Inside a Small Town Station

[Andy873]

Although I will mention a specific station, it leads to some very general questions / observations.

Finally after nine and a half years of looking, I finally came across the internal plan of Great Harwood station which was designed by the L&YR. This plan looks to be from the 1950's and each room is described in minute detail and it is said the rooms still had their original fixtures and fittings since it opened in 1877.

The Down Building contained the following rooms:

Gents 1st Class waiting room.
It had a cast iron fire place but doesn't show any seating?
No toilets either!

Ladies 1st Class waiting room.
Two W.C.s and a wash basin, cold water only.
Seating covered by red leather stuffed with horse hair.
Cast iron fireplace.

Ladies 2nd/3rd Class waiting room.
Same as ladies 1st class except leather is not coloured.

The Porter's Room.
This was a surprise to me: A cast iron range, large brewing kettle, floor standing gas oven and grill, a large table with two long bench seats either side of it. Cast iron fireplace and two wooden lockers containing 12 individual lockers for staff which could be locked, and a Belfast sink.

The porter's room looks to be more like a staff room? somewhere to have tea or coffee, eat your food etc during breaks. I'm not sure what I expected to see in this room but didn't expect it to contain all of the above.

The Station Master's Office.
This was much smaller than I had imagined, only 11' by 9'. There was no fireplace in this room, it had a large desk and a safe angled in the top right side corner. The floor boards were polished wooden ones, a writing desk and a chair on casters.

The Booking Office.
Two louvered serving windows / hatches (the one nearest the public entrance was only used when needed), two lockable cupboards holding blank tickets etc and a cast iron fireplace. What surprised me here was the platform clock was placed in the platform facing window (not the SM's window as I had always thought). This clock had two faces so that the Booking office staff could see the time as well as the passengers on the platform.

The Booking Hall / General waiting room.
This had two L shaped wooden seating with covered with horse hair leather. A cast iron fireplace and a large table for leaflets, timetables etc for the public. In front of the two booking office windows there were two wooden queue rails and on the walls were four notice boards.

Parcel Office.
Cast iron large weighing scales, two wall chalk boards for special notices etc, a hardwood counter with a sloping top.

Store room.
Only a cast iron fire inside, it was used for storing Paraffin barrels and cleaning materials etc and the station's wheelbarrow! Later from 1957 it was also used to store documents.

Gents Toilets.
Situated at the very end of the Up platform. these toilets had four W.C.s which were covered, six urinals (originally covered but had gone by 1956. It appears that unlike the ladies travelling 1st class, men with 1st class tickets had to use the same toilets are everybody else. One of the end W.C.s was kept locked and was for staff only.

I've listed these rooms in no particular order, but the whole building had a gable end on the west side containing the parcel office, booking office and SM's office. the central section had the booking hall and 1st class gents room. The gable end (other side) had the ladies rooms, store room and porters room. The central section connected the two gable ends together. All rooms were lit by gas light.

The Up building was simply one large waiting room with two cast iron fires at each end.

For me, when you see an internal plan of one of the stations you've been looking at for so long it brings the whole station alive, you could imagine walking into the warm porters room on a dark cold night and grabbing a warm mug of tea. There were two telephones, one in the booking office and one in the SM's office and the station's number was simply 4 (nothing else) for a long time. I have known for a long time which rooms were which and where they were but it's great to see some actual dimensions and fixtures shown with internal non-load bearing walls.

Anyone remember green telephone boxes? I don't, just red ones. The description says this green public box was on the Down platform next to the SM's office. It was apparently moved after regular passenger services stopped at the end of 1957 onto Station Road opposite a pub but strangely never re-connected.

 

[Pyewipecarshed]

Regarding the facilities in the Porter's room, in the 19th century when it was built Porter's and other station staff would have worked very long hours, therefore everything was provided to enable them essentially to live at the station.
I'm not sure about the L & Y, but for example at North Eastern Railway wayside stations it was common for the Porter to start with the first train of the day and finish work after the last one.

