Coal Drops Yard 
St Pancras, London 

The eastern coal drops were built in 1851. They were essentially a long three-storey, 48-bay (cell) shed reached from the north by a viaduct. The trains came in on four tracks on the third storey; the wagon's bottom was opened, and the goods fell down chutes to the hopper floor below where they were sorted, before being lowered to the road vehicles waiting on the ground floor. The goods were often coal that needed to be graded, but could be potatoes or any heavy loose load. The hopper floor was supported on cast-iron columns and beams.

The western coal drops were built in 1860; they presented a simplified and more advanced design. The roof span was 48 feet (15 m). The rails came in on an open cast-iron viaduct that terminated under the roof. Beneath was the Coal and Stone Basin, allowing direct transhipment to canal boats. This was filled in when the adjacent Western Goods Shed was built in 1897–99. The Western coal drops became a general-purpose warehouse.

Before and During Works