<s>
Total	B-Application
Operations	I-Application
Processing	I-Application
System	I-Application
(	O
TOPS	B-Application
)	O
is	O
a	O
computer	O
system	O
for	O
managing	O
railway	O
locomotives	O
and	O
rolling	O
stock	O
,	O
known	O
for	O
many	O
years	O
of	O
use	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
Kingdom	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
TOPS	B-Application
was	O
originally	O
developed	O
between	O
the	O
Southern	O
Pacific	O
Railroad	O
(	O
SP	O
)	O
,	O
Stanford	O
University	O
and	O
IBM	O
as	O
a	O
replacement	O
for	O
paper-based	O
systems	O
for	O
managing	O
rail	O
logistics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
jointly-owned	O
consultancy	O
company	O
,	O
TOPS	B-Application
On-Line	O
Inc.	O
,	O
was	O
established	O
in	O
1960	O
with	O
the	O
goal	O
of	O
implementing	O
TOPS	B-Application
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
selling	O
it	O
to	O
third	O
parties	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
SP	O
,	O
TOPS	B-Application
was	O
widely	O
adopted	O
throughout	O
North	O
America	O
and	O
beyond	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
1971	O
,	O
the	O
country	O
's	O
nationalised	O
rail	O
operation	O
,	O
British	O
Rail	O
(	O
BR	O
)	O
,	O
opted	O
to	O
procure	O
and	O
integrate	O
TOPS	B-Application
into	O
its	O
operations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
acquisition	O
of	O
an	O
existing	O
system	O
rather	O
than	O
develop	O
an	O
indigenous	O
programme	O
was	O
reasoned	O
to	O
be	O
both	O
cheaper	O
and	O
quicker	O
to	O
implement	O
;	O
it	O
was	O
noted	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
that	O
TOPS	B-Application
was	O
not	O
capable	O
of	O
performing	O
all	O
desired	O
functions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SP	O
itself	O
has	O
developed	O
a	O
newer	O
system	O
called	O
the	O
Terminal	O
Information	O
Processing	O
System	O
(	O
TIPS	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
replaced	O
TOPS	B-Application
entirely	O
during	O
1980	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
repurposed	O
much	O
of	O
their	O
work	O
on	O
the	O
US	O
Air	O
Force	O
's	O
SAGE	B-Device
project	I-Device
,	O
designed	O
to	O
direct	O
interceptor	O
aircraft	O
against	O
approaching	O
Soviet	O
nuclear	O
bombers	O
,	O
to	O
instead	O
serve	O
the	O
needs	O
of	O
the	O
Southern	O
Pacific	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
project	O
gained	O
the	O
name	O
Total	B-Application
Operations	I-Application
Processing	I-Application
System	I-Application
,	O
or	O
TOPS	B-Application
,	O
and	O
its	O
development	O
was	O
handled	O
by	O
a	O
specially	O
established	O
consultancy	O
company	O
,	O
TOPS	B-Application
On-Line	O
Inc.	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
80	O
percent	O
owned	O
by	O
SP	O
with	O
the	O
remaining	O
stake	O
held	O
by	O
IBM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
TOPS	B-Application
was	O
to	O
take	O
all	O
the	O
paperwork	O
associated	O
with	O
a	O
locomotive	O
or	O
rolling	O
stock	O
-	O
its	O
maintenance	O
history	O
,	O
its	O
allocation	O
to	O
division	O
and	O
depot	O
and	O
duty	O
,	O
its	O
status	O
,	O
its	O
location	O
,	O
and	O
much	O
more	O
-	O
and	O
keep	O
it	O
in	O
computer	O
form	O
,	O
constantly	O
updated	O
by	O
terminals	O
at	O
every	O
maintenance	O
facility	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
TOPS	B-Application
was	O
a	O
relatively	O
complex	O
system	O
for	O
the	O
era	O
,	O
being	O
not	O
only	O
comprehensive	O
but	O
required	O
to	O
operate	O
in	O
real	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Accordingly	O
,	O
development	O
was	O
particularly	O
time-consuming	O
;	O
according	O
to	O
BR	O
Chief	O
Operations	O
Manager	O
Robert	O
Amott	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
phase	O
of	O
TOPS	B-Application
involved	O
around	O
660	O
man-years	O
of	O
effort	O
,	O
with	O
eight	O
years	O
