Re: Train Numbers

["fatboy" <smokeybear64@yahoo.com>]

If you said you where going on no 65 any railway person would have known you
were catching the down Intercapital Daylight. Odd numbers for down Even for
up
"Eddie Oliver" <eoliver@efs.mq.edu.au> wrote in message
3B1E0FD8.29ECE048@efs.mq.edu.au">news:3B1E0FD8.29ECE048@efs.mq.edu.au...
> Tom wrote:
>
> > How are the numbers organised?
> > What im trying to say is what the numbers represent
> > the letters make sense
> > for example NP24, we know that the N is north and the P is Explorer and
the
> > even numbers mean its heading towards Sydney and we know its from up
here.
> > So say it was NP16 (i dont know if this is likely or any thing) the N
and
> > the P are as what we said above and we know its going to Sydney so do
the
> > numbers tell us where it is from?
>
> Many, but not all, of the passenger train numbers are historically
> based. In the "old" days, there was a substantial non-overlap of numbers
> for the principal trains irrespective of direction, e.g. if someone said
> they were going on no. 65 it meant the down Intercapital Daylight
> without anyone having to specify the direction as part of the number.
> Many of the numbers have now died out, but some are preserved - e.g.
> 15/16 south from the old Riverina expresses, 23/24 north from the old
> Northern Tablelands expresses.