Wired:

You hear it before you see it—the whirring clack of plastic flaps as they turn over to display a new set of numbers and letters. For more than three decades, a mechanical flip board made by the Italian company Solari has guided passengers as they travel through Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, but things are about to sound (and look) a lot different. The station is the latest, and among the last in the country, to ditch its Solari board for a newer, quieter digital departures screen.

No big deal—a departures board is a departures board, right? Not if you ask Philly travelers:

The first and only time I’ve seen these kinds of displays outside of old pinball machines was at the Charles De Gaulle airport in France. It was so fascinating, I stood and stared at it for 10 minutes. The story makes the good point that a digital display is more reliable and flexible but the anachronistic sound and visuals of the old display will certainly be missed.