passing	O
between	O
the	O
start	O
of	O
work	O
and	O
it	O
being	O
declared	O
operational	O
during	O
mid-1968	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
lengthy	O
development	O
time	O
,	O
TOPS	B-Application
quickly	O
proved	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
success	O
for	O
SP	O
;	O
clerks	O
often	O
observed	O
that	O
jobs	O
which	O
had	O
taken	O
half	O
a	O
day	O
and	O
dozens	O
of	O
telephone	O
calls	O
could	O
instead	O
be	O
completed	O
in	O
under	O
five	O
minutes	O
using	O
TOPS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
success	O
of	O
TOPS	B-Application
with	O
SP	O
soon	O
led	O
to	O
a	O
quick	O
succession	O
of	O
sales	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
to	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
other	O
American	O
railroads	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
international	O
customers	O
,	O
where	O
it	O
typically	O
proved	O
to	O
be	O
similarly	O
beneficial	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Selling	O
TOPS	B-Application
to	O
other	O
operators	O
helped	O
offset	O
the	O
systems	O
 '	O
development	O
costs	O
,	O
so	O
SP	O
was	O
keen	O
to	O
sell	O
TOPS	B-Application
to	O
third	O
parties	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
was	O
also	O
motivated	O
to	O
protect	O
its	O
reputation	O
,	O
and	O
thus	O
provided	O
assistance	O
to	O
other	O
railroads	O
interested	O
in	O
TOPS	B-Application
,	O
to	O
improved	O
its	O
chances	O
of	O
success	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
operators	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Canadian	O
National	O
Railway	O
,	O
opted	O
to	O
introduce	O
TOPS	B-Application
as	O
an	O
interim	O
measure	O
while	O
its	O
own	O
bespoke	O
system	O
was	O
developed	O
as	O
a	O
long-term	O
successor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
SP	O
's	O
TOPS	B-Application
system	O
was	O
one	O
such	O
system	O
explored	O
,	O
during	O
which	O
it	O
was	O
determined	O
that	O
it	O
met	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
outstanding	O
requirements	O
,	O
albeit	O
not	O
all	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starting	O
in	O
June	O
1970	O
,	O
several	O
delegations	O
from	O
SP	O
came	O
to	O
the	O
UK	O
to	O
discuss	O
and	O
evaluate	O
BR	O
's	O
existing	O
practices	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
corresponding	O
visits	O
to	O
the	O
US	O
to	O
witness	O
SP	O
's	O
operations	O
,	O
before	O
both	O
sides	O
concluded	O
that	O
TOPS	B-Application
was	O
a	O
viable	O
option	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Groundwork	O
on	O
TOPS	B-Application
 '	O
financial	O
case	O
had	O
commenced	O
in	O
the	O
summer	O
of	O
1970	O
,	O
during	O
which	O
a	O
four-year	O
timescale	O
for	O
implementation	O
had	O
emerged	O
as	O
the	O
preferred	O
option	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
an	O
analysis	O
performed	O
in	O
1971	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
found	O
that	O
,	O
even	O
in	O
the	O
event	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
pessimistic	O
assumptions	O
bearing	O
true	O
,	O
TOPS	B-Application
 '	O
introduction	O
retained	O
a	O
healthy	O
gain	O
in	O
net	O
value	O
of	O
£34m	O
per	O
annum	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
its	O
foreign	O
origins	O
,	O
the	O
purchase	O
of	O
an	O
IBM	B-Application
System/360	I-Application
mainframe	O
to	O
operate	O
TOPS	B-Application
had	O
to	O
be	O
approved	O
by	O
the	O
Heath	O
cabinet	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
given	O
in	O
October	O
1971	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
decision	O
was	O
justified	O
by	O
a	O
belief	O
that	O
TOPS	B-Application
would	O
enable	O
BR	O
's	O
freight	O
operations	O
to	O
become	O
profitable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
cost	O
of	O
BR	O
's	O
TOPS	B-Application
implementation	O
included	O
