Re: Australian National loco number check letters.

Roderick Smith (rodsmith@werple.net.au)
1 Feb 1998 02:59:01 GMT

The check characters match an Australia-wide standard, and are used as a
crosscheck when information is entered into a computer. They are
calculated on a modular arithmetic formula, in which all codes are padded
out to four letters and five digits (using zeros if necessary). This was
published in Newsrail and Railway Digest at the time the system was adopted
(mid 1980s).
-- 
Regards
Roderick Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor


Steve Asher <xaragmata@picknowl.com.au> wrote in article
<34d32f8a.420518@news.picknowl.com.au>...
> Does anyone happen to know the reason for the check letters which
> Australian National added to its locomotive numbers a few years ago?
> (I assume it is part of a computerised management system, but do
> they have any other function, such as trackside detection)
> 
> Examples are for the EL Class..
> 
> EL 51-J, EL 52-S, EL 53-E, EL 54-N, EL 55-W, EL 56-X, EL 57-R etc..
> 
> The check letters do not bear any obvious relation to the loco
> numbers that I can see. Are they random, or is there a formula
> for deciding a particular letter?
> 
> Cheers, Steve..
> 
> --- 
>  * Origin: <Xaragmata>< Adelaide, Australia.+61-8-8351-7637          
>