ON THE COVER
Electronic data processing with the IBM 650 Magnetic Drum machine recently installed at Southern's Atlanta office really begins with the key punch operator (in this case Miss Barbara B. Cox). She takes the information from waybill and freight bill and punches it as a pattern of holes in a detail card.
With its electronic memory, the IBM 650 can rapidly read and total a mass of facts and figures from these punched cards. Railroaders are making the most of the machine s talents to produce a faster, more detailed and more accurate picture of Southern's day-to-day performance than has ever been possible before.