And at the end of my day admiring the heritage and architecture of Amsterdam, I was welcomed back onto the trains by this amazing station building.
The building was designed by Pierre Cuypers and first opened in 1889. It may look like it is on solid ground, however the station is is built on 8,687 wooden piles on three interconnected artificial islands in the IJ lake, collectively known as Stationseiland (Station Island). The original trainshed roof consists of 50 curved with a span of almost 45 meters. It was designed by the civil enginee L.J. Eijmer and manufactured by Andrew Handyside and Company of Derby, England.
The outside is elaborately decorated, with letters at the front of one of the entrances, possibly denoting the platforms in the station.
The inside of the old station is also grand, the extension, renovation and improvement works mean that unless you look up while making your way through the station, you may not notice you are walking through the old section.
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