The NetGuide Top Fifty awardThis is the accolades page for several pages relating to the history of the automatic totalisator, its invention in 1913, the inventor George Julius and the Australian company he founded in 1917 which became a monopoly ( later an oligopoly ) in this field. If you wish to start from the beginning then go to the index .
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On 13 April 2008 Paul Duffett sent me the following email -
You may be interested in some pictures I posted on my site today. I found your article on it very interesting. It was a fascinating sight and kind of puts the Mac I use today into perspective.
And later Paul added -
I emailed you separately earlier today regarding pictures I have of the Harringay Tote machine prior to demolition. I have since had the opportunity to read the text of your article more fully and found it extremely interesting along with the comments of the former GRA employees below. I was greyhound racing photographer for The Sporting Life for many years up until it's merger with Racing Post about ten years ago and photographing the tote was one of my assignments for the paper. I used to go to many of the tracks in the south of England and knew Henry Bailey who is mentioned in Ernest Bailey's email. He was working at Wimbledon at the time (another GRA track) and was a very polite and nice man who had a comb-over of Bobby Charlton proportions I recall. I have photos of him somewhere along with shots of Eric Bowler with his machine. I envy you for having had the opportunity to experience watching and hearing the thing in action. When I visited it was during a no-race day. My final visits to the track were immediately after the final meeting there to record the scene prior to demolition and then again a year later to photograph the redevelopment of the site. The road traces the route of the old circuit. Some of the pictures were used by the developers in their brochures 'selling' the housing on the site. It was sad to see it prior to demolition, it had been run down over a period of years and the 'cheap side' had been closed a few years previously due to an unsafe structure. The general manager had planted a line of fir trees to try and hide it. I remember too, seeing photographs of the Cheetah racing. The images were not great, but clearly showed the beasts in action. What current health and safety regs would have made of it all heaven knows. The GRA clearly had a very loyal and long-served staff. I am afraid there are very few of them left now, however. One who spans the eras is Bob Rowe who still works as their overall racing manager and would have stories of all those mentioned as he worked at all of the company's stadia at some time or other. Thanks for the article and printing the comments of GRA staff. It was a very interesting trip down memory lane.
There is a link to Paul's website in the "3 more ATL systems in Asia/links to other pages" chapter.
In December 2007 Peter Nelson, recently retired from Tabcorp and ex employee of ATL, wrote about the addition of the Kota Kinabalu chapter -
I have already sent it to my girls, Dannika is stoked and I will hear from the others soon or I will bring it up at Christmas, I could drive them nuts with it. Just kidding but it is a buzz though. ... but anyhow mate, thank you for the best retirement gift ever.
On July 12 2006 Sam Hill from Reed Publishing wrote after I sent him an image for a new book they are publishing -
This is great stuff - thanks so very much for emailing me that file, which the book designer is checking...
Thanks again Brian, this book is made all the more special thanks to your contribution.
On December 24 2005 Tim Lloyd wrote -
Hi Brian, yup I am still at Tabcorp/Jupiters/AWA sitting next to Nick D. Just wanted to say (again) what a fantastic site you run. When we get new staff members who don't really understand the business we point them to your site and sit them down for a day or 2. It is a lot easier than trying to explain totes to them. You should be charging a royalty!
Cheers & merry Christmas
Tim
On July 9 2005 Cyrus Mody from India wrote -
My name is Cyrus Mody, and I am a student from India. I am currently studying tote machines as part of a research project. I came across your website, and thought maybe you could point me in the right direction - I need to learn how totes work, i.e. how are odds determined, how payouts are set, etc. Any help you could provide would be greatly welcomed, as I am at odds trying to research them online - it seems no one has any data except for your website? Btw the website is really well made, and an excellent resource.
On March 15 2005 Richard Whalley from Unitab wrote regarding the totalisator history web site -
It's great to see someone doing something with such passion as you obviously have.
