Layouts.—The lines leading into a terminus are often 6 or 8 in number, but 4 is more usual. In Great Britain, where trains keep to the left track and meet right side to right side, outwards traffic from a station will often be on the left hand side, hut where the tracks enter a station sectionally, such as (1) down local line, (2) up local line, (3) down main line, (4) up main line, (5) down suburban line, (6) up suburban line, the platforms and station work can be divided sectionally, which is often advantageous. Where the entering or outside lines are in the order, down local, down main, up main, up local, it will be seen that every local train must cross both main lines either before entering or after leaving the terminal station; such a limiting design may, how ever, be offset by easier junction working outside the area of the terminus. It is the normal practice to place two lines between each platform, with the necessary cross over lines so that an engine may run round its train. The provision of three lines to allow for this movement is recognized as being wasteful of valued space. Short lines, where engines may wait to back on to their trains are necessary. Where electric traction is employed with multiple unit trains, engine movements are eliminated, thus in creasing the platform capacity as measured by the number of trains dealt with each hour. Waterloo (London), excluding its tube station, possesses 21 platforms, and by means of electric and steam traction deals with about 1,200 trains every 24 hrs., carrying about 150,000 passengers in and out. Liverpool Street, London (L.N.E.R.), wholly operated by steam traction with only 18 platforms handles approximately the same number of trains per day, but nearly 250,000 passengers, of whom 85.000 arrive between 7 and io A.M. St. Lazare, Paris, with more platforms, and using steam and electric traction, deals with a roughly similar number of passengers. Notable stations in Canada are Windsor Street, Montreal, the new Toronto Union Station, and Winnipeg (C.N.R.), while in Australia, Flinders Street, Melbourne, is famous, as is the Central Station, Sydney, which possesses steam and electric traction and is one of the most important railway stations in the world. The Ministry of Transport publishes the requirements for passenger lines in regard to railway construction and operation in Great Britain, which include important provisions as regards passenger stations, amongst which may be mentioned that trains should enter a station without reversing; that no fixed structure can be nearer than 6f t. from the platform edge, which must overhang not less than i 2in.; the platform height must be not less than 2i-ft. nor more than 3ft.; while staircases of footbridges must have treads not less than 1 iin. and luggage lifts or subways must be provided at important stations. These regula tions apply to new works and all reconstructed lines or stations; they set out also the requirements applying to bridges, level crossings, facing points and so forth.
Freight Stations.—These, for dealing with goods traffic, are of two main types; firstly, the town or city station, where goods are received for despatch by rail and inwards traffic by rail is dealt with, and secondly the tranship, or transfer, station, where wagons containing many small consignments for a large number of destina tions are unloaded and reloaded so as to form a wagon load either for each station or a few adjoining stations, or for a second tranship station. By this method it is possible to reduce the delays incurred by waiting until a sufficient volume or tonnage of goods has been received at the originating station to warrant a through wagon, while it also minimizes the number of small wagon loads. One of the largest tranship stations is at Crewe
(L.M.S.R.). Like many other tranship stations it adjoins a large "marshalling," or sorting yard. In certain cases the town freight station performs tranship work as well, there being certain advantages in adopting this method where desirable, such as the more likely possibility of obtaining a full wagon load.
Reconstructed freight stations of modern design are those of the G.W.R. at Paddington and Lambeth (London) and Bristol. Present practice provides for two tracks between the platforms, which are E shaped so as to permit easy movement of the goods round the end of the platforms which consequently must not be too long; drop down bridges may be fitted to cross the tracks at intervals and motor or electrically driven trucks with trailers have largely replaced the manually pushed barrow where plat forms are wide enough to accommodate them. Moveable cranes are frequently fitted on overhead runways, and where there is room the inwards traffic by rail is dealt with at different platforms from the outwards traffic. Where this is not possible the lines are said to he "set" with loaded inwards wagons in the morning, and after they have been dealt with the wagons are used for loading up traffic received by road for despatch during the late afternoon by rail. Adequate platforms for loading the road vehicles and turning space for the latter are important, as is also good lighting for night work and smooth platforms, now often of asphalt, on which the trucks may run easily. British town freight stations are often well provided with warehouse accom modation, especially at the ports, which enables them to be used as railhead distribution centres for large trading organiza tions. To save handling many small packages and to reduce pilferage a system of "containers" has been adopted which, in the form of large van bodies, can be wheeled or moved by crane to and from railway wagons and road vehicles. These "con tainers," which can also be of an open type, useful for carrying bricks to avoid handling, are in use extensively in Great Britain and the United States, while their use is also spreading on Con tinental European railways. In Germany they sometimes take the form of milk or oil tanks.