 

[Rescars]

You've found a treasure trove of detail here! It seems unlikely that the first class gents had nothing to sit on whilst waiting. Perhaps this seating was the only thing which hadn't survived from 1877?!

I don't recall green phone boxes either, they were all red, apart from the cream ones in Hull of course. However I think there were a few painted green to satisfy requests from local landowners etc. Hardly likely on your station platform though I'd guess. Does the different colour imply that this particular installation was not fully under the control of the GPO? Some interconnection with the railway phone network perhaps? You mention only two phones in the offices. Presumably these were GPO instruments. Were there railway phones as well I wonder, or were these just to be found in the signal box?

Splendid detail about the store room - keeping paraffin barrels next to an open fire. Just the thing to enliven a H&S risk asessment!

 

[Gloster]

It was quite normal for gents toilets not to be inside the station building. Cold, pah, what’s that to an empire builder.

Porters’ rooms were a mess room for all staff, not just porters, and would have basic facilities, but it is quite possible that many of the fixtures were added later on. Originally it may have had little more than a fireplace, table, bench and, if they were lucky, a cold tap. The rest would have been added over the years as conditions for staff improved.

The store room might have been just that originally. If it had a fireplace then it would not have been for storing paraffin: fires and paraffin are not a good combination. The paraffin and the lamps would be kept in a separate hut, the Lamp Hut. (My first BR job was Lampman.)

 

[Andy873]

Regarding the facilities in the Porter's room, in the 19th century when it was built Porter's and other station staff would have worked very long hours, therefore everything was provided to enable them essentially to live at the station.

Yes, I believe long hours was the order of the day, so being able to cook something or simply warm up some pies etc would certainly help you along.

You've found a treasure trove of detail here! It seems unlikely that the first class gents had nothing to sit on whilst waiting. Perhaps this seating was the only thing which hadn't survived from 1877?!

It is a fascinating description with all the detail as mentioned. I agree about the 1st class gents room, common sense dictates that someone paying more for a 1st class ticket is going to want to at least sit down. My best guess is that the seating would have been the same as the ladies 1st class waiting room.

I don't recall green phone boxes either, they were all red, apart from the cream ones in Hull of course. However I think there were a few painted green to satisfy requests from local landowners etc. Hardly likely on your station platform though I'd guess. Does the different colour imply that this particular installation was not fully under the control of the GPO? Some interconnection with the railway phone network perhaps? You mention only two phones in the offices. Presumably these were GPO instruments. Were there railway phones as well I wonder, or were these just to be found in the signal box?

No I don't remember green phone boxes either. It seems to have been placed on the down platform during WW2, but I would have thought a box would more likely have been placed outside on the public road next to the station, but that's what the author says, on the platform. Other GPO phones were in the goods yard for each coal merchant based there. Not sure if the goods shed had one (never seen a number for it listed), and as for the signal boxes, unknown.

Splendid detail about the store room - keeping paraffin barrels next to an open fire. Just the thing to enliven a H&S risk asessment!

The store room might have been just that originally. If it had a fireplace then it would not have been for storing paraffin: fires and paraffin are not a good combination. The paraffin and the lamps would be kept in a separate hut, the Lamp Hut. (My first BR job was Lampman.)

It seems that every room had one fireplace, and probably the one in the store room remained unlit, well you'd hope so with flammables in the same room!

Porters’ rooms were a mess room for all staff, not just porters, and would have basic facilities, but it is quite possible that many of the fixtures were added later on. Originally it may have had little more than a fireplace, table, bench and, if they were lucky, a cold tap. The rest would have been added over the years as conditions for staff improved.

I didn't know that, in my experience of work places many had some sort of kitchen, table and chairs, and yes, perhaps extra things were added in the room as time went on.

