#OnThisDay in 1848: Waterloo railway station in London opens. The station expanded regularly but in each case the long-term plan was that the expansion was 'temporary' until Waterloo became a through-station, and therefore these additions were simply added alongside and around the existing structure rather than as part of an overall architectural plan. This resulted in the station becoming increasingly ramshackle. This complexity and confusion became the butt of jokes by writers, including Jerome K. Jerome in Three Men in a Boat.
"We got to Waterloo at eleven, and asked where the eleven-five started from. Of course nobody knew; nobody at Waterloo ever does know where a train is going to start from, or where a train when it does start is going to, or anything about it."
