The Bazalgette diesel locomotive carries visitors up to the site.
While there are many forms of transportation available these days, you can certainly arrive in style at Crossness Pumping Station! Visitors are able to take a short ride on the RANG Railway up to the site, which is one of the many charms of Crossness.
Observers look on as workers are transported to the construction site of Crossness Pumping Station.
During construction of the pumping station in the 1860s, a special rail service was built from Plumstead to Crossness. Horse drawn carts, then steam engines, were used to ferry construction material and workers to the site. The railway was demolished after Crossness opened, but another was built in the 1880s as renovations took place.
While the date of this photograph is unknown, trains were regularly used in the maintenance and running of Crossness.
In 2019, a new train arrived – the RANG Railway. The acronym stands for Royal Arsenal Narrow Gauge; it’s a tribute to the countless trains and over 180 miles of track at the nearby Woolwich Arsenal. In its 450 years of history, the Royal Arsenal served as weapons storage, military training grounds, and munitions manufacturing. You might be wondering what narrow gauge means – it’s a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) smaller than the standard gauge of 1,435 mm.
The engine today is named in honour of Joseph Bazalgette, the chief engineer and designer of Crossness.
The diesel powered engine – the Bazalgette – is operated by volunteers and the railway and platforms are also maintained by dedicated volunteers. Recently, a new platform and gardens were installed and are ready to welcome visitors and transport them to the Cathedral on the Marsh.
Interested in joining the RANG volunteer team? Get in touch!