Odd vs. Even Train Numbers

[fredevad]

I've been watching the Amtrak status map today watching the east bound EB from MSP to try to railfan it in Milwaukee with the vintage Hiawatha cars tacked on the tail end. (Darn thing is 4 hours late today though).

As I was thinking how cool this status map is, I noticed that east and north bound trains seem to be even numbers while west and south bound trains seem to be odd numbers. Did they do this on purpose?

 

[MrFSS]

As I was thinking how cool this status map is, I noticed that east and south bound trains seem to be even numbers while west and north bound trains seem to be odd numbers. Did they do this on purpose?

Yep - and even before Amtrak the passenger railways used this system for the most part.

Southbound are odd and Northbound are even, too

 

[had8ley]

We had a motto when it came to trackage rights, "North and East over South and West; even numbered trains (north & east) had rights over South & West trains on single track territory.The train with trackage rights held the main while the inferior train took the siding. This was automatic with first class trains as they were timetabled.

 

[Guest]

As I was thinking how cool this status map is, I noticed that east and south bound trains seem to be even numbers while west and north bound trains seem to be odd numbers. Did they do this on purpose?

Yep - and even before Amtrak the passenger railways used this system for the most part.

Southbound are odd and Northbound are even, too

As MrFSS and the others have said, for the most part this is true. There are exceptions such as the Downeaster and the Adirondack and Ethan Allen (North/South), and Im sure our oldtimers know of exceptions from back in the day when there were so many more trains running. (ie there might have been 10 #1s etc., each railroad had their own trains, also lots of through and mixed trains, thats one reason as BillH would tell you that the old timetables were such fun to study/figure out!) :wacko: :lol:

 

[fredevad]

Southbound are odd and Northbound are even, too

Yep, I see that now - thanks for pointing that out. I corrected my original post and post subtitle for anyone that might see it later.

 

[zephyr17]

On SP, there were no northward or southward trains. Everything was eastward (away from San Francisco) or westward (toward San Francisco). Geographical direction didn't enter into it!

BTW - that is why the Coast Starlight numbers are 11 and 14. When Amtrak trains still had timetable authority, Amtrak 11 was SP 12 Portland - Oakland and SP 11 Oakland to LA. Likewise Amtrak 14 was SP 14 LA to Oakland and SP 13 Oakland - Portland.

 

[Ryan]

I always wondered that about the CS, thanks.

MARC adheres to this convention as well (and not just as a carryover from the days of yore, they've completely renumbered the system sometime in the last 15 years. What about other commuter roads?

 

[Rail Freak]

The way I remembered it was, The Odd Balls go West & South!!! Now before you start throwing stones, I'm from Florida!

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

As I was thinking how cool this status map is, I noticed that east and south bound trains seem to be even numbers while west and north bound trains seem to be odd numbers. Did they do this on purpose?

Yep - and even before Amtrak the passenger railways used this system for the most part.

Southbound are odd and Northbound are even, too

As MrFSS and the others have said, for the most part this is true. There are exceptions such as the Downeaster and the Adirondack and Ethan Allen (North/South), and Im sure our oldtimers know of exceptions from back in the day when there were so many more trains running. (ie there might have been 10 #1s etc., each railroad had their own trains, also lots of through and mixed trains, thats one reason as BillH would tell you that the old timetables were such fun to study/figure out!) :wacko: :lol:

Yes, it could get complicated.For example, some trains were interline, meaning they were operated by more than one railroad. In some such cases they might have had different numbers on each railroad.

Some trains had their numbers changed through the years.

Some number patterns seemed to make sense,and relate to similar trains on the same lines,and some did not.

 

[Eric S]

On SP, there were no northward or southward trains. Everything was eastward (away from San Francisco) or westward (toward San Francisco). Geographical direction didn't enter into it!

BTW - that is why the Coast Starlight numbers are 11 and 14. When Amtrak trains still had timetable authority, Amtrak 11 was SP 12 Portland - Oakland and SP 11 Oakland to LA. Likewise Amtrak 14 was SP 14 LA to Oakland and SP 13 Oakland - Portland.

Didn't SP even count their mileage from their headquarters building in San Francisco, even though it was not directly on any rail line?

 

[railiner]

This numbering practice was also used by Greyhound and other buslines, as well as the 'legacy' airlines. It still continues to this day for the most part,

although some airlines now use odd or even to indicate flights leaving their hubs, and the opposite for flights returning to their hubs, regardless of geographic direction.

 

[zephyr17]

On SP, there were no northward or southward trains. Everything was eastward (away from San Francisco) or westward (toward San Francisco). Geographical direction didn't enter into it!

BTW - that is why the Coast Starlight numbers are 11 and 14. When Amtrak trains still had timetable authority, Amtrak 11 was SP 12 Portland - Oakland and SP 11 Oakland to LA. Likewise Amtrak 14 was SP 14 LA to Oakland and SP 13 Oakland - Portland.

Didn't SP even count their mileage from their headquarters building in San Francisco, even though it was not directly on any rail line?

According to John Signor's Western Division and Coast Line books, MP 0 for Western Division was the hinge on the ramp at the Ferry Building. For the Coast Line, it was the bumper at the station at 3rd & Townsend.

 

[zephyr17]

The whole thing is about odds and evens and I got my directions reversed when describing the Starlight's SP train numbers!

Corrected version.

Amtrak 11 was SP 11 Portland-Oakland (westward, odd), SP 12 Oakland-LA (eastward - even)

Amtrak 14 was SP 13 LA-Oakland (westward, odd), SP 14 Oakland-Portland (eastward, even).