MP 0.00??

[henry6]

Am rereading for at least the 5th time, Louis Grogan's The Coming of the New York and Harlem Railroad. It is stated that MP's are measured from the north curb of 42nd St and not from the bumper blocks for the NY and Harlem and NYC. I know the PRR's MP began at the Manhattan ferry slips and not at the bumper blocks at Exchange Place, Jersey City. So, I ask, other than these two terminals and other than division and regional restarting of MP's, were there any other roads who maintained MP 0.00 at other than bumper block at end of track?

[Dragoman]

It is my understanding that Southern Pacific had 2 MP 0.0 locations. 

One was the bumper posts at 3rd & Townsend in San Francisco (for trains going down the Peninsula: the commutes to San Jose and Coast Route trains on to Los Angeles).

The other was a couple of miles away, at the Ferry Building, when all north- and eastbound trains, as well as San Joaquin Valley trains, started with a ferry trip to Oakland.  This also appears to be true of Western Pacific and Santa Fe trains which connected by way of transbay ferries to Oakland trains.

After the ferries were replaced by bus connections across the Bay Bridge, then the San Francisco MP 0.0 became either the 3rd & Townsend station (for SP) or Santa Fe's bus depot at 44-4th Street (for Santa Fe & WP).

[timz]

Forget where I read that NY Central's milepost zero was the north property line of 42nd St. Like he said SP and WP milepost zero was the Ferry Bldg, but SFe milepost zero was Albuquerqueish. WP milepost zero has never moved, but UP moved SP's Overland Route zero to eliminate the three-mile equation at Martinez. Dunno whether SP has a zero at New Orleans, or which side of the river it's on. No reason to think SFe's bus terminal ever had anything to do with anything mileposty.

[Dragoman]

timz

... Dunno whether SP has a zero at New Orleans, or which side of the river it's on. No reason to think SFe's bus terminal ever had anything to do with anything mileposty.

Admittedly my only reference is public passenger timetables, not employee or divisional timetables, but California Zephyr and San Francisco Chief public timetables from the late '60s did show the 44-4th St as Mile 0.

As far as New Orleans & SP is concerned, I thought everything was measured from San Francisco, to the point that every train moving -- generally speaking -- away from San Francisco was TT "East", and everything moving towards San Francisco (whether south from Portland or north from Los Angeles) was considered TT "West".

[rcdrye]

All SP miles were measured from the Ferry Building, except former T&NO lines, where they were based from Algiers (across the Mississippi from New Orleans), and Houston.  WP may have used the end of the long-gone WP Mole in Oakland.  Sacramento Northern continued to use miles based on Key System's Pier after SN moved to the Bay Bridge.

CSX and NS still use mileposts based on the point where the NYC&HR and the LS&MS shared a Buffalo station.

In 1987, Central Vermont renumbered the former B&M Conn River line between Brattleboro and Windsor VT (Mileposts start with S-) to continue CV's Palmer Sub mile system starting at New London Connecticut. S-109 became 170, near where the Windsor Sub reset the MPs to 0.

[timz]

WP milepost zero was the Ferry Bldg in San Francisco-- AFAIK it still is.

[daveklepper]

Regarding the north curb at 42nd Street.   Remember that until streetcar electrification, with conduit, around 1899. two tracks of the old Grand Central Depot, that preceded GCT, continued south across the curb line and joined two horsecar tracks headed south on Park Ave. South - 4th Avenue, and into what is now the Park Avenue Vehicular Tunnel.  And I understand an occasional freight car was still handled using horses.

[mvlandsw]

The Pittsburgh & Lake Erie ( and now CSX ) MP 0 is at their office building in Pittsburgh. The milepost numbers increase in both directions from there. Mark Vinski

[Enzoamps]

It isn't for railroads, but just south of the White House in Washington DC is the highway zero milestone.  All distances by higway to Washington were to be measured from that spot.   That was a fine plan years ago, but they only use it for Washington area roads now.   But you can walk right up to it, and know you are finally "there".