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49-682: The original San Rafael railway depot that served the Northwestern Pacific Railroad was located at what is now a cafe north of the station. As rail use fell into decline, passenger service ended after November 10, 1958. Buses came to prominence with the expansion of the road and highway system. The current transportation center was constructed around the station building in 1991. SMART testing began in March 2016. Service began with preview rides on July 8, 2017, and full service commenced on August 25, 2017. The station acted as

98-522: A base of double-wall construction or larger boulders with single-wall construction above. They appear to be rickety, with many holes, which deters livestock (and people) from attempting to cross them. These dykes are principally found in locations with exceptionally high winds, where a solid wall might be at risk of being unsettled by the buffeting. The porous nature of the wall significantly reduces wind force but takes greater skill to construct. They are also found in grazing areas where they are used to maximize

147-414: A great many are still in use and maintained. New ones are often built in gardens and nature conservation areas. Dry stone retaining structures continue to be a subject of research. In northeastern Somalia , on the coastal plain 20 km (12 mi) to Aluula 's east are found ruins of an ancient monument in a platform style. The structure is formed by a rectangular dry stone wall that is low in height;

196-483: A layer of coal dust covering them and the bed". Another key requirement of the steam engine is a supply of water which is carried in the tenders or tanks of the engines. In Australia, water was also carried in water gins (a water tank mounted on a wagon) due to longer distances covered and scarcer water resources. In depots where the limescale content of water was high (known in some areas as ‘Hard Water'), water softening plants were introduced. At Norwich engine shed in

245-541: A locomotive the engine had to be balanced quite precisely on the turntable and it could then be literally pushed around. Some turntables could be powered by fixing the vacuum brake of the engine to the turntable and using that to turn the engine. Later turntables were electrically operated. Many diesel locomotives in the UK have a cab at each end removing the need for the turntables. However, in Australia and America, there are

294-426: A number of single ended locomotives and turntables are still in use. Engine sheds would carry out basic maintenance and the bigger sheds would carry out more complex repairs. Locomotives that required further repair were sent to the company's locomotive works. Withdrawn locomotives could often be found at some depots before their final trips to the scrapyard. In the UK, the general practice is that one shed would have

343-485: A number of smaller sub-sheds where there were fewer facilities. When engines allocated to sub-sheds required repairs, they were often exchanged for a similar engine or perhaps just visiting the main depot on a Sunday when traffic levels were considerably lower. In terms of locomotive allocation, it seems to have been the practice that for some railways locomotives were all allocated to the main shed but in others each shed had its specific allocation of locomotives. A list of

392-501: A single locomotive class . Engine sheds could be found in many towns and cities, as well as in rural locations. They were built by the railway companies to accommodate the locomotives that provided their local train services. Each engine shed would have an allocation of locomotives that would reflect the duties carried out by that depot. Most depots had a mixture of passenger, freight and shunting locomotives, but some, such as Mexborough , had predominantly freight locomotives, reflecting

441-444: A type of single wall in which the wall consists primarily of large boulders, around which smaller stones are placed. Single walls work best with large, flatter stones. Ideally, the largest stones are being placed at the bottom and the whole wall tapers toward the top. Sometimes a row of capstones completes the top of a wall, with the long rectangular side of each capstone perpendicular to the wall alignment. Galloway dykes consist of

490-664: Is Daorson , in Bosnia , built around a prehistoric central fortified settlement or acropolis (existed there c. 17–16th C. BCE to the end of the Bronze Age , c. 9–8th C. BCE), and surrounded by cyclopean walls (similar to Mycenae ) dated to the 4th C. BCE. In Belize , the Mayan ruins at Lubaantun illustrate use of dry stone construction in architecture of the 8th and 9th centuries AD. Great Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe , Africa,

539-491: Is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. A certain amount of binding is obtained through the use of carefully selected interlocking stones. Dry stone construction is best known in the context of stone walls , traditionally used for the boundaries of fields and churchyards , or as retaining walls for terracing, but dry stone shelters, houses and other structures also exist. The term tends not to be used for

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588-405: Is almost always used. One type of wall is called a "double" wall and is constructed by placing two rows of stones along the boundary to be walled. The foundation stones are ideally set into the ground so as to rest firmly on the subsoil . The rows are composed of large flattish stones, diminishing in size as the wall rises. Smaller stones may be used as chocks in areas where the natural stone shape

