A train shed is a building adjacent to a station building where the tracks and platforms of a railway station are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof. Its primary purpose is to store and protect from the elements train cars not in use, The first train shed was built in 1830 at Liverpool's Crown Street Station.[1]
The biggest train sheds were often built as an arch of glass and iron, while the smaller were built as normal pitched roofs.
The earliest train sheds were wooden structures, often with unglazed openings to allow smoke and steam to escape. The oldest part of Bristol Temple Meads is a particularly fine – and large – example, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel with mock-hammerbeam roof.
The middle of the nineteenth century saw many large stations covered by iron, steel and glass train sheds, inspired by The Crystal Palace at The Great Exhibition in 1851. The best have been described as "like cathedrals" and feature curved roofs; other structures have pitched roofs.
Surviving examples of curved roof train sheds include:
Waterloo International (across the foreground) with the older Waterloo station beyond (June 2004)
After many years with few, if any, significant new train sheds, recent years have seen some major stations given graceful train sheds by using modern technology.
Jefferson Station, Philadelphia, United States (the station is located underground but has above-ground structures to shelter the platforms and trains)
In North America, tram cars are called streetcars or trolleys and are sometimes stored in structures that are called car barns or car houses. These buildings are usually enclosed and provide cover for trams from the elements.
