Station Hall
Goods Station Staff Roles
View over York Goods Station, 1961. Science Museum Group. Image no. E2008.170.1_1367.
Here we find ourselves in the middle of York’s former goods station, which operated for nearly a hundred years between 1877 and 1972. The objective of the building was simple, to move freight in and out of the city, to destinations up and down the country. But when we look at the complex reality of what station staff had to do to achieve this, it becomes clear that there was nothing simple about it.
To really understand how the site functioned, let’s imagine we’ve gone back to 1906 when the hall was gaslit, workers wore ties with their overalls and the company that owned the building, the North Eastern Railway, was at the peak of its prosperity. From where we are, we should be able to watch the whole process take place in front of us right from the very start.
And here it comes, in the far corner on the other side of the hall, goods arrive from the city of York and are inspected by a member of staff known as a checker. Taking his time, he makes note of the type of goods coming in, their weight and where it is they’re heading off to – ensuring that the quote he’s been given beforehand matches the load in front of him. He then hands everything over to another staff member called a shipper who moves the goods by cart and backs them up against the station’s internal platform.
Now we can see the porters, whose job it is to get everything on board the train, ready and waiting to begin. Goods packed in sacks, boxes and baskets are carried to the wagons where they wait to be loaded onto the next available goods train. Heavier loads, typically stored in wooden crates, require the help of a crane just like the one next to us. All items are accompanied by paperwork, which clerks based in offices in the adjoining building use to track details of the delivery. Finally, in the goods yard outside, the train guard receives a list for everything on his train. He signals the ‘right away’ to the driver and they leave the station in a cloud of steam.
Not bad for a day’s work…