RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION. 259 



bridge crossing the railway, and the booking-office is placed at 

 the top of an incline, or ramp, leading down to the platform. 

 The dock-line platforms are arranged different to those in the 

 preceding example, with the object of providing longer platforms 

 for the main-line trains. This result, however, is obtained at 

 some little inconvenience to the dock-line trains, as the passengers 

 from one of these must walk round a portion of two platforms 

 to get into the other dock-line train, instead of merely walking 

 across the platform as in Fig. 381. 



In some cases of island platforms the total width of the 

 station buildings and platforms is made much greater than 

 indicated in the above sketches, and a wide, easy incline con- 

 structed from an over-line public-road bridge, to allow cabs and 

 carriages to come down to a large paved area between the plat- 

 forms, for the convenience of setting down and taking up the 

 train passengers and their luggage. 



The island-platform arrangement possesses many advantages 

 for the exchange of passenger traffic. All the platforms are 

 connected and on one level, and passengers, together with their 

 luggage, can be quickly transferred from one train to another. 

 One set of waiting-rooms, refreshment-rooms, etc., are sufficient, 

 and are available for the passengers of all the four trains. A 

 smaller number of station men are required for the work, as the 

 staff can be more concentrated and better utilized than when 

 there are separate platforms on opposite sides of the line. 



The number, size, and arrangement of waiting-rooms and 

 other offices for the public at a large station will depend upon 

 the amount and description of traffic to be dealt with at the 

 particular station under consideration. Where the passenger 

 traffic is to a large extent of a local or short distance character, 

 a moderate amount of waiting-room space may be sufficient, as 

 these local passengers regulate their arrival so as to avoid 

 waiting any great length of time for the trains. An enormous 

 suburban passenger traffic is carried on in many places with a 

 very limited waiting-room accommodation, the frequency of the 

 trains and the routine of the travellers reducing the necessity 

 of such rooms to a minimum. A more ample waiting-room 

 space will be necessary when providing for a large, long journey, 

 or through traffic, and for stations at seaports, as the intending 

 passengers, particularly those landing from steamers, generally 

 i each the station a considerable time before the departure of the 



