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

[David Hennell <hennelld@mhs.vic.edu.au>]

In Queensland, the Down direction is northbound and, consequently, the Up
direction is southbound.   The direction of branches from the North Coast
Line is determined by whether the junction is a facing or training one
relative to the Down direction on the NCL.   

Thus, trains to Mt. Isa from Townsville are Ups because the line forms a
trailing junction at Stuart; trains to Urangan were Downs because there was
a facing junction at Colton.   The Kingaroy group of lines reversed
direction when they changed from being operated from Maryborough (Up) to
being worked from Gympie (Down) in the 1960s.   

Using this arrangement, trains from Brisbane to Quilpie and from South
Brisbane to Tweed Heads were Ups.
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Regards

David Hennell
Melbourne High School