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Display and Keyboard (DSKY)
The display and keyboard (DSKY) is the user interface to the Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC). It has an array of indicator lights, numeric displays, and a calculator-style keyboard. Commands were entered numerically, as two-digit numbers: Verb, and Noun. Verb described the type of action to be performed and Noun specified which data were affected by the action specified by the Verb command.
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Apollo Display and Keyboard (DSKY)
The Display and Keyboard (DSKY) was the main interface between the crew and the Apollo Guidance Computers which controlled the Command/Service Module and the Lunar Module.
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Бездонная Глубина АРУ (виртуальное моделирование) от 100мкВ 30мВ выход
Sarreguemines station
One more border station between France and Germany, with a bit of a twist. Sarreguemines in Lorraine is, as its name suggests, on one side of the river Sarre or Saar, with Saarbrücken some 17 km downstream in Germany. Between the two runs a cross-border tram-train, which serves as urban transit within Saarbrücken, and as a small regional train beyond.
The vehicles used by the Saarbahn are dual-voltage (750 V DC for city tram lines, 15 kV AC for DB train lines) Flexity Link units, made by Bombardier. It's the third type of tram-train we've come across, having seen the Siemens Avanto in Mulhouse and the Alstom Citadis Dualis in Châteaubriant. Most trams in Saarbrücken are wrapped in some kind of advertisement, this one for a former exhibit at the former Völklingen Ironworks (something I definitely should talk about someday) - not only did the exhibit end in 2024, but the wrapping is dark, making the atmosphere onboard very dull indeed, especially on a grey day! They didn't think this one though!
Only the one track for the Saarbahn is electrified, so the French trains are all Diesel units. On the day I was there, three generations of DMU were present: the most recent bi-mode Regiolis, a Diesel-only AGC set from the early 2000s (top picture), and a pair of A TER railcars which are equipped for German signalling. A few direct Strasbourg-Saarbrücken services run each day with these "saucisses" as they are nicknamed. We've seen these trains before too - the design is identical to the BR 641s DB Regio have near Basel, and these are nicknamed "Walfisch" in German.
Châteaubriant: a regional rail hard border
Rennes and Nantes, the largest cities in the Western tip of France, could have three direct rail routes connecting them. The one via Redon has always been used in this role; a second, via Laval and Angers, was ridiculously long until the high-speed line to Laval opened and 200 km/h-capable units were adapted for use on it; and a third... has been cut off at Châteaubriant.
The irony is, the Châteaubriant route would be the shortest in distance, at just over 120 km in length, in a fairly simple North-South direction. The trouble is, the line wasn't built with the traffic between the two cities in mind, is mainly single track, and has some steep inclines (1.5% is steep for a train). As such, it has always seen modest levels of traffic, and since the 1980s, it had been falling into disrepair in parts, and become abandoned in others.
The Nantes side saw a resurrection in the early 2010s: the line was electrified and, in 2014, tram-trains began operating. We've seen a tram-train on this blog before, but this service is only technically a tram-train, as it only uses a tram line parallel to the urban tram for a few kilometres inside Nantes, and only making one stop on that stretch. The Alstom Citadis Dualis (SNCF class U 53500) units are effectively regional trains in tram clothing, and are the only tram-trains in France to have onboard toilets.
But in France, local trains are managed by the administrative regions, and Nantes to Châteaubriant is under the authority of Pays de la Loire, so the electric wires, renovated stations and new trains went no higher. Worse, the line has been cut in half by a platform link, as shown above - and a photo on this webpage seems to indicate they used to be joined. So the Rennes side, managed by Bretagne region, has remained without electric power. I remember the stark contrast between the two sides of the regional border when I visited in early 2020: to Nantes, modern infrastructure and trains; to Rennes... nothing, and tracks that were starting to be overgrown!
It turns out the line was indeed closed for repair works at the time, and in 2021, Rennes to Châteaubriant reopened, with first-generation bi-mode Bombardier AGC (B 82500) sets, which only use Diesel power on this route, operating a peak-only service.
In conclusion, the Rennes-Châteaubriant-Nantes route has always been in the shadow of the slightly longer route via Redon, as the latter provided good connections to other major towns on the South Brittany coast: Vannes, Lorient and Quimper. The Châteaubriant route was never double-tracked, and today is a striking illustration of regionalisation, with different levels of investment on either side of the border, and through service now impossible.