near Williams Yard (staging)

I've also been gradually adding more ACI labels to cars.  I did purchase the Microscale ACI Plates decal sheet (MC-4280 for HO) and yesterday added labels to at least two dozen cars.   Still plenty of labels left for the rest of my roster!

The informational sheet that comes with the decals provides great information about the background of ACI, specifically the KarTrak system that was developed by Sylvania and put into use in 1967.  Automatic Car Identification is a general name for such systems.  The information sheet also provides diagrams indicating appropriate placement of the ACI plates on freight cars.  The scanners apparently were able to read plates located within a fairly wide range along the sides of rolling stock, so variation from road to road or car to car is not unprototypical.

The informational sheet also referenced articles about KarTrak in the July and December 1969 Model Railroader magazines, and an article about building an ACI scanner found in the November 1994 issue.   I wasn't aware of that when I forged ahead and built my own scanners just using the video image as a guide!   I'll see if I can find that issue at a train show.

The use of the KarTrak labels was discontinued by 1977 because it was found that the dirt that naturally accumulated on cars interfered with the scanner's ability to read them.   But, as a Penn Central era layout, the Kings Port Division is right up to date with the technology!