RAILROAD STATION GROUNDS 



THERE are, we are forced to remember, many 

 meeting places in life where the accidents of 

 travel, or the natural delays of miscalculated 

 time, oblige people to linger in a frame of mind that is 

 almost preternaturally disposed to complain of surround- 

 ings that appear doubly uninteresting, for the reason 

 that their contemplation is forced and compulsory ; and 

 it is highly probable that the precision, promptitude, and 

 rapidity of action generally associated with a railroad 

 will account somewhat for the special sense of boredom 

 with which a long wait at a railroad station is generally 

 contemplated. 



In view of this natural condition of the waiting public 

 at railroad stations, it is no wonder that the minds of 

 railroad managers have been turned for a long time 

 toward the development of the convenience and attract- 

 iveness of all railway stopping-places, for the contem- 

 plation of a weedy, cinder-strewn yard, and a gullied 

 bank with a freight-car or two standing on the rails, does 

 certainly not conduce to cheerfulness of soul or resig- 

 nation to enforced delay. 



Recognizing that money expended in such improve- 

 ments will be always profitable, many, if not most rail- 



