ACI was a good idea but failed for a few reasons.

1. tampered with labels

2. road dirt on cars

3. labor issues due to percived loss of jobs

4. weather issues

There was a scanner between Auburn and Colfax to read the consists entering Roseville, worked most of the time (IIRC is is now a RFI scanner). However about 10-15% of the consist would not read due to weather, dirt, missing labels, etc.

In the late 1980s I had a job interview with a consultant who had placed RFI badges on APLs containers and was looking for a way to reliably read them upon entry and exit from ports around the world. Older private line networks worked in the US but were not always available in remote locations and I was asked to develop working model using a varity of technologies in the remote sites.

He was also talking to ESPEE (65 Market IT) about trying the technolory on the RR to eliminate the visual read issues with RR cars. I wasn't party to that conversation but worked in the shipping issue.