On February 24 2004 John Kolesar wrote -
Hi, I really enjoyed the article about Premier Equip. I worked for Autotote 1970 thru 1991 at homebase Thistledown, in Ohio. Worked many places including Meadowlands in New Jersey, Pompano, Calder, Waterford, Jai Lai in Florida and CT. It was enjoyable and U brought back memories - thanks.
On February 2 2004 Norman Heckenberg from the Physics Department at The University of Queensland wrote -
That is a great site! I am just back from a break and have lots of mail to deal with so I cant look right through it now, but a short surf was fascinating. Are you still in Brisbane? I have a lecture series, called "Tools of Science", where we look at old instruments and technology, and you would surely enjoy them. In fact, maybe you could give one of the talks, as several of the regulars are interested in old calculators, and it seems like a fascinating story everyone would enjoy.
On January 29 2004 David Watkin from Unitab wrote -
I did go and look at the film clips on the Julius tote - fascinating stuff.
And in February 2002 David wrote -
I was talking to Paul last Friday and mentioned to him that I thought you had done an excellent job on your 'Totalisator History' web site. I'm giving a paper at the 10th Annual Gaming and Casinos Convention at the Gold Coast in March - the theme of my presentation is the "Changing face of the TAB" and I wanted to introduce the audience to a bit of history about totalisators. I will most definitely mention your web site and found it useful to give a pre TAB history.
On 23 January 2004 Martin Källberg wrote an email, the first paragraph follows -
My name is Martin Källberg and I work as a harness racing journalist in Sweden. I found your site about the history of the tote on the internet - very interesting!
On 13 December 2003 Bob Plemel who used to be Engineering Manager of ATL (Automatic Totalisators) wrote about the new video clips chapter -
Those are fantastic film clips. The sound is awesome.
On 26 April 2003 David Griffiths, Chair, Academic Senate and Foundation Professor of Statistics, University of Wollongong wrote-
I have spent some of the last 24 hours reading your fascinating material on the history of automatic totalisators.
As an academic statistician with an interest in history, and a former CSIRO employee, I have long been aware of George Julius in inventing the automatic totalizator, and of his critical role as Chair of the CSIR.
I currently teach Probability to first year computer scientists. As it happens, I have set them an assignment with a TAB flavour, to do with the new "Spinner" gamble that they introduced on April 7 this year. ...
What a wealth of material you have gathered. It has all sorts of personal and quirky insights and anecdotes, and it is all the better for them. It has a lot of technical stuff that only the technical buffs, especially those with an historical bent, will understand and appreciate - and love, but that is also a strength. Of course I have not read it all yet, so I have more gems to find. ...
Next Tuesday is the 130th anniversary of the birth of George Julius. I will feature that in my lecture and refer my 300+ students to your web site. ...
Regards, and a very big thank you from one appreciative reader.
On 27 March 2003 Ray Girvan, Technical Author, wrote-
Amazing and well-researched site! I just added links from my weblog and computer history pages.
By coincidence, I'm writing an article on the era of mechanical computing for Scientific Computing World magazine and just had to rapidly revise it to include the Julius Totalisator. ...
And on 23 April 2003 after sending approval to use his email on the internet-
It's both a well-produced site, and one I think of serious historical significance.
I have not revealed the writer of this email as I have been unable to contact him to gain approval to use it.
On 23 June 2002 RW wrote -
I started out this afternoon trying to find out how to calculate what a trifecta might pay on a race. The various TABs did not appear to have this sort of info; so I went to a search engine and came across your site.
It is now four hours later and I still do not know how to calculate a trifecta payout!
I am NOT complaining as I found your site VERY VERY interesting. I don't believe I have ever had such a long session on a computer. I am not "into" infernal counting machines - and some of the tech stuff was beyond me - but this was just too interesting to leave alone.
On 11 June 2002 Caroline Warnes, Features Editor for the Australian NetGuide sent an email-
She indicated that this site was featured in their magazine's Top50 Web sites section and that their reviewers concluded that it warranted special mention because of its design, originality, function, usability and content.