637-589: Is an acropolis-like large city complex constructed in dry stone from the 11th to the 15th centuries AD. It is the largest of structures of similar construction throughout the area. Terminology varies regionally. When used as field boundaries, dry stone structures are more commonly known as dykes in Scotland , where professional dry stone wall builders are referred to as 'dykers'. Dry stone walls are characteristic of upland areas of Britain and Ireland where rock outcrops naturally or large stones exist in quantity in

686-527: Is more rounded. The walls are built up to the desired height layer-by-layer ( course by course ) and, at intervals, large tie-stones or through stones are placed which span both faces of the wall and sometimes project. These have the effect of bonding what would otherwise be two thin walls leaning against each other, greatly increasing the strength of the wall. Diminishing the width of the wall as it gets higher, as traditionally done in Britain, also strengthens

735-497: Is offset by their sturdiness and consequent long, low-maintenance lifetimes. As a result of the increasing appreciation of the landscape and heritage value of dry stone walls, wallers remain in demand, as do the walls themselves. A nationally recognised certification scheme is operated in the UK by the Dry Stone Walling Association, with four grades from Initial to Master Craftsman. Notable examples include

784-476: Is where locomotives are usually housed, repaired and maintained. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine sheds" or just "sheds". Facilities are provided for refuelling and the replenishing of water, lubricating oil and grease and, for steam engines , the disposal of ash. There are often workshops for day-to-day repairs and maintenance, but locomotive building and major overhauls are usually carried out at locomotive works. (Note: In American English ,

833-637: The Liburnian era. Notable examples include the island of Baljenac, which has 23 kilometres (14 mi) of dry stone walls despite being only 14 hectares (35 acres) in area, and the vineyards of Primošten . In Peru in the 15th century AD, the Inca made use of otherwise unusable slopes by building dry stone walls to create terraces . They also employed this mode of construction for freestanding walls. Their ashlar type construction in Machu Picchu uses

882-773: The Mourne Wall , a 22-mile (35 km) wall in the Mourne Mountains in County Down , Northern Ireland , and the wall around the Ottenby nature reserve, built by Charles X Gustav in the mid-17th century in Öland , Sweden. While the dry stone technique is most commonly used for the construction of double-wall stone walls and single-wall retaining terracing, dry stone sculptures, buildings, fortifications, bridges, and other structures also exist. Traditional turf-roofed Highland blackhouses were constructed using

931-568: The Neolithic Age. In County Mayo , Ireland, an entire field system made from dry stone walls, since covered in peat, has been carbon-dated to 3800 BC. These are near contemporary with the, dry stone constructed, neolithic village of Skara Brae , and the Chambered cairn of Scotland . The cyclopean walls of the acropolis of Mycenae , Greece, have been dated to 1350 BC and those of Tiryns slightly earlier. Similar example

980-607: The United States they are common in areas with rocky soils, such as New England , New York , New Jersey , and Pennsylvania . They are a notable characteristic of the bluegrass region of central Kentucky , the Ozarks of Arkansas and Missouri , as well as Virginia , where they are usually referred to as rock fences or stone fences , and the Napa Valley in north central California . The technique of construction

1029-509: The privatisation of British Rail , some depots are now operated by the train builders who maintain the trains under contract with train operators. Around railway networks, there are locations just used for the coaling/fuelling of locomotives and the stabling of stock, either overnight or between duties. These are generally not regarded as engine sheds. Dry stone Dry stone , sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane ,

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1078-419: The 1950s and 1960s, the rise of manufacturing industry saw many staff leaving the railway for better working conditions (and pay) and many railways started to modernise as a result. The maintenance of the new diesel locomotives in filthy steam sheds soon proved difficult and, although some old sheds survived, many new diesel depots were built on new sites or on the sites of the old steam sheds. The major problem

1127-454: The British sub-sheds can be found here . The drivers and fireman were the visible face of the engine shed and, as such, certain sheds had reputations for clean locomotives thanks to the dedication of those men. Many companies allocated a specific main line locomotive to a crew and they would usually take a personal interest in the cleanliness of their engine; some companies offered a prize to

1176-538: The SMART mainline. The bus area, located south of the SMART platforms, has two side platforms and two island platforms . San Rafael is the primary transfer point for Marin Transit , which operates local service plus two interurban routes. It is also served by several regional and intercity bus operators: Railway depot A motive power depot ( MPD ) or locomotive depot , or traction maintenance depot ( TMD ),

