Re: Why is it called "up"?

[David Johnson <trainman@ozemail.com.au>]

Hubert Lam wrote:

> greg@mpx.com.au got bored on Wed, 24 May 2000 13:18:40 GMT and so wrote the following:
>
>           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.
>
>           Why the confusing terminology?
>
> up in Sydney really means "towards Central", but an exception is that going away from Central to
> Hornsby via North Shore is actually "down" (which I think is what the SRA working timetable says),
> since trains from Penrith and Main North (Hornsby via Epping) were travelling with the "up"
> direction before it reaches Central, but after Central technically it's travelling "down" (away from
> Central). So to simplify things a little, "Up shore" is actually from Central to Hornsby via North
> Shore.
>
> Same goes for "down north shore" being towards Central, but after Central it is down main west or
> north if you go to Hornsby via Epping.

To simplify things, you are completely wrong.
In ALL cases, Up is towards Central.  Down is away from Central.  No exceptions.

Whilst the North Shore appears in the opposite section of the timetable, that doesn't mean anything.  It
is due to through working to the west.

Up tracks are recognised by signals with even numbers.
Down tracks are recongised by signals with odd numbers.   There is an exception to this on the City
Circle.


--
David Johnson
trainman@ozemail.com.au
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~trainman/
------------------------------------
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