On 26 March 2002 Bruce Rutter who used to be General Manager of ATL (Automatic Totalisators) wrote-
I am pleased you were able to use the little information which I had relating to the totalisator history.You have done such an excellent job to date with your investigations and web site I am pleased to nominate you as my official historian and custodian of details and documents and would be delighted if you would take care of the documents which I forewarded to you. Please keep them and use them as you consider appropriate ...
On 18 January 2002 Prof. Silvio Hènin wrote-
I have found your web pages on the history of the Julius Totalisator really interesting. As I am an amateur scholar of the history of calculating devices (I have also written some papers for the Italian edition of Scientific American) I'd like very much to get more Information about the technical description of this wonderful machine. ...
And on 29 January 2002
You are helping me so much that I hardly imagine how to
repay your kindness.
Anyhow, I am thinking to write a short paper on the tote machines for an
Italian scientific magazine and I'll sure mention your website. ...
In December 2001 Bob Moran contacted me regarding a project he and Professor Allan Bromley had undertaken to restore part of the Broadmeadow's (Newcastle) Julius Totalisator system to an operational condition. We have exchanged several emails since then. Following are a couple of extracts. The second was received after I introduced him to Neville Mitchell who contributed the Memories of the Factory chapter of this totalisator history web site.
We have an opportunity to set up a working interactive display in a local Museum. I propose to do the restoration etc. We have some documentation and Allan is very knowledgeable on its workings, but unfortunately we do not have a wiring diagram. I would be very grateful for any information or suggestions you may have? ...
Congratulations on your very excellent site.
I met with Neville and Nancy today, very nice people, we had a productive morning going over details of the machine and viewing the wreckage. Unfortunately Allan could not make it because of the short notice, we will organise another meeting as Allan and Neville will get on like a house on fire! It was a timely visit as we have just started to assemble the frame, and to work out where everything fits. Much of the framework is missing so this will be a challenge. looks like Neville will be a wonderful asset as he knows so much about the workings of this machine. He offered to rough out a schematic of the overall workings which will help no end. This is shaping up to be a great project.
Thank you for making this happen, I will keep you informed as things progress.
In November 2001 Tim Jordan wrote about ATL The Brisbane Project chapter sub heading Memories of a system long gone -
I really enjoyed reading your web page. I work in the online gaming industry
and I can draw some analogy to the situations in your page to my situation
now. The industry is in it's infancy and the quality of the programming is
not as good as it should be,
but I am sure it will improve. I sent the URL to some of my colleagues who
I am sure will be amused and interested in the information and experiences
you have shared. Thank you I found it most enjoyable.
In October 2001 John Costello, Author editor and journalist emailed me whilst conducting research into the history of the computer business. He was interested in the financial support Eckert and Mauchly received, whilst developing UNIVAC 1, provided by someone in the tote business. One of his emails follows -
Thank you for your reply.
From further research, it appears Straus was the founder of AmTote.
A further intersteting twist is that Straus got his funding from General
Electric - the company orginally founded by Edison!
This gets more intersting the further I dig.
BTW I enjoyed your excellent Web site.
This site received the New Cyber Tech Award, presented to those sites whose web design originality and content have achieved levels of excellence deserving of recognition, in October 2001.
On 2 October 2001 Vicki Hollett wrote-
Thank you so much for pulling together all this information. What a
fascinating story! I am a freelance author writing business english textbooks
for Oxford University Press. Sadly, the language would be too complex for
the target market of my present book, but one day I hope to be able to
incorporate this story... And in the meantime - it was a great personal
read. Thank you!
Following are some extracts from emails received from Chris Robertson in September 2001
To introduce myself, I am a former 'Professional Punter' (though how one can be a professional without any clients escapes me) who made a good living betting on the 'overs and unders' from the mid 70's to the mid 90's in my homestate of Victoria. This developed from a love of horse racing, a good head for figures, and an almost obsessional fascination with the machinations of betting...