1225-597: The UK, or outside, such as that at the East Broad Top Railroad & Coal Company in Rockhill, Pennsylvania , USA. There were six primary activities that took place at sheds. When a steam engine arrived on shed, it would drop its fire and the ash that had built up would be removed. Disposal of the ash was a filthy job and carried out at quiet times, although some bigger depots had facilities for disposing of ash more efficiently. Study of photographs from

1274-400: The UK, the sludge was discharged into a tank and emptied every three years or so with the sludge being dumped into the sea at Lowestoft. Tender locomotives required turning so they were facing the right way before their next duty. In the early days, these were typically around 45 feet long. As the technology improved and engines got bigger, then the turntables got longer. In order to turn

1323-413: The base width. Different regions have made minor modifications to the general method of construction—sometimes because of limitations of building material available, but also to create a look that is distinctive for that area. Whichever method is used to build a dry stone wall, considerable skill is required. Correcting any mistakes invariably means disassembling down to the level of the error. Selection of

1372-424: The classic Inca architectural style of polished dry stone walls of regular shape. The Incas were masters of this technique, in which blocks of stone are cut to fit together tightly without mortar. Many junctions are so perfect that not even a knife fits between the stones. The structures have persisted in the high earthquake region because of the flexibility of the walls, and because in their double wall architecture,

1421-501: The coping stones on a final layer of flat stones slightly wider than the top of the wall proper ( coverbands ). In addition to gates, a wall may contain smaller purposely built gaps for the passage or control of wildlife and livestock such as sheep. The smaller holes usually no more than 200 millimetres (8 in) in height are called "Bolt Holes" or "Smoots". Larger ones may be between 450 and 600 mm (18 and 24 in) in height, which are called "Cripple Holes". Boulder walls are

1470-423: The correct stone for every position in the wall makes an enormous difference to the lifetime of the finished product, and a skilled waller will take time making the selection. As with many older crafts, skilled wallers, today, are few in number. With the advent of modern wire fencing, fields can be fenced with much less time and expense using wire than using stone walls; however, the initial expense of building dykes

1519-615: The crew of the best kept engine. Many drivers would spend their own time on improving their knowledge and sharing best practice with younger drivers. The footplate staff (as drivers and fireman were known) were unionised from the 19th century and in the UK were generally in the ASLEF whilst other shed staff tended to be in the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants (later National Union of Railwaymen ). Many engine shed workers put up with very poor conditions for many years. In

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1568-472: The double-wall dry stone method. When buildings are constructed using this method, the middle of the wall is generally filled with earth or sand in order to eliminate draughts. During the Iron Age, and perhaps earlier, the technique also was used to build fortifications such as the walls of Eketorp Castle ( Öland , Sweden ), Maiden Castle, North Yorkshire , Reeth , Dunlough Castle in southwest Ireland and

1617-859: The industrial nature of that area in South Yorkshire . Others, such as Kings Cross engine shed in London, predominantly provided locomotives for passenger workings. Nearly all depots at that time had a number of shunting locomotives. Normally 0-4-0T or 0-6-0T tank engines, they would be allocated to shunting duties in goods yards, carriage sidings, goods depots and docks. Many large rail connected industrial sites also had engine sheds, primarily using shunting locomotives. Each railway company had its own architectural design of engine shed, but there were three basic designs of shed: The turntables for straight and dead end sheds were generally outside. Those in roundhouses could be inside, such as those at York in

1666-584: The many historic styles which used precisely-shaped stone, but did not use mortar, for example the Greek temple and Inca architecture . The art of dry stone walling was inscribed in 2018 on the UNESCO representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity , for dry stone walls in countries such as France , Greece , Italy , Slovenia , Croatia , Switzerland and Spain . Some dry stone wall constructions in north-west Europe have been dated back to

1715-444: The mountain river of Vydra) are often lined by dry stone walls built of field-stones removed from the arable or cultural land. They serve both as cattle/sheep fences and the lot's borders. Sometimes also the dry stone terracing is apparent, often combined with parts of stone masonry (house foundations and shed walls) that are held together by a clay and pine needle "composite" mortar . The dry stone walling tradition of Croatia

1764-443: The outer walls constructed of dry blocks much in the style of a dry stone wall with smaller pieces behind these. As technology advanced and the bigger sheds got busier, this process became mechanised and huge coaling towers above the neighbourhoods indicated where the engine shed was. The sheds were not clean places to work. The large east London depot of Stratford had an engineman's dormitory and its occupants would "wake up with

