A
goods shed is a
railwayRail transport is the conveyance of passengers and goods by means of wheeled vehicles running along railways or railroads. Rail transport is part of the logistics chain, which facilitates international trade and economic growth...
building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train.
A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built alongside a track with possibly just a canopy over the door. There will also be a door to move goods to or from road wagons and vans, this sometimes is parallel to the rail track, or sometimes on the side opposite the rail track.
Inside the shed will generally be a
platformA railway platform is a section of pathway, alongside rail tracks at a train station, metro station or tram stop, at which passengers may board or alight from trains or trams. Almost all stations for rail transport have some form of platforms, with larger stations having multiple platforms...
and sometimes a small
craneA crane is a lifting machine, generally equipped with a winder , wire ropes or chains and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...
to allow easier loading and unloading of wagons.
Some goods sheds had more than one track.
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A
goods shed is a
railwayRail transport is the conveyance of passengers and goods by means of wheeled vehicles running along railways or railroads. Rail transport is part of the logistics chain, which facilitates international trade and economic growth...
building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train.
A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built alongside a track with possibly just a canopy over the door. There will also be a door to move goods to or from road wagons and vans, this sometimes is parallel to the rail track, or sometimes on the side opposite the rail track.
Inside the shed will generally be a
platformA railway platform is a section of pathway, alongside rail tracks at a train station, metro station or tram stop, at which passengers may board or alight from trains or trams. Almost all stations for rail transport have some form of platforms, with larger stations having multiple platforms...
and sometimes a small
craneA crane is a lifting machine, generally equipped with a winder , wire ropes or chains and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...
to allow easier loading and unloading of wagons.
Some goods sheds had more than one track. If one was not adjacent to the unloading platform then the method of working the second siding would be to first empty the wagons adjacent to the platform, and then open the doors on their far side to access those on the second track. Planks or portable bridges were normally provided for this purpose.
When no longer required for goods traffic goods sheds have often been converted for other uses, such as the booking office at
Paignton railway stationPaignton railway station is the railway station serving Paignton in Devon, England. It is the terminus of the Riviera Line from Exeter and is also an interchange between National Rail services and the preserved Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway.-History:...
, or as housing. When many rural
branch lineA branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...
s in
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
were closed, goods sheds along the closed branches often formed integral parts of the depots of road freight companies that replaced the railway.
Transfer shed
Transfer sheds, sometimes called
transshipmentTransshipment or Transhipment is the shipment of goods or container to an intermediate destination, and then from there to yet another destination....
sheds, were provided to transfer goods between two different railways of different gauges, such as the
broad gaugeBroad gauge railways use a rail gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For a list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
and
standard gaugeThe standard gauge is a widely-used rail gauge. Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
on the
Great Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835, and ran its first trains three years later...
in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
. Those at
ExeterExeter St Davids station is the most important of seven National Rail stations in the city of Exeter in southwest England. Today the station is owned by Network Rail and operated by First Great Western.-History:...
and
DidcotDidcot Railway Centre, located in the town of Didcot in the English county of Oxfordshire, is based around the site of an old engine shed which became redundant due to the nationalisation of the UK railways, as well as the gradual switch from steam to diesel power.-Introduction:The Great Western...
are still intact.
Related terms
- Goods station
A goods station is, in the widest sense, a railway station which is exclusively or predominantly where goods of any description are loaded or unloaded from ships or road vehicles and/or where goods wagons are transferred to local sidings.A station where goods are not specifically received or...
or goods depot - a facility used exclusively for handling goods rather than passengers.
- Goods yard - one or more sidings
A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a through route such as a main line or branch line or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end. The distinction between sidings and other types of track is that a "siding" generally denotes an...
, generally near a passenger station, where goods wagons can be loaded and unloaded. There may or may not be a goods shed, depending on the nature of the regular traffic handled.
- Goods warehouse - generally used to denote a larger goods shed, often with more than one floor. The larger size was used to store goods for longer periods. Some would be for a specific traffic.