Riding the COMPUTERIZED DC METRO SUBWAY TRAIN 1977, Washington computer underground system 1976 1978

[@nasabear]

My High School science club took a tour of the Metro tunnels before it was opened. The guide was Cody Pfanstiehl, who is interviewed in this video. He was the perfect spokesperson, he clearly thought that the DC Metro was the greatest thing ever made by humans and his enthusiasm was infectious. I couldn't wait to ride it when it opened. I was disappointed when they had to stop using computer train control for a long time after an accident. The computers did a better job of smoothly braking the trains coming into the station than the human operators did.

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Hi @nasabear, thank you very much for sharing your experience with the early Metro rail work. Getting to tour the tunnels before it was opened sounds like fantastic experience(!) It certainly was a work of tremendous effort and great design. Thanks so much for your feedback and historical perspective! ~ Victor, CHAP

[@b43xoit]

Braking, I hope. If they were broken, the expense to keep repairing them would have overwhelmed the budget.

[@nasabear]

@@b43xoit Oops! Thanks for catching the typo.

[@deeexxx8138]

I rode Metro from 1989 to 1995 and I think that was its peak. It has gone downhill certainly. Also, Mr. Falk's assertions about computers being one-time costs is hilarious in hindsight.

[@am74343]

Not necessarily... Eliminating human intervention on the front end makes perfect sense. However, back then, they hadn't calculated the exorbitant costs we nowadays have to factor into the back end of the computer systems, with programmers and repair technicians and dispatch operators. That cost alone nowadays offsets the savings on the "semi-autonomous self-driving train" model.

[@b43xoit]

In 2024, every train has to have a human operator.

[@RetroElijah1982]

So cool to see, great video

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Hi @So-CalNevAri82, thank you very much for the feedback, glad you enjoyed it! ~ Victor

[@JaxB-po8ld]

Like the horn on the 1000 Series! But got placed in the middle after the June 2009 crash! Then retired in 2017.

[@frankowalker4662]

Brilliant stuff.

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Thank you. : )

[@29downtheline]

Great video! Love the historic footage and reporting! The DC Metro has begun making efforts to gradually bring back automation and computer control to the rail system! As of recent, doors on Red Line trains are now automatic (and much faster), with efforts being made to bring this back to the other lines of the network as well. Raising operating speeds back up to what the system was designed for (up to 75 mph) and bringing back automatic train operation are also supposed to occur in the future. I’m very much looking forward to decreased trip times and smoother rides!

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Thank you for your great feedback! Glad you enjoyed the historical video footage. Wow, 75 MPH! That would be quite a ride. Hope to get back to DC and check out the new upgrades in the future. ~ Thanks! ~ VK, CHAP

[@thomasday2351]

Kinda Cool To See The WMATA Metro System in 1970's! My First Time Riding The Metro Was 2010

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Thank you. Glad you got to ride it! It has been around a long time!

[@zacharythomason7359]

Great Video

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Hi @zacharythomason7359, thanks very much. Glad you liked it. ~

[@zacharythomason7359]

@@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject You're Welcome

[@SharlenesJourney]

4:36 what station is that near ?? I’m assuming Brookland CAU

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Not sure where that is exactly, but you could be right!

[@car_tar3882]

That looks to be Rhode Island at ensue filming he bit of track that flys up after running around brook land yard

[@thesteelrodent1796]

Seems these guys were a bit misguided about what computerizing the train system meant. The only people they've cut out of the system are the ticket sellers, and given the US wages then and now, that means they only made the train system a tiny fraction cheaper. Even with fully automated driverless trains, like we have in a lot of cities around the globe now, you still need a lot of people to maintain the trains and the system that runs them, but the computers have indeed become better than people at driving the trains

[@rogeratygc7895]

In 1967 there was an automatic, unmanned, train carrying passengers around Expo 67 in Montreal. Not exactly a huge system, but impressive for its day. I rode it, as I did the hovercraft service on the St. Lawrence. A taste of a future that didn't take.

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Hi @rogeratygc7895, sounds very cool. The hovercraft was supposed to be the vehicle of the future... Just don't see them today. The Montreal Expo 67 train sounds fascinating. Perhaps we can find some video of that early "modern" transport. Thanks for the tip! ~ Victor, CHAP

[@rogeratygc7895]

@@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject Looking on wikipedia you will find that there were in fact two: see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expo_Express and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minirail As I was there for two weeks or so, I rode both; the first a more or less conventional train apart from the automation, the second a monorail, which actually passed through the US pavilion which was a huge geodesic dome. In addition, Montreal built a metro system which connected the city proper to the islands on which Expo 67 was built. As an Applied Physics student from the UK I had a fantastic time. Good luck finding material for a video - I will be most interested in seeing what you can find. Oh, and one more thought - if you have ever heard the noise created by a hovercraft, you will understand why they are uncommon!