Just going back to the subject of fireplaces and no seating in the gents 1st class room - I've looked at some old photos from the 1950s and a couple circa 1905-10. If we break up the main up building into four sections, sections 1,2, & 3 both have two rooms, each with a fireplace (back to back), a chimney stack on the roof, each with 2 chimney pots, so every fireplace had its own pot. Now the west gable end clearly shows 3 chimney pots, 3 rooms inside, and yet only 1 fireplace. Common sense should dictate this section originally had 3 fires, and at some point 2 have been bricked up. The conclusion is that the internal plan drawing must be from the 1950s or early '60s.

Hopefully I will have all this confirmed around December - January when I see the original station plans from the NA.

A note about the flours, all rooms had polished wooden floorboards except the ladies 1st class room, that was covered with linoleum and the gents toilets had stone flags.

Anyone remember Martins bank? The author describes the daily routine of taking cash from the station, placing it in a lockable leather bag, and then two members of staff paying it in at the bank, just a little more detail that brings a station back to life.

 

[sh24]

Fascinating post, thank you. Brings to life the many locked up and unused Victorian buildings across the network.

 

[Gloster]

I have heard of Martins Bank (*) and so looked it up on Wikipedia. It was only known as that from 1928, having been Bank of Liverpool and Martins Bank after the former acquired the latter in 1918. It is quite likely that the local bank that your station used was originally part of another bank that was absorbed by the Bank of Liverpool, possibly the Craven Bank taken over in 1906. A look at the Wikipedia entry for Martins Bank and following your nose will tell you more.

I do underline that it was soon learnt that paraffin should not be kept in the same store as other items, many of them inflammable. It was standard practice to keep it in a separate hut which could burn down without destroying the station; remember, steam engines produce a lot of sparks. An old Lampman knows.

Staff facilities were originally very basic and were just to keep the staff on the job for long hours. Compared to many jobs, the chance to sit down on a bench and eat was a good as it got. Early on you probably just brought bread and cheese, and flask of cold tea that you would put in the warmest corner. Washing might be no more than a water container of some sort and a bowl on a frame or just a drain.

I should have made clear that the station master would not use or eat his meals in the mess room. That was the staff’s area and they would usually be left alone: it was like upstairs and downstairs at a large house.

* - Remember Dad’s Army? It was usually Swallow Bank, but occasionally they called it Martins.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

Martins Bank had a Liverpool HQ, but was taken over by Barclays in 1969. A certain Captain Mainwaring, was I believe, onetime manager of the Warmington-on-Sea branch.

Earlier in 1928 Martins had taken over the Lancashire & Yorkshire Bank (no connection with the railway). It had a splendid HQ in Spring Gardens, Manchester which is now Grade II listed and is a rather smart restaurant / bar.

 

[WesternLancer]

Although I will mention a specific station, it leads to some very general questions / observations.

Finally after nine and a half years of looking, I finally came across the internal plan of Great Harwood station which was designed by the L&YR. This plan looks to be from the 1950's and each room is described in minute detail and it is said the rooms still had their original fixtures and fittings since it opened in 1877.

The Down Building contained the following rooms:

Gents 1st Class waiting room.
It had a cast iron fire place but doesn't show any seating?
No toilets either!

Ladies 1st Class waiting room.
Two W.C.s and a wash basin, cold water only.
Seating covered by red leather stuffed with horse hair.
Cast iron fireplace.

Ladies 2nd/3rd Class waiting room.
Same as ladies 1st class except leather is not coloured.

The Porter's Room.
This was a surprise to me: A cast iron range, large brewing kettle, floor standing gas oven and grill, a large table with two long bench seats either side of it. Cast iron fireplace and two wooden lockers containing 12 individual lockers for staff which could be locked, and a Belfast sink.

The porter's room looks to be more like a staff room? somewhere to have tea or coffee, eat your food etc during breaks. I'm not sure what I expected to see in this room but didn't expect it to contain all of the above.

The Station Master's Office.
This was much smaller than I had imagined, only 11' by 9'. There was no fireplace in this room, it had a large desk and a safe angled in the top right side corner. The floor boards were polished wooden ones, a writing desk and a chair on casters.

