A goods shed is a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train. A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built alongside a track with possibly just a canopy over the door. There will also be a door to move goods to or from road wagons and vans, this sometimes is parallel to the rail track, or sometimes on the side opposite the rail track. Inside the shed will generally be a

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and sometimes a small crane to allow easier loading and unloading of wagons.

Double track

Some goods sheds had more than one track. If one were not adjacent to the unloading platform then the method of working the second siding would be to first empty the wagons adjacent to the platform, and then open the doors on their far side to access those on the second track. Planks or portable bridges were normally provided for this purpose.

Conversions

When no longer required for goods traffic goods sheds have often been converted for other uses, such as the booking office at

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, or as housing. When many rural

branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industr ...

s in

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were closed, goods sheds along the closed branches often formed integral parts of the depots of road freight companies that replaced the railway.

Transfer shed

Transfer sheds, sometimes called

transshipment Transshipment, trans-shipment or transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to another destination. One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey (e.g. ...

sheds, were provided to transfer goods between two different railways of different gauges, such as the broad gauge and standard gauge on the Great Western Railway in the

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. Those at

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

and

Didcot Didcot ( ) is a railway town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Oxfordshire and the Historic counties of England, historic county of Berkshire. Didcot is south of Oxford, eas ...

are still intact. The term can also be applied to a shed on a

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in a harbour where

cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

is/was transferred from rail cars or

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...

s to

ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

s and vice versa. The cargo was temporarily stored in the shed.

Related terms

Goods station A goods station (also known as a goods yard or goods depot) or freight station is, in the widest sense, a railway station where, either exclusively or predominantly, goods (or freight), such as merchandise, parcels, and manufactured items, are l ...

or goods depot - a facility used exclusively for handling goods rather than passengers. * Goods yard - one or more sidings, generally near a passenger station, where goods wagons can be loaded and unloaded. There may or may not be a goods shed, depending on the nature of the regular traffic handled. * Goods warehouse - generally used to denote a larger goods shed, often with more than one floor. The larger size was used to store goods for longer periods. Some would be for a specific traffic.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Goods Shed Railway buildings and structures