£5.6	O
m	O
of	O
capital	O
costs	O
,	O
development	O
costs	O
of	O
£5.7	O
m	O
,	O
and	O
equipment	O
rental	O
costs	O
of	O
£22.5	O
m	O
between	O
1972	O
and	O
1980	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
operational	O
headquarters	O
for	O
TOPS	B-Application
was	O
established	O
in	O
an	O
existing	O
railway	O
office	O
block	O
in	O
close	O
proximity	O
to	O
BR	O
's	O
corporate	O
headquarters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Amott	O
,	O
the	O
implementation	O
of	O
TOPS	B-Application
was	O
undertaken	O
without	O
any	O
significant	O
adverse	O
reaction	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
industrial	O
relations	O
or	O
senior	O
management	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
adoption	O
of	O
the	O
TOPS	B-Application
system	O
during	O
the	O
early	O
1970s	O
led	O
to	O
several	O
changes	O
in	O
working	O
practices	O
across	O
Britain	O
's	O
railway	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
TOPS	B-Application
could	O
not	O
handle	O
that	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
also	O
required	O
similar	O
locomotives	O
to	O
be	O
numbered	O
in	O
a	O
consecutive	O
series	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
classification	O
,	O
so	O
that	O
they	O
might	O
be	O
treated	O
as	O
a	O
group	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sequentiality	O
was	O
all	O
that	O
was	O
required	O
but	O
,	O
given	O
the	O
need	O
to	O
renumber	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
decided	O
to	O
adopt	O
a	O
logical	O
system	O
for	O
classification	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
five	O
-	O
or	O
six-digit	O
TOPS	B-Application
number	O
was	O
divided	O
into	O
two	O
parts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
numbers	O
were	O
often	O
written	O
in	O
two	O
space	O
separated	O
groups	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
"	O
47	O
401	O
"	O
to	O
highlight	O
that	O
division	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
TOPS	B-Application
system	O
actually	O
stored	O
and	O
displayed	O
them	O
without	O
the	O
space	O
:	O
"	O
47401	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sub-classifications	O
were	O
indicated	O
in	O
the	O
TOPS	B-Application
system	O
with	O
a	O
slash	O
and	O
a	O
subclass	O
number	O
,	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
convention	O
,	O
though	O
not	O
enforced	O
within	O
the	O
TOPS	B-Application
system	O
,	O
that	O
subclass	O
numbers	O
were	O
boundaries	O
in	O
the	O
locomotive	O
numbering	O
system	O
,	O
such	O
that	O
class	O
"	O
47/4	O
"	O
started	O
with	O
number	O
"	O
47	O
401	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
TOPS	B-Application
has	O
become	O
outdated	O
in	O
recent	O
decades	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
division	O
of	O
British	O
Rail	O
and	O
privatisation	O
has	O
also	O
hurt	O
TOPS	B-Application
,	O
because	O
it	O
was	O
not	O
designed	O
for	O
that	O
purpose	O
;	O
some	O
freight	O
operating	O
companies	O
do	O
not	O
keep	O
information	O
as	O
up	O
to	O
date	O
as	O
they	O
should	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Attempts	O
have	O
been	O
made	O
to	O
'	O
skin	O
 '	O
the	O
system	O
with	O
a	O
more	O
user-friendly	O
interface	O
,	O
called	O
TOPS	B-Application
2000	O
;	O
in	O
addition	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
other	O
parallel	O
systems	O
now	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
TRUST	O
,	O
Genius	O
and	O
the	O
Mobile	O
Consisting	O
Application	O
(	O
since	O
2019	O
marketed	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
3Squared	O
RailSmart	O
software	B-Application
suite	I-Application
)	O
,	O
but	O
none	O
has	O
yet	O
fully	O
supplanted	O
the	O
TOPS	B-Application
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
a	O
typical	O
report	O
that	O
a	O
TOPS	B-Application
clerk	O
could	O
generate	O
.	O
</s>
