When rushing to catch a train at a busy station, it's unlikely that you have time to take in your surroundings.
However, next time you're stranded due to a delayed commute, make sure to look up and notice the platform's unique ceiling. Often appearing in a pointed, dagger shaped pattern, these "crenellation" roofs are found across British stations and there's a clever reason for their design.
It turns out that these roofs keep train travellers from being plunged by gathering rain-water in heavy showers. The revelation was made after one curious Reddit user wondered whether these roofs are just for appearance or if they have a purpose.
Posting on the site's Casual UK forum, they posted a picture of a train station roof and asked: "Why do a lot of train stations have these crenellation-type roofs? Is the design significant?"
Regarding train stations, crenellation roofs often take the form of small dagger-shaped metal additions that hang over the roof and are visible to those waiting on the platform below, the Mirror reports.
Among the question responses, one person quipped: "A bit of pizzazz." While another questioned: "I wonder if it moderates wind whistling under there?"
However, it turns out the canopy daggerboards actually do have a purpose, and they're not just for looking at or for keeping the wind at bay - but to protect people from adverse weather conditions.
According to the official Railway Heritage Trust website, the architectural design originates from the 19th century during the industrialisation of Britain, and it even has its own name - the railway station canopy fascia daggerboard.
And their main purpose? To ensure that water would not sit on the canopy or let it wet the passengers waiting below.
The Railway Heritage Trust states: "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."
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