The Booking Office.
Two louvered serving windows / hatches (the one nearest the public entrance was only used when needed), two lockable cupboards holding blank tickets etc and a cast iron fireplace. What surprised me here was the platform clock was placed in the platform facing window (not the SM's window as I had always thought). This clock had two faces so that the Booking office staff could see the time as well as the passengers on the platform.

The Booking Hall / General waiting room.
This had two L shaped wooden seating with covered with horse hair leather. A cast iron fireplace and a large table for leaflets, timetables etc for the public. In front of the two booking office windows there were two wooden queue rails and on the walls were four notice boards.

Parcel Office.
Cast iron large weighing scales, two wall chalk boards for special notices etc, a hardwood counter with a sloping top.

Store room.
Only a cast iron fire inside, it was used for storing Paraffin barrels and cleaning materials etc and the station's wheelbarrow! Later from 1957 it was also used to store documents.

Gents Toilets.
Situated at the very end of the Up platform. these toilets had four W.C.s which were covered, six urinals (originally covered but had gone by 1956. It appears that unlike the ladies travelling 1st class, men with 1st class tickets had to use the same toilets are everybody else. One of the end W.C.s was kept locked and was for staff only.

I've listed these rooms in no particular order, but the whole building had a gable end on the west side containing the parcel office, booking office and SM's office. the central section had the booking hall and 1st class gents room. The gable end (other side) had the ladies rooms, store room and porters room. The central section connected the two gable ends together. All rooms were lit by gas light.

The Up building was simply one large waiting room with two cast iron fires at each end.

For me, when you see an internal plan of one of the stations you've been looking at for so long it brings the whole station alive, you could imagine walking into the warm porters room on a dark cold night and grabbing a warm mug of tea. There were two telephones, one in the booking office and one in the SM's office and the station's number was simply 4 (nothing else) for a long time. I have known for a long time which rooms were which and where they were but it's great to see some actual dimensions and fixtures shown with internal non-load bearing walls.

Anyone remember green telephone boxes? I don't, just red ones. The description says this green public box was on the Down platform next to the SM's office. It was apparently moved after regular passenger services stopped at the end of 1957 onto Station Road opposite a pub but strangely never re-connected.

Another interesting and thought provoking post Andy. Thanks for posting.

Can I ask what this document was / where you found such thorough detail recorded? Surely an excellent find.

 

[Andy873]

Another interesting and thought provoking post Andy. Thanks for posting.

Can I ask what this document was / where you found such thorough detail recorded? Surely an excellent find.

Thanks for that, and to others on this such as @sh24 and so on. It was an article posted by a fellow researcher who mainly focused on the Gt. Harwood section of the line, while I, years later am trying to cover the whole branch line. I know the author well, lovely person who is always very helpful. The article was for a newsletter by a railway society written by him and I trust every word he's says. A friend showed me a printed copy and I've used my own words to describe the writeup based on what I already knew, it simply gives me a visual plan (confirmation) as to which rooms contain what, and where they were, something I already knew. Seeing is believing!

 

[WesternLancer]

Thanks for that, and to others on this such as @sh24 and so on. It was an article posted by a fellow researcher who mainly focused on the Gt. Harwood section of the line, while I, years later am trying to cover the whole branch line. I know the author well, lovely person who is always very helpful. The article was for a newsletter by a railway society written by him and I trust every word he's says. A friend showed me a printed copy and I've used my own words to describe the writeup based on what I already knew, it simply gives me a visual plan (confirmation) as to which rooms contain what, and where they were, something I already knew. Seeing is believing!

An excellent bit of combined research by the sound of it. Thanks.

 

[Rescars]

Martins Bank had a Liverpool HQ, but was taken over by Barclays in 1969. A certain Captain Mainwaring, was I believe, onetime manager of the Warmington-on-Sea branch.

