You mounted horses from the left because, if you were wearing a sword it was was easier - you only had to get your right leg over. The other way round you'd have had to get your left leg and your sword over.Also, aircraft switches are generally up for on - as opposed to most other applications

Yes in Australia electrical switches are down for on.Daniel

No US railroad Engineers sit on the right side. I are one! :smile:Todd

I had to think about this one. I have never seen a train engineer sit on the left in any country but I could be wrong.The old Steam Locomotives were configured with the Engineer on the right hand side, and the Fireman (shovelling coal) on the left. So my guess is the modern locomotives have made the fireman redundant and still keep the engineer on the right hand side where they have always been.I think that this has been the case with railroading in any country.

That is true....Another thing the English got wrong. 'On' is supposed to be up and 'Off' is supposed to be down. That is the way it is done everywhere except for UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand

Iit isn'ttrue - most countrries in Europe also have down for on. Anyway why are they supposed to be up for on?UK steam engine drivers normally were on the left because the trains ran on the left and the trackside signals were generally on the left so they were easier to see past a long boiler. The Great Western Railway was an exception. It also chose a different track gauge of 7 ft to the rest of UK railways and was compelled to change to the standard of 4 ft 8 1/2 in

No US railroad Engineers sit on the right side. I are one! :smile:Todd

Me too. I got that mixed up. Been used to Train Simulator too much.Yes it is right side for US, and left for Australia/England Commonwealth....Daniel

Actually riding a horse on the left side of a trail dates back to pre-Medieval times. Since one holds one's sword in the right hand, you would want to meet your opponent with him on your right side. It's pretty ackward to fight an opponent with a sword when he's on the left side!

Actually riding a horse on the left side of a trail dates back to pre-Medieval times. Since one holds one's sword in the right hand, you would want to meet your opponent with him on your right side. It's pretty ackward to fight an opponent with a sword when he's on the left side!

Now what side did they use when guns came into use? Like during the Wild West? I love my cowboy movies but haven't noticed. Not many left-handed shooters around I guess but some of the cowboys used to carry a gun on either side right?Daniel

Me too. I got that mixed up. Been used to Train Simulator too much.Yes it is right side for US, and left for Australia/England Commonwealth....Daniel

I used to play around with that MS Train Sim as well...I recall sitting in the right in most of those locomotives but I can't remember what side the driver was in the Flying Scotsman,I took the train to work this morning so I noticed that in New Zealand they drive the trains on the right hand side. Tranz Metro in Wellington has the driver on the right and Kiwi Rail has them in the right hand side as well. Not sure why different countries have different sides for trains then.Cheers

I used to play around with that MS Train Sim as well...I recall sitting in the right in most of those locomotives but I can't remember what side the driver was in the Flying Scotsman,I took the train to work this morning so I noticed that in New Zealand they drive the trains on the right hand side. Tranz Metro in Wellington has the driver on the right and Kiwi Rail has them in the right hand side as well. Not sure why different countries have different sides for trains then.Cheers

The Train simulators (even the latest Railroad Simulator 2012 (Trains 2012)) has issues with train dynamics and throttle run ups. Most locomotives (GM/GE) use 8 notches (Run) in the throttle. This and another few things are not accurately simulated so I am disappointed with it. Flight Simulator is well ahead in accuracy. Not even the gauges in the train sims are properly readable. The latest locos have computer screens displaying simple information such as Air Pressure, throttle position, speed etc etc. I don't know why TS cannot simulate this.It cannot differentiate between an 8000 ton freight train and a 2000 ton freight train.Daniel

Edited February 22, 201214 yr by IAF747

Now what side did they use when guns came into use? Like during the Wild West? I love my cowboy movies but haven't noticed. Not many left-handed shooters around I guess but some of the cowboys used to carry a gun on either side right?

In the case of the carbine, the left hand would hold the reins as well as support the carbine so you would turn the horse slightly right and fire over the horse between the left shoulder and ear.scott s..

Actually riding a horse on the left side of a trail dates back to pre-Medieval times. Since one holds one's sword in the right hand, you would want to meet your opponent with him on your right side. It's pretty ackward to fight an opponent with a sword when he's on the left side!

This is an older rule as it predates the GunPowder era

In the case of the carbine, the left hand would hold the reins as well as support the carbine so you would turn the horse slightly right and fire over the horse between the left shoulder and ear.scott s..

This is how I remember it as well. The wars before the Automobile would have been like this.With the English and French rule on Horseback, you could tell who your enemy was if they went to pass you on the wrong side. I can relate to this as I am a avid Mountain Biker from North America. In New Zealand I have made the mistake of trying to pass an uncoming mountain biker on the right as I am used to American right of way rules (my bad habit). When this has happened the oncoming cyclists have asked if I was American.....You can tell from this mistake. If we were at war then they would have known immediately I was a foreign troop in their lands and would not have hesitated to shoot.Cheers

Edited February 22, 201214 yr by ytzpilot

Historical evidence suggests that the keep-to-the-left rule was pretty well universal originally.The French may have decided to change it at the time of the French Revolution just to be different. They adopted a 10 hour day and a 10 day week at that time. They didn't last!

This is why I come to Avsim, what a fascinating discussion by some very knowledgeable people!Here's my contribution: American area codes were originally designed for rotary dial phones, since lower numbers could be dialed faster, "more important" areas of the country got lower numbers hence New York is 212 and Los Angeles is 213.

This is why I come to Avsim, what a fascinating discussion by some very knowledgeable people!Here's my contribution: American area codes were originally designed for rotary dial phones, since lower numbers could be dialed faster, "more important" areas of the country got lower numbers hence New York is 212 and Los Angeles is 213.

True...Like minded folks that share Aviation and Simulation as a hobby coming together to butt heads....It's all good in my books.Makes sense about the area codes. The big markets get the code that was easiest to dial. Wiki says that area codes began in 1947 and the dense populations got 212, 213, 312, 313...etcBack then the Airlines used AT&T a lot more then they do today for scheduling and operations. Before the Computer it was all done through AT&T.Cheers

Edited February 23, 201214 yr by ytzpilot

This is an older rule as it predates the GunPowder era

Saluting descended from the practice of raising one's visor when greeting a fellow knight. They were raised of course for two reasons; demonstrating lack of hostile intent and for identification... :(

This is why I come to Avsim, what a fascinating discussion by some very knowledgeable people!Here's my contribution: American area codes were originally designed for rotary dial phones, since lower numbers could be dialed faster, "more important" areas of the country got lower numbers hence New York is 212 and Los Angeles is 213.

I actually remember my family's first phone number: SPrings 256 We lived at 1313 Wren Ave., Miami Springs, Florida. We watched television on a 9" round tube black-and-white Philco reflected on a mirror attached to the lid!

This is why I come to Avsim, what a fascinating discussion by some very knowledgeable people!Here's my contribution: American area codes were originally designed for rotary dial phones, since lower numbers could be dialed faster, "more important" areas of the country got lower numbers hence New York is 212 and Los Angeles is 213.

It's good my hometown is 206. I didn't know Seattle was more important than those two

Saluting descended from the practice of raising one's visor when greeting a fellow knight. They were raised of course for two reasons; demonstrating lack of hostile intent and for identification... :LMAO:I actually remember my family's first phone number: SPrings 256 We lived at 1313 Wren Ave., Miami Springs, Florida. We watched television on a 9" round tube black-and-white Philco reflected on a mirror attached to the lid!

We have an old butcher that still has their alphabet phone number. Pretty cool they've lasted this long in a changing world.