Automated Programming System

The Automated Programming System, or A.P.S., is the device that enables The Numbered Diesels to move on their own.
Heinrich Bauer built the first one, but its capabilities were very limited. After Reginald Walkins acquired the designs, he proceeded to improve and perfect them, ultimately leading to the development of the whole line of Numbered Diesels.
They started out rather big, and very cumbersome. As the line of diesels were built though, they started becoming smaller and more compact.
The engineering community considers the APS a true marvel, because it was designed and built in the era before computers were practical; the APS is a purely mechanical device.
Though it is built out of solid materials, at the same time the APS is quite delicate, as shown in Diesel 14's accident, where a lightning strike was enough to fry it and render it inoperable.
The APS has had its fair share of controversy, as many argue that a human driver must be on board to take over in an emergency; the diesels should not just be blindly trusted to drive on their own.
In a British court case in the early 90s, after a series of catastrophic accidents and incidents involving the diesels, the APS was deemed "faulty and unreliable" and the Diesels were banned from running on British Rail lines.
Category:Numbered Diesels