Earlier in 1928 Martins had taken over the Lancashire & Yorkshire Bank (no connection with the railway). It had a splendid HQ in Spring Gardens, Manchester which is now Grade II listed and is a rather smart restaurant / bar.

Martins Bank, known affectionately as "The Grasshopper", was headquartered in Liverpool - the only English national bank to have its head office outside London. So a natural choice of bankers for the L&Y perhaps?

 

[stuving]

Martins Bank, known affectionately as "The Grasshopper", was headquartered in Liverpool - the only English national bank to have its head office outside London. So a natural choice of bankers for the L&Y perhaps?

Have you forgotten the Midland Bank? It was run from Birmingham until HSBC took it over, and at a time the biggest bank in the world!

 

[Rescars]

Have you forgotten the Midland Bank? It was run from Birmingham until HSBC took it over, and at a time the biggest bank in the world!

Fair point, though the Midland had a magnificent head office in London almost next door to the Bank of England.

 

[Andy873]

An excellent bit of combined research by the sound of it. Thanks.

Thanks for that, but the details come from quite a few reliable sources:
From staff who actually worked at the station and from the original L&Y drawings of the station.

For me, I was lucky enough to talk to someone who was a relief booking clerk who sometimes did a shift at the station in the early 1960's after regular trains had stopped - Pete Leigh and his trusted scooter!

Before I knew the exact internal layout, I asked Pete how did you get to the booking office from the main public entrance? He replied:

"As you walked through the main doors to the booking hall, you immediately turned right and went through a locked door. This took you into the Parcels office. You then turned left and there was another door, like a stable door (a top part and bottom part ). You were then in the booking office".

Now the plan I've seen it is exactly as Pete described it to me. I asked Pete several other questions - Was the Up building ever opened? he said "No", and only once had cause to go inside the building but couldn't remember what for.

As for the signal boxes - He said he was once asked to go and get something from Gt. Harwood west box. When he asked for the key, he was told to simply go up the steps of the box, look under the mat outside the door, the key would be under it!

I asked also about were the fires ever lit? He told me on cold days / evenings yes they were, at least those in the booking office and booking hall. They were lit by a porter but Pete didn't know his name. The porter was in fact was the only one left, Jimmy Whitehead.

General observations we can take from this topic:

Cash, safe & bank. It looks like almost every station had a safe, not too long ago the main way to pay for things was by cash. Lots of passengers equalled lots of cash, all of which needed to be kept safe until it could be paid in at the local bank.

Somewhere to eat. It looks like a Porter's room would generally be used at stations for this purpose, somewhere to go, drink your brew and eat something away from passengers.

Water for the wash basins / Belfast sink was supplied with cold water, only no hot water.

I should have made clear that the station master would not use or eat his meals in the mess room. That was the staff’s area and they would usually be left alone: it was like upstairs and downstairs at a large house.

It does seem that way. For the station master at this station, he had two options. Eat in his office or go home. From LMS days onwards all SM's of this station lived at No. 20 Station Road, the very end house of the road right opposite the station. Just a few seconds walk could see you going through your front door. Perhaps a little time to finish that newspaper and put the wireless on for a little, maybe.

Questions - Did every station have it's own bank account? or was the money paid into a general railway account?

Seating - All the seating for the passengers were cushioned with stuffed leather for comfort. Were these removable or fixed to the seats? Leather over time can crack and split which implies they are at some point have to be repaired.

Are there any other comparable stations where the gents 1st class waiting room didn't have any toilet facilities?

I do underline that it was soon learnt that paraffin should not be kept in the same store as other items, many of them inflammable. It was standard practice to keep it in a separate hut which could burn down without destroying the station; remember, steam engines produce a lot of sparks. An old Lampman knows.

You make an excellent point here. I hadn't considered that if the store room went up in flames that could be the end of the station, something I think that the BR management wouldn't have minded as it would have given them an early excuse to close the station. Can't then understand why, given the station had its own lamp room building away from the main buildings why the flammables weren't stored in there?

