Interior of Newcastle Railway Station

Essentially, Newcastle Railway Station is made up of two parts. The solid exterior, built in 1863, looks like a Classical temple. Its great stone walls, with heavy columns and arches conceal the curving interior, designed earlier by Dobson and Stephenson in 1848. And it is this, not the exterior that deserves our attention.

This photograph, by Edwin Smith, reveals why. Inside, stone, glass and iron combine to form a majestic sweep. The walls are relatively plain, easy to ignore. Instead, it is the roof structure that astonishes: iron beams arch over the width of the platforms; above a glass clerestory lights the vast space below; and thin struts tie this together. Resting on slender columns, this is a remarkably economic design for its date.

The first of their kind, three of these great, arched sheds were originally built, the proto-type for railway stations in Britain and beyond. Later two more sheds were added, along with more modern facilities, seen here. Signs point to the booking and left luggage offices, plus the ladies room. These, and the mass of people on the platforms, date from an age when the railways still dominated transport, and Newcastle Station was one of its busiest destinations.