Review of primary source: drawing-sac-mr-generic-station-building-no-2-medium-na-rail-491-629-4

The document takes the form of a single sheet with a slightly eroded left-hand edge and it appears to have been mounted onto art board or similar (perhaps as part of a conservation process).^[1] The sheet contains a partly colour-washed set of scale drawings that depict the brick version of the standard Midland Railway Company design for the 'Number 2' or 'Medium' main station buildings (booking offices) on its Settle and Carlisle Railway.

Tip: To open a larger version of this image (4,000 x 2,490 pixels, 1.6Mb), click / tap on the thumbnail above.

The larger version will repay close examination and the following are especially worthy of note:

• The title on the drawing (top-centre) is "M.R. SETTLE TO CARLISLE. DRAWING FOR STATION BUILDINGS No2.".
• To the right of the title (and in the same font style and size) is the text "SKETCH.".
• The drawing is undated, but it almost certainly formed part of the contract documentation and / or the working documentation associated with the construction of the Settle and Carlisle Railway between 1869 and 1876.
• The drawing does not include any mention of the engineer or architect.
• The scale is given as "6 FEET IN AN INCH" (indicated by original text) and it is clear that the original was drawn to scale.
• The sheet includes five separate but related drawings. They are labelled "ELEVATION NEXT RAILS", "ELEVATION NEXT APPROACH", "GROUND PLAN", "SECTION" and "END ELEVATION".
• With the exception of the "WAITING SHED" frontage, the elevation views do not indicate the nature of the materials to be used for the exterior walls. Stone sills, lintels wall angle quoins are clearly depicted and the "WAITING SHED" is depicted with decorative columns, bracketry, glazing and timber pannelling.
• All elevation views depict the pitched roofs as being covered with slates. The "ELEVATION NEXT RAILS" view depicts the roof as being topped with plain ridge tiles. The "ELEVATION NEXT APPROACH" view depicts the roof as being topped with decorative (pierced) ridge tiles.
• The "ELEVATION NEXT RAILS" and "END ELEVATION" views depict plain timber bargeboards on all gable ends, whereas the "ELEVATION NEXT APPROACH" view depicts pierced decorative timber bargeboards on all gable ends.
• Five fireplaces and three decorative chimney stacks are depicted, but chimney pots are not depicted.
• The "GROUND PLAN" and "SECTION" views depict the exterior walls as follows:
  • double-skinned for the main part of the building (brick for both the outside and inside skins)^[2] and
  • single-skinned (brick) for the utility block.
• The elevation views depict a trefoil oculus in each of the platform-facing upper gables and a vertical recess in the upper gable facing the approach road.
• The plan view shows the interior divided into eleven rooms (twelve if you count the W.C.s and their lobbies separately).
• The dimensions are given in feet & inches and the focus is placed firmly on the room interiors. Wall thicknesses are not specified anywhere on this sheet.
• The key dimensions (indicated on the plan view by text and accompanying arrows) are slightly different to the stone version and are as follows:
  • Main building:
    • "LAMP ROOM" (12' 10" wide x 8' 1" deep) with a corner fireplace, a window facing the approach road and an external doorway to the left side.
    • "PORTERS ROOM" (12' 10" wide x 8' 1½" deep) with a corner fireplace, a window facing the platform and an external doorway to the left side.
    • "LADIES WAITING ROOM" (14' 0" wide x 15' 8½" deep) with a central fireplace, a window facing the platform, an internal doorway leading to the waiting shed and an internal doorway leading to...
    • "LOBBY" (5' 6" wide) with wash basin and an internal doorway leading to "W.C." (8' 0" wide x 4' 3" deep), each with a window facing the approach road.
    • "WAITING SHED" (18' 3" wide x 11' 9" deep) with a pair of windows facing the platform either side of an external doorway to the platform and an internal doorway leading to...
    • "WAITING HALL" (18' 3" wide x 19' 2" deep) with a central fireplace, windows in two sides (facing the approach road and looking along rear) an external doorway to the right side and a ticket window (unlabelled) linking to...
    • "STAT^N MASTERS OFFICE" (13' 11" wide x 20' 8½" deep) with a central fireplace, a window facing the approach road, a window facing the platform and an internal doorway leading to the "WAITING SHED".
  • Utility block:
    • "URINALS" (8' 9" wide) - without wash basin but with a window facing the approach road and an internal doorway leading to....
    • "W.C." (4' 0" wide) with a window facing the approach road.
    • "DUST" (5' 3" wide x 9' 0" deep) with a hatch to the right side (but no doorway, either internal or external).
    • "COALS" (14' 9" wide x 5' 3" deep) with a window facing the platform and an external door to the right side.
• External dimensions are not provided and they cannot be calculated accurately due to the absence of wall thicknesses measurements. However, they can be estimated with a reasonable degree of accuracy by totalling-up the dimensions that are provided on the plan, then adding estimated dimensions for the wall thicknesses. Reasonable estimates for the latter can be derived from the depiction of the walls on the plan view and an assumption that the external walls consist of three layers of 4" wide bricks with a ½" cavity and that the internal walls consist of two layers of 4" wide bricks.
• The "GROUND PLAN" view also shows bench seating along the three sides of the "WAITING HALL" and two sides of the "WAITING SHED".

Notes

[1]: This review was created from the digital image file supplied by the National Archives. The reviewer has not seen the original document, so cannot be certain of its physical nature.

[2]: A thick black line is depicted within the thickness of the external walls of the main building. This almost certainly indicates the specification of a ½" cavity between the outside and inside skins, to be filled with hot pitch (see the review of drawing-sac-mr-generic-station-building-no-2-medium-na-rail-491-629-5). It is interesting to speculate if this was added in reality. If not, or if it was done poorly, or if was done but has since deteriorated, it would explain the water ingress problems that have affected several of the main station buildings.

Acknowledgements

This drawing forms part of a large set of records of "the privately owned railway companies (and their predecessors) taken over by the British Transport Commission under the Transport Act 1947". This digitised version of the drawing was uploaded to the SCRCA Project database under licence, courtesy of The National Archives. (Catalogue Reference RAIL 491/629, Harbour Contract drawings: Station buildings on Settle - Carlisle line.) The license was purchased by - and is held by - Mark R. Harvey.

Review and text by Mark R. Harvey (© Mark R. Harvey, 2020).