 

[Gloster]

Fair point, though the Midland had a magnificent head office in London almost next door to the Bank of England.

According to Graces Guide the Birmingham and Midland Bank changed its name to the London and Midland Bank in 1891, having recently acquired the Central Bank of London. In 1898 it acquired City Bank, changed its name to London City and Midland Bank and moved to Threadneedle St.




I doubt that each station had its own bank account. The railway probably had several General ones for different purposes, but the Station Master would only deal with those relevant to him: passenger revenue, goods revenue, etc. (here you are in the individual railway company’s accounting practices). He could probably pay in and draw out, possibly only up to a certain limit in the latter case.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 Oct 2025 ==

Questions - Did every station have it's own bank account? or was the money paid into a general railway account?

 

[Rescars]

I do underline that it was soon learnt that paraffin should not be kept in the same store as other items, many of them inflammable. It was standard practice to keep it in a separate hut which could burn down without destroying the station; remember, steam engines produce a lot of sparks. An old Lampman knows.

The risks from paraffin were well known. In 1868 33 people died when the Irish Mail crashed into six wagons loaded with paraffin barrels at Abergele. This was the worst disaster to have occurred on the network up to that time.

 

[Andy873]

More questions please:

In both ladies rooms, do you think each room hard a large mirror above the fireplace?

A mirror over the wash basin in the ladies rooms?

Would there be a wall clock in all of the waiting rooms, parcels office, and SM's office?

If you were in a waiting room, would a member of staff tell you "The train for X will be arriving shortly"?

I'm just trying to get a feel of what extra fixtures and fittings might have been in a smaller but "well presented and commodious" (as the newspapers described it back when this station opened) town station.

 

[Rescars]

1. In both ladies rooms, do you think each room hard a large mirror above the fireplace?

2. A mirror over the wash basin in the ladies rooms?

3. Would there be a wall clock in all of the waiting rooms, parcels office, and SM's office?

4. If you were in a waiting room, would a member of staff tell you "The train for X will be arriving shortly"?

1. Possibly, but a nice framed picture extolling the virtues of taking a trip to somewhere like leafy Southport might have been hung instead.

2. Seems highly probable.

3. Clocks were expensive and needed maintenance, so it would seem unlikely they would be provided liberally. The dual-faced platform/ticket office clock you have already mentioned was an ingenious way of maximising its usefulness. There might have been a clock in the SM's office, but he may just have been kitted out with a company pocket watch instead.

4. Announcing by calling out details from the platform seems more likely, though perhaps a rather more personal service if those waiting were known to the station staff.

 

[Ken H]

Martins Bank had a Liverpool HQ, but was taken over by Barclays in 1969. A certain Captain Mainwaring, was I believe, onetime manager of the Warmington-on-Sea branch.

Earlier in 1928 Martins had taken over the Lancashire & Yorkshire Bank (no connection with the railway). It had a splendid HQ in Spring Gardens, Manchester which is now Grade II listed and is a rather smart restaurant / bar.

This was Martins bank in Leeds. Corner of Eastgate, Headrow and Vicar Ln. You can just make out their shield above the door with the grasshopper logo. I had a Barclays account in Northumberland late 70's And the cheques had the grass hopper logo. It was an kld Martins branch.

Street View · Google Maps

Explore a place in a more immersive way in Google Maps.

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Link goes to google maps to show the old Martins Bank building in Leeds.

 

[Revilo]

There is a Martins Bank archive website here: https://www.martinsbank.co.uk/. It has a lot of detail about their branch network, including Great Harwood, which survived as a Barclays branch until 2015.

 

[Andy873]

There is a Martins Bank archive website here: https://www.martinsbank.co.uk/. It has a lot of detail about their branch network, including Great Harwood, which survived as a Barclays branch until 2015.

Thank you, that site is a great find! and yes it does show Great Harwood. Now I know the likely route from the railway station to the bank the staff probably took to cash in the daily takings.