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Two sorta dumb questions about a rare sighting and CNW operations
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[quote]QUOTE: <i>Originally posted by Jordan6</i> <br /><br />I Believe the reason that the CNW ran left handed is because the people that started the CNW were from Europe. And everybody knows Europeon transportation is lefthanded, so there ya have it. <br />[/quote] <br />WRONG!!!!!!!!!! The fact of the matter at hand is why the CNW ran left-handed...it just grew that way. The CNW started out as a single track railroad. In its early stages,the construction crews pushed westward from Chicago hauling up supplies from behind as the rails went down ahead. At planned intervals,stations were erected on the right-hand side to accommodate passengers,and to facilitate the loading and unloading of freight.So long as the CNW continued to run on single track,both inbound and outbound (with an occasional siding for passing) no problem presented itself. By 1855 ,increased traffic warranted double tracking,and construction was started on the 3 divisions of the CNW.The second track was built on the right-of-way,away from the existing stations.In the operation of a right-handed road,this would make the new line the inbound track. After considering the fact that most commuters arrive before train time,and therefore in need of a shelter,while on their return trip commuters head for home immediately,the road chose to have inbound trains use the left-hand track next to the station. By 1882,most of the stations in the Chicago area were built and the switches and signal systems designed for this left-hand operation. Late in the 19th century,CNW officials had to consider not only the reversing of switches and the changing of their signal systems,but the changing of ALL suburban stations as well.It was agreed that since the advantages of a right-handed system were about equalized by the advantages of a left-handed operation,the expense of the change-over was not thought justified. <br />This is the reason for the CNW running left handed operations. <br />Andrew <br />CNWHS
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