ATL tickets I have are from such diverse locations as Cork and Shelbourne Park in Ireland (where J8's sold Win, Place and Forecast at the same time), Singapore, Penang, Ipoh, Hong Kong, Cape Town, Bangkok. I have a J22 issued lottery ticket from Singapore (circa 1987)...
But more important to me; memories of people, places, incidents and eras. Here are just a few. - 'Toties' screaming "Mechanic" and watching the mechanic pull screwed up tickets from TIMs with pliars. - The look on a Tote Manager's face when confronted by tickets from a machine where the race number didn't match the paper code. The same manager's face watching machines spit out tickets on a race already run. - Tote operators removing their shoes to wade through flooded betting areas after the downpour prior to the 1976 Melbourne Cup...
What was really sad was the replacement of J25s in 1994. To me the Tote was no longer the Tote. Nowadays it seems any generic computer terminal can handle the functions that were previously carried out by highly specialised machines that were a delight to watch perform...
That's progress. Computers have been the nemesis of the old fashioned 'Overs' punter. My Saturdays are now spent watching football, and last year I missed my first Derby Day at Flemington since 1969...
You know, I'm actually looking forward to stepping out for a race meeting this Spring. I have your site to thank for that.
All the best,
Chris
Following are some sentences from emails received from Ian Bryce Chief Engineer Asia Pacific Space Centre in July 2001
Enjoyed your web site on ATL.
Is there somewhere I can see these machines?
It seems to me that the whole series of machines are
worthy of preservation and display, as an ongoing and successful Australian
innovation.
I used to deal with ATL in Meadowbank, Sydney.
Following is an extract from an email received on 7 June 2001 written by Elizabeth Denny-
I just found your marvelous Totalisator website, while searching the WWW
for possible sources of information relating to my great-grandfather,
Arthur F. Poole, who is known mainly for having invented a variety of
electric clocks (this is in the US). Right around the time your Sir
George was inventing his fascinating contraption, this quirky ancestor
of mine worked for a company known as Wahl Adding Machine, based in
Chicago, Illinois, USA. Arthur patented a large number of inventions
relating to "algebraic totalizers," as well as improvements to existing
adding machines and "calculating-machines," which is why I was so
interested in your website. His patents for these inventions started in
1914 and went all the way through 1934 when he passed on.
On 16 May 2001 Susan Julius wrote-
Just a quick hello to say thanks for the info regarding my cousin, George.
I now have a hint to trace my family back to the Norwich area.
This is also the first image I have seen of him. Unlike George,
I am a technical dunce, but feel rewarded to read of his life & inventions.
Warm wishes
A rare punter
Susan Julius
On 11 November 2000 Professor Maureen Bessette wrote-
Must tell you what an amazing web site you've constructed. I am an accounting professor at
Johnson & Wales Universtity in Providence, RI. I'm hard at work on a Casino Accounting textbook.
I needed to know more about the Totalizer for my "history of gambling" chapter. I only needed
about 100 words but read for an hour. How would you like your credit to read? Gratefully yours,
Maureen H. Bessette, CPA, M.B.A.
On 7 November 2000 Denis Brown wrote from The University of Western Australia about ATL The Brisbane Project chapter sub heading To the technologists -
Stumbled upon your historical pages by accident. Fascinating stuff. Thanks for a trip down memory lane -- yes I do remember core memory and hand-written loops for debugging at chip level. Did exactly that on more than one occasion for a variety of hardware. Did you ever come across Computer Automation gear at all? Or the militarised PDP-8 by Fabritek?
Anyway, thanks for the journey. Best wishes.
On 12 October 2000 Peter Cotton wrote from Stanford University-
Your site on the history of the totalizator is absolutely top notch and fascinating.