1813-493: The rampart of the Long Scar Dyke. Many of the dry-stone walls that exist today in Scotland can be dated to the 14th century or earlier when they were built to divide fields and retain livestock. Some extremely well built examples are found on the lands of Muchalls Castle . Dry stone walls can be built against embankments or even vertical terraces. If they are subjected to lateral earth pressure, they are retaining walls of

1862-649: The soil. They are especially abundant in the West of Ireland, particularly Connemara . They may also be found throughout the Mediterranean , including retaining walls used for terracing. Such constructions are common where large stones are plentiful (for example, in The Burren ) or conditions are too harsh for hedges capable of retaining livestock to be grown as reliable field boundaries. Many thousands of kilometres of such walls exist, most of them centuries old. In

1911-539: The southern terminal of the line until December 14, 2019, when the extension to Larkspur station opened. The bus terminal was reconfigured to allow the SMART tracks to pass through. Marin Airporter service to the San Rafael Transit Center ended on October 6, 2019, due to traffic congestion around the transit center. San Rafael Transit Center has two side platforms serving the two tracks of

1960-456: The space in between is filled with rubble and manually covered with small stones. Relatively large standing stones are also positioned on the edifice's corners. Near the platform are graves, which are outlined in stones. Measuring 24 by 17 m (79 by 56 ft), the structure is the largest of a string of ancient platform and enclosed platform monuments exclusive to far northeastern Somalia. In Great Britain, Ireland, France and Switzerland, it

2009-422: The steam era show it was not uncommon for piles of ash to be scattered around the depot site. After completing their last duty and arriving on shed, locomotives would have a regular boiler washout to remove scale, improve efficiency and protect safety. Locomotives generally ran on coal. Initially this job was done by hand and many depots had significant coal stacks on site. These would be neatly constructed with

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2058-709: The term depot is used to refer to passenger stations or goods (freight) facilities, not to vehicle maintenance facilities.) The equivalent of such depots in German-speaking countries is the Bahnbetriebswerk or Bw , which has similar functions, with major repairs and overhauls being carried out at Ausbesserungswerke . The number of those was reduced drastically following the changeover from steam to diesel and electric traction, and most modern Bw in Germany are specialised depots, often responsible for

2107-407: The two portions of the walls incline into each other. The style and method of construction of a wall will vary, depending on the type of stone available, its intended use and local tradition. Many older walls were constructed from stones and boulders cleared from the fields during preparation for agriculture ( field stones ) although some used stone quarried nearby. For modern walls, quarried stone

2156-434: The type gravity wall. The weight of the stones resists the pressure from the retained soil, including any surcharges, and the friction between the stones causes most of them to act as if they were a monolithic gravity wall of the same weight. Dry stone retaining walls were once built in great numbers for agricultural terracing and also to carry paths, roads and railways. Although dry stone is seldom used for these purposes today,

2205-459: The utility of the available stones (where ploughing was not turning up ever more stones). Another variation is the Cornish hedge or Welsh clawdd , which is a stone-clad earth bank topped by turf, scrub, or trees and characterised by a strict inward-curved batter (the slope of the "hedge"). As with many other varieties of wall, the height is the same as the width of the base, and the top is half

2254-415: The wall considerably. The voids between the facing stones are carefully packed with smaller stones ( filling , hearting ). The final layer on the top of the wall also consists of large stones, called capstones , coping stones or copes . As with the tie stones, the capstones span the entire width of the wall and prevent it breaking apart. In some areas, such as South Wales, there is a tradition of placing

2303-626: Was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in November 2018, alongside those of Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland. In Croatia, dry stone walls ( suhozidi ) were built for a variety of reasons: to clear the earth of stone for crops; to delineate land ownership; or for shelter against the bora wind. Some walls date back to

2352-674: Was brought to America primarily by English and Scots-Irish immigrants. The technique was also taken to Australia (principally western Victoria , some parts of Tasmania , and some parts of New South Wales , particularly around Kiama ) and New Zealand (especially Otago ). Similar walls also are found in the Swiss–Italian border region, where they are often used to enclose the open space under large natural boulders or outcrops. The higher-lying rock-rich fields and pastures in Bohemia 's south-western border range of Šumava (e.g. around

2401-458: Was the disposal of oil, which initially was left lying around causing pollution and safety issues. The new depots were equipped to deal with diesel fuel and the ability to access the underside, as well as upper body work, was improved. The tasks were not that much different in that diesel locomotives were fuelled rather than coaled, although they did require water as early diesels were equipped with steam generators for train heating purposes. Since

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