Streetlife

I didn't include an address. I didn't mention the steam locomotive either. Sorry...

The Crossness Engines Trust 
The Old Works 
Thames Water S.T.W. 
Belvedere Road 
Abbey Wood 
London 
SE2 9AQ 

Tel: 0208 311 3711

I should point out that there will be a £5 admission charge but I assure you, you won't regret a penny.

Railway enthusiasts may like to know that the ex Royal Arsenal steam locomotive 'Woolwich' is under restoration at Crossness and visitors are welcome to inspect the components and meet the friendly team who are working on her.

All the best

Ian

I recommend this. We went last year when it was briefly open after you posted about it Ian (thanks). It was wonderful.

Thanks Ian, this looks good. I'm going with my 4 year old son, he'll love it!!

It's magnificent. Went on Open House Day in Sept (free) and although busy it was remarkable.

pete K...

I'll be there from 11.00, looking after the steam locomotive. Please do introduce yourself and son. It will be a chance for me to thank-you for starting the Freelancers Group. You'll both really enjoy the day and refreshments, usually very good and home made, will be available.

Thanks to mungomuffit and Andrew H for their comments. No-one has ever left Crossness disappointed!

Best - Ian

Ian, i would really love to see this place but on public transport it looks like a bit of an effort. You probably will think me really lazy but I studied the directions on the website and after a walk a train a tube another train a bus then there is a 33 minute walk. I began to wonder if this pumping station is ever open on a day when there is a bus to take people from some central point.

Hello Ian, What a great job you are doing. You should post a picture of that steam engine which you have drawn so nicely and are working so hard on restoring. I really enjoyed my trip and was reasonably lucky with transport and I guess it was not much more than an hour from Clapham Junction.
It is an amazing building; the decorative interior and the machinery very impressive ...makes one despair of modern architecture with its total absence of decoration.
Anyway thanks for drawing my attention to the opportunity
Let us know when you have the beast on its wheels!
Julia

Thanks for the recommendation Ian, really enjoyed our day out !

Will there be another open day on a weekend? Sounds fascinating, I'd love to go but weekdays are tricky...
thank you!
Julia

also interested in the next open day, i'd love to see it but missed this post.

Thanks for sharing this.  I too missed it.  The next opening is Sunday 2nd Sept, and then open for Open-House London on Sept 23rd.  Visiting details and photos on links provided by Ian.  Best wishes, and am looking forward to seeing it.

oh ian - this would have been wonderful but i missed your posting......  could you give us a couple of weeks' notice next time it's open??

Hullo everyone,

Thanks to all for your appreciated comments. I wasn't expecting so many! As some of you now know Crossness is a very special place. I'll respond to comments in the order they were sent.

Gwen E,

Yes, it's perhaps the most isolated place in London, for very good reasons! No-one lived within miles of the buildings until the 1950s. A bus from Abbey Wood station is provided every time there's an open day. Getting to Abbey Wood isn't straightforward but you can comfortably do so from Clapham Junction via Waterloo in an hour. The Northern Line via London Bridge from, say, Clapham South will also get you there in an hour.

Julia Matcham,

Hello Julia, a real pleasure to meet you on Tuesday and very pleased you enjoyed the visit. At last, a face to a name! I'll try and post a photo at the end of this message. The project has a blog, always out of date (!) and you can see it here...

http://www.therailwayproject.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Also...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianbullsphotos/sets/72157626767521099/

She should be steaming along in July 2013 and will make the journey to Crossness a little easier!

Pete K,

Pleased you enjoyed the visit, everyone does. You should have said hullo! Never mind, we're bound to meet at the freelancers meetings.

Julia, Lucy S, and Susan P,

As Susan said, the next open day is on Sunday 2nd September. See...

http://www.crossness.org.uk/visit.html

I strenuously suggest that visitors should avoid Open House Day. Yes, it's free, but last year the queues were two and a half hours long. Despite that, not one person went away unhappy. If you do want to visit then (23rd September), aim to get there after 14.30 as it's quieter in the afternoons.

Sarah B,

It is wonderful! And you have your notice above. I will send a reminder before the next chances to visit though.

Sorry to reply to everyone in bulk rather than personally. What's my interest? I'm a life-long industrial archaeologist and railway enthusiast and right next to Crossness was once the Royal Arsenal, the greatest factory in British history. It had 150 miles of railway in its two square miles. For years I'd being trying to find a good home for one of the Arsenal's last steam locomotives. She's only small but Crossness gave it that home and thanks to the wonderful people who volunteer there she'll be working in a year.

I look forward to seeing more people from SW London at this remarkable example of Victorian engineering, quite probably the finest steam installation from that period in the World.

All the best

Ian

Ha, ha! I tried to attached some photos of the steam locomotive I'm working on at Crossness. I wasn't entirely surprised when it didn't work...

If you'd like to see some e-mail me - ianbullATbtinternetDOTcom - that will be reliable.

Best - Ian