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Hi @rogeratygc7895, thanks very much for the historical information and the link. The control console for the Expo Express looks very modern and sleek. Hope to find come video on that some day. Yes, I rode a hovercraft once when I was a kid... my ears are still ringing! Thanks again! ~ VK

[@am74343]

I do vaguely remember riding on the D.C. Metro when I was a kid in the late 1980s, and I can recall being amazed that the trains had "UPC" barcodes on them, (or at least what appeared to be barcodes). I surmise it was an early method of keeping track of which train was where, presumably read by a laser scanning system similar to a grocery store cash register. I haven't ridden on it in years, but can someone out there in KZbin Land corroborate my memory on this?

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Hi @am74343, the bar code tracking (or something similar) makes sense. There must have been a quick way to identify and record each rail car for maintenance purposes and inventory. Good question. Hopefully, someone viewing has some additional insight into this question.. Thanks!

[@stevem.1853]

If I recall correctly, "barcodes" were originally designed for railroads to track their rolling stock. I'm pretty sure that there are some KZbin videos about them. Metro did use the barcodes, but they eventually switched over to using something like smart tags (like ez-pass) instead.

[@Richardpasquinucci]

and it still looks the same today

[@ms_enj]

Great video, but in the credits at the end, you incorrectly list Bernard Falk's birth and death years as 1882-1960. He couldn't have died in 1960 as that was 16 years before this was filmed. 😊 He was actually born in 1943 and passed away in 1990.

[@jbponzi1]

That is a good trick of the paranormal.

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Hi @ms_enj, Thank you for that correction. It should have read "In memory of British reporter Bernard Falk (1943-1990)"

[@Stuart-AJC]

Thanks for that correction. I can remember Bernard Falk being on BBC TV, but had he died in 1960 I wouldn't.

[@louiszhang3050]

"While London's Tube passengers will have to pay ever-increasing fares, the costs in Washington will be less influenced by staff wage bills." Meanwhile in 2024 I'm paying almost $7 one way for my commute :( - thankfully offset by incentives so it's practically free though

[@stephanbruno7249]

Those look like Fallout computers.

[@PaulClipMaster]

A more hopeful and less cynical time.

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

yes

[@tonylaw196]

But most of the Japanese Railway still operate the train by manpower today.

[@JaxB-po8ld]

This railcar got in the June 2009 crash’

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Too bad for the car... and the folks on board..

[@entity9742]

Hello, i was wondering if you still had that old Sony 8-301w? If so would you be interested in selling it? I do have one but the knob and antenna is broken and i really need to try finding replacements and measuring the antenna

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Sorry, the Sony 8-301w went to another collector several years ago...wish I had kept it now.

[@entity9742]

@@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject do you happen to know if that collector still has it by chance?

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Sorry, don't know. The best option may be to check eBay as they come up for sale now and again... good luck!

[@entity9742]

@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject thank you, but if you do happen to get in contact with them and they do still have it and are willing to sell it, dont hesitate to let me

[@50shadesofbeige88]

Lol well that was a very optimistic view of the DC Metro. Today, it's a money pit that is in a seemly constant state of partial disrepair. You can barely understand what the conductors say when the train stops, if they choose to speak at all.

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Sad to hear that. It was once a gem of the city.

[@50shadesofbeige88]

@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject as with everything in DC, it's been suffocated with corruption and red tape. They are expanding it, though... we'll see what happens.

[@washingtondc9290]

@@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject DC Metro is one of the best in the country that has gotten better over the years

[@jilllacey61]

those maps are misleading. 80% of that wasn't built in 1978. Only 6 stations at that time.

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

That is an interesting fact, thank you!

[@Dr_Mario2007]

Unfortunately, early computerized trains weren't without a problem; they did crash a few times before. Of course they got even better over time, both with active and passive protections added.

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Hi @Dr_Mario2007, yes, there were several serious accidents over the years. Hopefully, it has been greatly improved in the area of safety. -

[@Joelsef]

Naive take. Computers cost more than just their initial price. Maybe even more than humans. Claiming that the costs won’t go up was a bit of wishful thinking.

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Hi @Joelsef, you make a good point here. Long-term costs can increase(!) Thank you for your observation. ~