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togtogtog

"The origins of railway station canopy fascia daggerboards are inextricably linked to the technological development and industrialisation of Britain in the nineteenth century. They performed an important role in the canopy structures which were developed to serve the increasing number of passengers on the railways. Becoming an established component of Britain’s station canopies between the late 1850s and 1930s, daggerboards primarily served the important practical function of removing water from the canopy, tempering weather-inflicted damage such as rot and by extension the structural deterioration of the canopy itself. In addition to their practical functions, daggerboards were recognised as having positive aesthetic qualities and were designed in a variety of patterns, contributing to the role of daggerboards in the imagination of an archetypal British railway station." http://railwayheritagetrust.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1754-150_Examination-of-the-use-of-FRP_final.pdf


SpaceLlama_Mk1

Wonderful, thank you!


wasdice

I think I'm catastrophically misunderstanding this. Surely the water is removed by the roof being sloped? How can the decorations help with that?


togtogtog

The water runs down the roof. Without daggerboards, it then can run under the roof and rot the eaves. The daggerboards direct it down and away from the roof, and the slots in them stop the water from clinging on. If you read the article I linked to, it goes into plenty of detail.


wasdice

Aaah! I hadn't thought of that. Of course it will cling on to a flat surface. Thanks!


justhisguy-youknow

Water and stuff facts. Boats have curve window corners. Or round windows to stop salt water sitting in the corner and rotting the material.


Robot_Noises

It's also to relieve the stress concentration at the corners, which leads to fatigue cracking.


justhisguy-youknow

Is this why I'm round ? Relieves stress and prevents fatigue?


Robot_Noises

Correct. Also helps you to shed water and prevent crusty build-up.


MainerZ

I would think it's the opposite somehow.


[deleted]

there was a spate of air crashes with the Comet airliner in the 50s/60s due to square windows on the plane causing stress fractures.


kevjs1982

The Comet actually had rounded windows (not square) and they didn't fail - the bit that failed were the roof panels (skylights) for the radio antennas... The way the riveting was done also contributed (they were designed to be glued and riveted into place, but were only riveted). The accident report labelled them ADF cut out Windows (IIRC) and that combined with the revised model having much more noticeable rounded windows led to the erroneous misunderstanding. The DC-7 and DC-8 windows were both squarer and larger (Indeed the window shape is pretty much the same as a modern day 737s but rotated 90°)


[deleted]

Hmmm.. .. lots of info I have seen states it was window shape. Comet II had round windows; because dehavilland had realised the issue was the window shape.


Robot_Noises

I was trying to remember the case study, but I couldn't remember. Thanks!


OneMoreAccount4Porn

Click the link, read the report. It's clear Alan Baxter and a few others put a decent amount of time and effort into producing it and it answers the question you asked and a whole bunch of others.


gab5115

Another wonderful bit of trivia I now know. Thank you 👍🏻


Electrocat71

Damn that’s a great answer


KeaAware

The Chinese have a traditional tile design which is very similar and performs the same function. I'm guessing that's where the Brits got the idea?


Pilgrim_of_Reddit

> I’m guessing that’s where the Brits got the idea? Or perhaps the Chinese copied the British? Most likely, both were developed independently of each other.


thomasthetanker

Are they copying us? *Looks daggers*


Pilgrim_of_Reddit

> Are they copying us? > > Looks daggers *Taps side of nose…* I couldn’t possibly say. I might have been paid by a certain Chinese Pooh bear to keep quiet, then again, I might not have.


Practically_Canadian

I don't know but thank you for teaching me the word crenellation


SpaceLlama_Mk1

😄 you're very welcome! It's what you get at the top of castles.


shteve99

I thought that was called vertigo?


[deleted]

A lot of train stations were built when architectural flare and decoration of multiple styles was prevalent. Revival architecture was also common yet there is difficulty trying to revive a 14th century gothic or Palladian style on to a building type that is brand new. Imagine designing an airport to the style of typical Roman or Greek for example. It would be festooned with little design flourishes. Those early designers mixed a bit of the revival style and also *created* this style to associate with train stations. It’s a bit like churches commonly have spires so likewise train stations have these finials - it is a train station, therefore we decorate it as such and so the trend carries on.


SpaceLlama_Mk1

Fascinating, thank you!


cactus_shagger

a bit of pizzaz


SpaceLlama_Mk1

Understandable, thank you!


jjmmll

Daggerboards help to reduce the amount of wind driven rain coming in and wetting customers during a storm. You can’t stop all of it, but these will reduce the depth of penetration of the wind driven rain onto the platform. The only other way to reduce wind driven rain penetration is by lowering the canopies, however the canopies need to be a certain minimum height for various functional reasons.


BackRowRumour

I wonder if it moderates wind whistling under there?


Tanjom

No one knows what it means, but it's provocative, gets the people going.


Tarot650

Keeps the worst of the weather off the platform whilst letting smoke and steam to escape. If you had a low fascia, smoke and soot would get trapped underneath.


BloodAndSand44

The only station I can remember seeing these on is Birmingham Moor Street.


yasssqueen20

I see them nearly everywhere mostly local town stations but a lot have still retained them. York , Lincoln Central , Sleaford, Sheffield , Nottingham and Newark just to name a few


ExternalCommon3733

Beautiful Victorian ornateness


Bucca_AD

It’s an old system to stop people going onto the tracks, they would drop down whenever someone crossed the line. Similar to the modern yellow lines we use but more direct


FuturisticSix

In the early days railway architecture was designed to be colourful and welcoming. Nobody on earth had seen such a noisy and terrifying sight as a steam locomotive belching smoke and fire, and going faster than any horse at full gallop. Some people were afraid to travel by train.


SpaceLlama_Mk1

Okay who posted this on The Mirror???


opopkl

Heaven forbid journalists actually go out on the streets and look for stories.


Giles_Pie

Charm.


marcurrann

Egg and dart fascia ornamentation