The total traffic handled at Holyhead during the year 1887, in addition to live stock, was about 250,000 tons, including coal; of this total about 117,000 tons was cross-channel traffic with Ireland.
It has always been a question involving some amount of controversy, as to what is the best and most convenient manner of laying out the accommodation in a large goods warehouse, so as to enable the business to be carried on in the most expeditious and economical manner. Many different arrangements have been tried, and, of course, in building a warehouse at any particular station, there may always be special circumstances to be taken into consideration, such as the nature of the traffic, and the available space; but our illustrations (Figs. 29, 30 and 31) shew the ground plan, first-floor plan, and section, of a large goods warehouse of the first class, built upon the most modern principles, and laid out in the manner which is believed to be the best adapted to the needs of an important goods station (Chester), where three different classes of traffic have to be dealt with, that is to say (1), local traffic, or traffic which commences or ends its journey at the station; (2), transfer traffic, or traffic loaded to the station, for the purpose of being transhipped into other waggons, and forwarded to destination; and (3), warehouse traffic, or goods which are required to be stored, awaiting orders for forwarding or delivery. It will be perceived that this is what is termed a "dead-end" warehouse, or, in other words, the waggons come in and go out the same way, and cannot be taken through the warehouse, and out at the other end. There are five platforms, or stages, and six lines of rails, so that every platform, as will be seen, has a line of rails alongside it, and three of them
