Especially at smaller towns, the platform could be quite a bit shorter than the train. In that case, the Conductor would advise passengers as to what car to go to if they wished to disembark. If there was also head-end work (baggage and express) to be loaded or unloaded, the train might even make two separate stops.
The platform at my Lowbanks station is about 30" long, and can accomodate 3 or 4 cars, if they're properly spotted. Except in the summer, when excursion trains bring vacationers to the nearby lakeside, most passenger trains here are only one or two cars long. The secondary platform, between the tracks, is only about 18" long.
Even the platforms at my largest station, in Dunnville, are only about 38" long, so most passenger trains carry only sealed express cars, if any. Working express cars, plus RPOs, usually run in dedicated trains, with only a rider car at the rear. These trains may make multiple stops at a station, depending on the work to be done.
The station, in the centre of the background, consists of an express wing, the actual station, in the centre, and a post office in the far wing. The railroad's general offices occupy the upper floors.
Wayne