Re: [NSW] Numbers on Signals

[Glenn J-B <grjb@ihug.com.au>]

> In the Western Line, M (Main) becomes WS (West Suburban) and S (Suburban)
> becomes WM (West Main) vise-versa at Granville which I don't understand why
> the change of line name in the same track (even though they have a flyover
> between Parramatta and Westmead that converts the up-down-up-down to
> up-up-down-down running vise-versa)? Any ideas?

This is only a theory but....

The original plan was four tracks Penrith to Granville being Up Down Up Down.
These would have linked up properly and the Up, Main, Down Main, Up Suburban,
Down Suburban would have applied throughout from Homebush to Penrith. However,
in the first lot of quad work, only Seven Hills to Westmead was done. The Up
Main was probably named such because this is where the Up Main was originally
supposed to be so that when the two sections of quad joined up this track would
be names correctly. The other up track became Suburban and they mirrored each
other on the down. The slow trains used the outer track - main, and the
expresses used the inner tracks - suburban.

Thirty odd years later when the two sections were finally joined, rather than
change the direction of the two inner tracks of what was now quad track to St
Marys, they decided to use a dive between Westmead and Parramatta to turn UP UP
DOWN DOWN into UP DOWN UP DOWN, but of course the Mains from the west joined the
Suburbans at Granville and similarly Suburbans met the Mains the same way. And
rather than rename the tracks (something that should been done all along) the
West Suburban and West Main were included to make all of this "less confusing"
when the suburbans became the main became the suburban!

One pointless piece of trivia...you can travel on the "Main" from St Marys to
Redfern, but to do it you must change tracks by using the Main/West Main to just
before Granville then crossing to the Main...

Glenn


--
Glenn Jackson-Bethell
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grjb@ihug.com.au