Their ticket halls once buzzed with busy passengers while porters rushed up and down the platforms awaiting the next train.
But as whole lines were closed and fewer and fewer stops required manned ticket offices, many of Britain's bustling stations were no longer needed by rail companies.
The unique, forgotten buildings which were once so important to their local communities fell quiet.
But while some have been bulldozed to the ground and other reclaimed by nature, many have now been developed into charming houses, many of which are now rented out as holiday homes.
But, with the rails gone, the benches once used by Heacham station's passengers now look over the property's garden
Heacham station in Norfolk, pictured in the 1950s, was once a busy station used by the royals while at Sandringham
Cut off from the rest of the line, the platform now functions as a patio, although signs give clues to the building's origin
This classic railway carriage in a siding at Heacham has meanwhile been converted into a cabin with two en-suite bedrooms
The carriage is almost unrecognisable from its original use, with compartments replaced with this beautiful kitchen
Although trains still stop at Kirkby Stephen station in Cumbria, the beautiful station building has been converted into homes
Kirkby Stephen's stationmaster in front of the ticket rack before an evening Carlisle to Bradford service arrives in 1965
With the grand station building no longer required by the railway, the booking office has been converted into a holiday home
Despite the rails outside the beautiful Rowden Mill station near Bromyard, Herefordshire, trains no longer pass the building
The building has instead been turned into a lovely cottage, with this sitting room looking out over the quiet tracks
A few metres along the main station platform is the Parcel Office, which has been turned into a studio-annexe
Residents can sit out on the benches where passengers once sat and enjoy an al-fresco meal
This picture shows the station when it began to be redeveloped after years of laying derelict following closure in the 1950s
Sanquhar in western Scotland still has trains pass through, but the station building has been converted into a holiday home
This kitchen, which features a sign telling passengers where to cross the line, looks out over the line
The station is on the line between Dumfries and Carlisle in the south and Kilmarnock and Glasgow in the south
The railway-theme cottage features traditional signs on many of the doors and classic adverts advertising railway getaways
The former station buildings have now been converted in a three-bedroom holiday let for railway enthusiasts
Even these former carriages from the railway have been put to good use at Skipwith Station near Selby, North Yorkshire
The rolling stock, which once rumbled between London and Scotland, have been kitted out with kitchens and lounges
Holidaymakers board the carriages by using these specially-made platforms for a holiday home like few others
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