What are Up and Down Down Under?

[RHKluckhohn]

Playing with Warwick-Wallangarra and the Great Northern Railway leads this Yank to the question, "In Australia, what are the Up/Down references? Is it all Sydney, or would Brisbane be 'up' for the QR?" What about the other states? I didn't think to ask about this the two times I've visited.

Drove the New England Highway last time, down, in a Volkswagen...

:B~)

 

[butler57]

In Australia most people refer to anything North of a destination is UP and everything south is DOWN.
East and West remain East and West.

However, I do believe that any rail line to a major centre would be the UP line and heading away the DOWN Line no matter the compass direction.

 

[pware]

However, I do believe that any rail line to a major centre would be the UP line and heading away the DOWN Line no matter the compass direction.

In general that is correct but there are some anomalies. In the capital city of the state of Queensland, Brisbane, some lines heading towards Brisbane are UP lines while others are DOWN. Historical reasons, I believe, are at fault here.

Trains travelling from Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, through to Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, are DOWN trains until they cross the border between the two states at which point they become UP trains.

 

[jordon412]

On the East Coast Main Line, Up trains are trains TO London, while Down trains are trains going FROM London towards Edinburgh.

 

[RHKluckhohn]

On the East Coast Main Line, Up trains are trains TO London, while Down trains are trains going FROM London towards Edinburgh.

But that's Britain, where London is UP and everywhere else is DOWN. At least, it was when last I rode extensively (on British Rail) in the U.K. The Ravenglass & Eskdale (private even then) and the Devil's Bridge 3-ft line among others. Paignton to Kingswear, then motor launch to Totnes, and on to Penzance on BR. Hard to imagine that was all 49 years ago. Them was the days!

:B~)

 

[edh6]

But that's Britain, where London is UP and everywhere else is DOWN. At least, it was when last I rode extensively (on British Rail) in the U.K. The Ravenglass & Eskdale (private even then) and the Devil's Bridge 3-ft line among others. Paignton to Kingswear, then motor launch to Totnes, and on to Penzance on BR. Hard to imagine that was all 49 years ago. Them was the days! :B~)

Up isn't always toward London. It is generally toward the station that held the main offices of the company that built the line (which very often was London), but there is no hard rule. For example, where lines run through mountainous terrain, up is often toward the top of the hill. It's likely that Aussie companies used similar conventions as a lot of their railway practice was inherited from Britain.

 

[Enkidoh]

In general that is correct but there are some anomalies. In the capital city of the state of Queensland, Brisbane, some lines heading towards Brisbane are UP lines while others are DOWN. Historical reasons, I believe, are at fault here. Trains travelling from Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, through to Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, are DOWN trains until they cross the border between the two states at which point they become UP trains.

^This. Generally in Australia it appears the usual direction is 'Up' = 'main capital city terminus station or equivelant', 'down'= destinations leading away from it... but there are some exceptions to that. For instance, in Perth the WAGR/Westrail/PTA main lines traditionally have Perth City station as the point for "Up" direction.... except the Perth to Fremantle line where it's actually reversed, as in Perth City = 'Down', and Fremantle is "Up". The reason for this particular anomaly is a legacy of the line's history - it was orginally part of the 'Eastern Railway' that linked Fremantle, Perth's major port with it's original terminus of Guildford, now a nondescript station along the Perth to Midland line. Fremantle and Guildford were thus the line's two termini, Perth despite being the colonial/state capital, was just a point along the line. And this reversed direction orientation remains to this day, no doubt catching some green drivers off guard. There are undoutably other examples around Australia of reversal of directions from the norm.

 

[RHKluckhohn]

Very educational. Thank you all!

Google Earth seems to indicate that Canberra is served by NSW Rail. Is that correct?

:B~)

 

[pware]

Google Earth seems to indicate that Canberra is served by NSW Rail. Is that correct?

Correct. A miserly service of only 2-3 trains a day and the train takes about 4hrs to 4hrs 20min (depends on the service) which is about 30-50 minutes longer than the rival road coach service. But the train does have on board catering (including an alcohol service) that the coach service does not. The flight from Sydney to Canberra takes about 55 minutes so it is usually the more popular option.

 

[RHKluckhohn]

Correct. A miserly service of only 2-3 trains a day and the train takes about 4hrs to 4hrs 20min (depends on the service) which is about 30-50 minutes longer than the rival road coach service. But the train does have on board catering (including an alcohol service) that the coach service does not. The flight from Sydney to Canberra takes about 55 minutes so it is usually the more popular option.

So! One can drink four times as much on the train as on the plane! Clear choice there.

:B~D