I am currently working on racing related sites and will be sure to link to yours. (Hopefully)
more importantly, I am currently writing up my doctoral thesis in which I am proposing a new exchange
mechanism for financial securities which has as its core the parimutuel calculation. ... I would like,
with your permission, to include one of two historical items ( descriptions of the operation or early sketch or, the one
I really loved, the diagram on the original patent application). Please let me know if this is possible.
On 18 Aug 2000 Iain Harrison wrote-
I was delighted to stumble across your series of pages on the history and development of electro-mechanical totalisator equipment whilst surfing around various historical engineering sites.
I really enjoyed your pages and would like to say thanks for reminding me how
fascinated I used to be watching
this type of equipment work during visits to local dog tracks throughout my
childhood and teen years. ...
On 10 July 2000 Jill Anderson wrote-
I came across your Totalisator site because I have been researching the life of my grandmother's brother (my great uncle), Lt Joseph Kenneth Donaldson who died at Gallipoli on 22 August 1915 aged 28. He was a Consulting Engineer who did his apprenticeship at the WA Govt Railways and moved to Sydney where he worked with George Julius.
Congratulations on a great site.
On 7 June 2000 Sellam Ismail from the Vintage Computer Festival wrote-
This is an amazing piece of computer history! I'm always thrilled to find out about computing and calculating machines that are not very well known throughout the world. I'll be definately adding this link to the links database.
On 21 May 2000 Dr Chris McConville from the University of the Sunshine Coast wrote-
You contacted me a while ago about the article I wrote in Time magazine about Julius.
I've just seen your updated site and thought it was terrific. ...
On 5 May 2000 Martha Canterini, Webmaster of Second Running, after receiving approval to link to these pages wrote-
Thank you so much. It is a delightful site and perhaps more people will be able to enjoy it.
And after I asked for approval to reproduce Martha's email on the internet-
Of course. Except that what I said was the understatement of the year. I am so thrilled
to be able to offer you a link through Second Running. What a great job you have done on
a topic where so little is known. I thank you for all my readers. Yes Second Running is
all mine. My husband rode races for 18 years and horses were my life too. ...
On 31 January 2000 I received mail from Encyclopaedia Britannica. They wrote that their editors had selected this site as one of the best on the internet when reviewed for quality, accuracy of content, presentation and usability.
HistoryTelevision gave their approval on 15 January 2000.
On 6 January 2000 Wendy Jones, George Julius' great grandaughter wrote
I am Wendy Jones formerly Wendy Shellshear; my mother Jenifer Julius, Awdry's eldest daughter. Thankyou for a wonderful website, so very much I didn't know other than in photographs from the family tree which I have grown up with. My mother has been compiling the family tree for about the last 15 years or so as far as I can remember.
I have been living in London for six years now and seeing this page makes me very proud and very homesick. My father is also a mechanical engineer, though now professionally retired.
Anyway without pondering on for too much. Thanks and again a brilliant site, which makes me very, very proud.
On 25 November 1999 Lawrence Vail wrote about the White City Greyhounds system in London
I was the Totalisator Manager of this for 5 Years and it was "from the Ark". We had electro-mechanical thingys by the squillion and obviously it was all down to you lot. Good on you.
Note - there are some photographs of the White City Stadium system in the photo
gallery.
On 19 September 1999 Ruth Gard wrote
I was searching for information about the history of computers to use in
classes I teach in Cleveland, Ohio, when I happened to hit your web site (which,
by the way, is excellent.)
Only last week, my 51-year-old son Gary was
reminiscing about the nickname he acquired when he was five or six years old --
"Tutalizer."
It happened because my father, Joseph Shiffman, an electrical
engineer in the city of Cleveland, had the contract to install what he called a
"Totalizer" at a race track in Cleveland. This was a big and interesting job,
and was cause for some discussion in the family.
I just called Gary today to
find out how it happened that he picked that name. He said that his older
brothers were badgering him, and asked him what his nickname was. The word,
"Totalizer" seemed to him to be indicative of something very smart, so he
answered "Tutalizer."
