Re: Why is it called "up"?

["HXP1" <hxp1@bigfoot.com>]

<greg@mpx.com.au> wrote in message 392bd534.93736122@news.mpx.com.au">news:392bd534.93736122@news.mpx.com.au...

> A few years ago I was at Chatswood station on Sydney's north shore,
> waiting for a train to take me back into town. I poked my nose into
> the old guards shed, and saw a bunch of levers and switches and stuff
> that were marked "up", but it clearly referred to travel in the
> southerly direction, towards the city and Central.

> I can see two things wrong with describing a train going from
> Chatswood to Central as being "up":

> 1. From Chatswood to Central, you travel south, which on most sensible
> maps is "down".
> 2. Chatswood is at about 100-150m altitude , while Central is pretty
> close to sea level. Travelling from a higher place to a lower one is
> usually described as being in the "down" direction.

Not in the railways.  Up is usually towards the capital city.  Down is
therefore travelling away from the capital city.  So a through train from
Melbourne to Sydney travels in the down direction as far as Albury, then
travels in the up direction.

Queensland is different.  Up is basically south.  So a train starting at
Wallangarra (QLD/NSW border) travels down to Brisbane, & keeps on going down
as it heads for Cairns.

> Why the confusing terminology?

Can't be *too* simple, otherwise any Tom, Dick or Harry off the street could
come in and run things....

--
HXP1
(now with v6.08 software)