I am a travel aficionado, and as the old saying goes, getting there is half the fun. Many things make up that half, and one of them is the departure and arrival boards at most transportation hubs across the world.

Solari boards are a throwback to the 1960s, when Don Draper was in charge of the (fictional) ad agency that was made famous in the TV show Mad Men. Even in the 1960s, despite the decline in rail travel, both rail and air travel was still glamorous. Travel was a full day commitment and you dressed in a suit or a nice outfit.

However, it's now 2017. For the price of a bus ticket, you can fly to Florida on Spirit Airlines.

Solari, officially known as Solari di Udine, is an Italian company that specializes in information displays at major transportation centers. Until recently, their displays were found all over the world, until a move towards LED's and more energy efficient displays rendered them obsolete. Their mechanical relays, the noise, the way an entire board moves up--- it's simply breathtaking. The distinctive noise they make is a good cue to check the board for updates.

They're getting replaced. The last remaining one on the Northeast Corridor, at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station, is scheduled to be replaced in the near future with a new one that is digital.

(The Solari board at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station. Notice the way the displays change)

However, the company is far from dead and thanks to an ability to stay prevalent, the company is still very active (Solari has shifted to making LED displays, and the boards at Grand Central Terminal in New York City are Solari products) and calls the Queens neighborhood of Long Island City their home.

For the traditionalist, there's a compromise product out there:

(The new board at Newark's Penn Station. With some work, it could be a fitting successor to the days of old).