Gary today is the president of a local union in
Columbus, Ohio. No one calls him by that nickname any more, but we all remember
it, and he is still, of course, very smart.
And after I requested approval to reproduce the email on the internet -
Of course you have my permission to use our story. If I had known I was to be
quoted, I would have said more about your web site. I found it to be well
organized, uses attractive colors, and has a nice variety of backgrounds and
illustrations to retain my attention. I like also that it does not have a
cluttered look. I will mention it to the instructors at my college who teach the
internet classes. ...
I just thought of something else you might like to hear
about. During the time that the Totalisator was being installed in Cleveland, my
father and his wife, Edythe, entertained the Australians here, and at some later
date they traveled to Australia and were entertained there by them. I think they
maintained contact with them for many years.
On 26 August 1999 Peter Fletcher wrote
I stumbled upon your web site today and found it brought back strong and
pleasant memories of my earliest visits as a child to Randwick Racecourse, and
later my role as a "Tote Inspector" for the NSW Government in the 1980s. I well
recall the electro-mechanical Universal tote vans which operated at tracks like
Penrith and Richmond. Thanks for the memories!
On 22 August 1999 Mike Bell who was a manager at ATL wrote
I had a look at your ATL web site & was very impressed. You've really
done a great job and it's a fitting memorial to the company and the people who
strived over the decades to keep their product at the forefront of technology,
innovation and quality.
On 11 July 1999 Joe Brandon wrote
I started with Autotote in 1974 at Dania Jai Alai. Ted Taylor (from London)
was my boss. I cut my teeth on the J8. I'm now the manager at Atlantic City. At
the time we were still owned by Premier Equipment.
Just wanted to say I
found this extremely interesting. Keep up the great work!
On 3 July 1999 Richard Shook wrote
I have worked for Autotote Sytems for over 30 years, and am aware of much of
the history, but I found this site so informative! I am forwarding your site
address to others in our company so they can enjoy also.
Thank you and all
responsible for such fine work!
On 12 April 1999 Bill Saunders wrote
My wife and I own and run Cyberhorse, which is Australia's most popular
privately run racing site with 600,000 hits a month. For some time, we have had
a link from our Virtual FormGuide section to your Tote History page, which I
hope has been responsible for some of your visitors. I have just today revisited
your site and I must admit you have built it up to be a most fascinating history
of an interesting subject.
On 10 April 1999, I received mail from Submission Pro. They wrote "Your site has been awarded the Submission Pro - Pro Site Award. We would like to thank you for taking the time to make the internet a better place ..."
On 28 February 1999 Stuart Smith wrote
Fascinating and interesting history of ATL! I was tote engineer at the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club from 1977 - 1989, worked on the PDP8 system complete with paper tape loaders, knew Neville Mitchell, went to Meadowbank factory and more...
I replied to Stuart thanking him for his kind words about the web pages.
He replied
No, great pages and some real memories and a great pleasure to
find that someone has put so much work into documenting a major chapter in tote
history...
He also related the following story which I thought was interesting. I have replaced the company name with "XXX" and removed the engineer's surname. This story brings to mind the axiom "it's an ill wind that does not blow anyone any good".
Charlie came to Hong Kong with the first XXX tote in around 1951, great story
there :
As usual the tote didn't work properly when it left the factory in
UK, this would have been around 1949. Charlie was told to sort it out when he
got to Hong Kong as the tote had to be on a certain ship to make the first race
day. Charlie, a junior engineer, nervously flew to Hong Kong a few weeks later,
only to find out that the ship with the tote on it had sunk! XXX got the
insurance money for a full working tote and a year to sort out all the problems.
On 21 January 1999 I received mail from the National Library of Australia indicating
that this site has been selected for participation in the PANDORA ( Preserving and
Accessing Networked DOcumentary Resources of Australia ) project. This project manages
the archiving and provision of long term access to Australian publications of national interest.
