In keeping with this austerity, to begin with, stations were devoid of even the most basic of facilities, such as shelter from the rain, lighting or any indication of where trains were going. It was up to the porters to announce as loudly and lucidly as they could the arrival of each train, its destination and stopping points. They were also to call out the name of the station the train had arrived at, as, for many years, the simple expedient of putting the name of the station on signs on the platform was not considered.
