ICL CR1000 Card Reader

Dating to the mid 1970s, the International Computers Limited (ICL) CR1000 card reader demonstrates the pinnacle of technological development for equipment of this kind. Using compressed air and a vacuum to safely handle cards at very high speeds, it can optically read 16 cards in one second, amounting to approximately 1,000 in a minute. Part of TNMOC’s collection, the ICL CR1000 is displayed in the Large Systems Gallery with several punched card compatible computers. The ICL CR1000 was used in combination with mainframe machines such as the ICL 2966, which is the largest computer in TNMOC’s collection (five large cabinets are required just to hold the computer’s Central Processing Unit!)