In the November 1998 issue of Practical Punting Monthly, Brian Blackwell wrote
There seems to be a site for everything on the Net ... and there's one that
relates the history of the invention of the world's first automatic totalisator
in Australia ( by George Julius back in 1913 ). It's a non-commercial,
history-only site but it's beautifully presented and it tells a fascinating
story.
On 20 October 1998 Dr. T. Bergin Professor at The American University wrote
What an interesting site; you did a wonderful job on it; I look forward to telling my students about it in the Spring semester.
And on 27 October 1998
You have built a fine site that my students will very much enjoy visiting and
you have motivated me to add the Totalizator to my lecture about the mechanical
period.
On 20 October 1998 Nicholas Bodley, Electronic Technician Autodidact & Polymath, wrote a lengthy email. I have presented two extracts here.
Well, I set up my legacy home computer to download ~4MB of images (at9600 bps) (acquired by Lynx) and, after having read all the text, went to sleep very bleary-eyed. They all downloaded, and were successfully deleted from my ISP's shell server disk. This morning, I had an offline look, and for gadget hounds, some are absolutely not to be missed.
You've set up a web site for which many of us have much reason to be grateful!
On 20 October 1998 Max Burnet, Vice President, Australian Computer Museum Society Inc. gave approval to quote an extract from an email he sent.
Congratulations on a great set of Totalisator pages. A brilliant presentation
on a great Australian achievement. Well Done.
On 23 August 1998 Professor Trevor Cole from Sydney University wrote
We need to be aware of our engineering heroes and you provide an excellent reference site.
and on 06 May 1997
What a marvellous labour of love has gone into the Web page preparation.
On 24 June 1998 Matthew Connell from the Powerhouse Museum Sydney wrote
Your site is fantastic - a wealth of information.
On 15 June 1998 James O'Brien wrote from the University of Western Sydney Macarthur. I have included the first paragraph here.
For some time now I have wanted to write to you to offer my congratulations
on your excellent site. If I were in the business of offering awards for
internet sites, yours would certainly be at the top of the list. Here at UWS I
have notified several of our staff about the site. First our group of historians
form the nucleus of the Australian Sports History Group. I have drawn Prof
Andrew Moore's attention to the excellent historical documentation contained in
your site.
On 27 May 1998 David Sprigings wrote
I read with great interest your article on ATL USA. I worked for Standard
Tote and Bell Punch before going with ATL who were located in Wilmington
Delaware at that time. I worked tracks all throughout the USA, Canada plus
Central and South America. I was involved in the original installations at
Aqueduct, Saratoga and Belmont before leaving the Company to work as a designer
for Northern Telecom in 1967. Your article brought back many fond memories.
Many thanks
And on 1 June
... Please let me know when you are generating updates to that wonderful home
page!
On 24 May 1998, Wayne Kessler wrote "your site was selected as Sports Site of the Nite for it's interesting and valuable content, and we hope our audience thoroughly enjoys it".
On 11 March 1998, Bob Plemel who was Engineering Manager of ATL, wrote about the Memories of a system long gone in the "ATL The Brisbane Project" chapter.
"You should be a writer. Ursula and I both enjoyed your memories of a system
long gone. Turn it into a book and maybe it will become a best seller."
On 5 February 1998, Market-Tek sent congratulations, indicating that they had reviewed this site and were pleased to present the Market-Tek Design Award.
Grant Boyden from 2KY, wrote on 26 January 1998, that this was a great site, he liked it a lot and that it had received the 2KY top site award.
Christina Brooks from PersonalConnections sent email on 21 January 1998, she thought it was a great site. From the large amount of feedback that they gained from their users, she feels this site was really appreciated.
The PersonalConnections Site Innovation Award
Daniel Lidén sent email on 11 January 1998, indicating that this site was subjected to some serious testing at the webcenter and that it had passed with honours.
The Wetwired Approval
Elie Khoury sent email on 31 December 1997, indicating that this site had been reviewed and that it is creative and full of content.
The World Sports News, Non Sporting site Web award
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