> That's the system developed for American Airlines in 1952, slightly   
   > updated in 1956.  By the time the ATSF bought it in 1959, American and   
   > IBM were well into the SABRE project that made all of the   
   > electromechanical systems instantly obsolete.   
      
   Variants of the Teleregister display systems were in use for many   
   years.  I suspect it was a far cheaper system to acquire than SABRE.   
      
   IBM's SABRE didn't come out until 1964.  Also, it was an enormously   
   expensive system--requiring _two_ of IBM's largest mainframe of the   
   time (the 7090), expensive disk storage, as well as specialty-   
   developed terminals.  An airline could justify the investment   
   in SABRE since flying an empty seat is very expensive, and airlines   
   were bringing out high capacity jets.  Further, the reservation   
   data was used to help plan schedules and logistics.   
      
   American Airlines went online first with SABRE, and the other   
   airlines soon followed.  But it took time to develop their   
   own systems (Univac got involved, too), and until then, the   
   airlines still required their Teleregister equipment and tub   
   files.   
      
   One thing amazing--for its day--about airline reservation   
   systems in 1969 was that they were interconnected.  You could   
   reserve one direction of your trip on Eastern, and the   
   other direction of your trip on National, for instance.  The   
   airlines didn't seem to mind (as they do now), sharing their   
   passengers with carriers in direct competition (e.g. NYC to   
   Florida route).  Actually, with all the yield management   
   and ticket fee crap that goes on today, it may have been   
   easier to book a trip back then.  A simple phone call,   
   friendly, helpful, and trained reservation specialist, and   
   you were all set.   
      
   Even though the Santa Fe had a solid passenger service, it,   
   like other railroads, still faced declining ridership as   
   business travelers abandoned Pullmans for faster airplanes.   
   I'm somewhat surprised they invested in automation as late   
   as 1959 (and new rolling stock in the mid 1950s).  I'll   
   have to check Frailey's Twilight of the Train.   
      
   Making an railroad reservation with some railroads,   
   like the Pennsylvania, was not fun.  Those railroads made   
   no secret that they didn't want your business and were   
   doing you a big favor in selling you a ticket.  The train   
   ride itself was crap.   
      
   A few railroads did provide good service in the 1960s,   
   but they had managed to get rid of most of their passenger   
   trains, so it wasn't as onerous for them to operate one   
   decent train (like the B&O's Washington to Chicago train,   
   or the Soutern Crescent).  (ref Frailey's book.)   
      
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