810. Change is in the air, and it is silent.

The train stations in Italy are modernizing, unfortunately. Below is an old-style sign* that will soon be replaced with new digital signs:



The new sign:



The old (foreground) and new (behind the old) together:



*Does anybody know the technical name of this kind of sign? Is it a flip-style sign? What is the technology called?

When I was 10 years old, I inherited my father's radio alarm clock that utilized the same flip-technology. I kept the clock with me in bed and loved changing the time just to listen to the sound of the number panels in movement. The sound of flip-technology is just wonderful; it's part whirling and part snapping. In fact, one of my no-longer-secret joys is standing below the mega trains-in-arrival sign in the Milano Centrale station, or even the one in Florence whenever I'm there, and listening to the avalanche sound of the train timetable updates. Those, too, are being replaced by silent lights, I'm afraid. How sad.

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Update: I realized that I can't know for certain that the large station signs in Milan and Florence will be changed just because Brescia is changing theirs. Let's hope not! I shall make inquiries and post any information I get.