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Teynham Station

The typical smaller station was usually composed of several buildings. The station house almost always had an attached canopy for passengers, and some sort of canopy or shelter was usually provided on any other platforms. Bulky goods were handled in a goods shed, which despite its name was often a very substantial building. It was typically set a little way down the track and was accessible from the road. Other materials, such as coal, were unloaded in the open. Later in the 19th century a signal box was usually provided, and often also a footbridge. Practical reasons lay behind this separation of functions: livestock and dirty materials passing through the goods shed were kept away from the passengers, while the signalman preferred clear lines of sight away from other structures. This separation of functions also helped the main station building keepGlossary Term its architectural identity.

Stations of this kind have often grown or shrunk according to the amount of traffic they handle and the range and quality of services they offer passengers. In some cases the buildings are of different periods; in others, a clean sweep has been made and a basic shelter and simple platform are all that remain, often in connection with redevelopment of disused railway land or the need to provide car parking.

The smallest stations did not necessarily have any buildings.

Such 'minimum' stations were often called halts, many of which were constructed in the 1920s and 1930s in gaps between longer-established stations.