Looking at Buildings

, printed from the Looking at Buildings website on Friday 19th April 2024

Through Stations

arcadeGlossary Term [1] on the railway side, since infilled, sheltered the trains.

wrought ironGlossary Term [2] between bevelled rollers. The train shed is also curved along its length, with a radius of 800 feet (243 metres) determined by the railway lines that snake through the very congested hillside site. The result is utilitarian but extremely graceful, with barely a reference to the forms of traditional architecture (though a mighty classicalGlossary Term [3] building was also provided to house the offices and waiting rooms, facing on to the street). Passengers cross the tracks by a footbridge within the train shed.

Preston station was rebuilt in the late 1870s for the London & North Western Railway and Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, to designs by the Preston firm of Cooper & Tullis. It also has a grand train shed - here of four parallel spans - but the access is managed differently, by means of a large station block set above and across the platforms.

Midland Station

A similar system of access was used at the Nottingham station of the Midland Railway, as rebuilt in 1904, by A.E. Lambert. The station building is raised above the running lines and fronted by a big porte-cochère. A broad concourse behind leads to an iron and timber bridge spanning the platforms, which have individual shelters - unimpressive by the standards of Preston.

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Last updated: Monday, 26th January 2009