Re: Origin of Up/Down railway terms - Britian, etc

["Ronald Leslie BEST" <ronbest@bigpond.com>]

Re Queensland - many of the lines to the inland go UPhill, as they head away
from the coast??!!

re USA/Canada (Also systems with no real centre): East-bound/west-bound or
North-bound/south-bound BUT:

London Underground (and Glasgow?) Circle Line: Inner RAIL (sic) -
anti-clockwise track (left-hand running) and Outer RAIL - clockwise!

Also: Sydney City loop line - "down", i.e. increasing distance markings is
CLOCKWISE (Wynyard to Goulburn St via St James) BUT signal designations are
in CHAINS measured from Central ANTICLOCKWISE! (presumably because
Central-St James was the first section opened).

Barry Campbell wrote in message <6qeuk0$asq$1@news.mel.aone.net.au>...
>
>Ronald Leslie BEST wrote in message <35caa2f9.0@139.134.5.33>...
>>I think the concept of "up" and "down" in Britain pre-dates the railways
>>(and possibly also the canals). One spoke of going "up" to "the
Metropolis"
>>(i.e. London or "the smoke") and "down" to the country.
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>In Queensland (where else) up is towards the capital city on the coast line
>only. Generally lines heading inland ie "up country" are up away from
>Brisbane. I haven't a clue why anymore than I know why the British
>convention applies interstate but I thought it might be relevant. BTW what
>terms do the Yanks and Canadians use?
>
>
>Barry Campbell
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