Alpine Tunnel

The Alpine Tunnel had the telegraph office, boarding house, engine house and turntable on the west side of the tunnel. Was there some logical reason to place these on the west side and NOT on the east side. The east side had the Mary Murphy and other mines, the town sites of Hancock, Romley and St. Elmo. Was the snowfall amounts some deciding factor in the placement? Once the tunnel was abandoned, the structures on the west side were so far out of the way there there was no further need for the structures. It would have seemed to make more sense to place these buildings on the east side. Ken in Buena Vista