Report - Crossness engine house 17/9/06

si o doom · Sep 18, 2006

This place was at the top of my list when i saw the list for open house.........huge thanks to South central trains for doing their best to stop me and paulo999 from getting there!

Well worth the cab fare and 1/2 mile sprint to get here though!!

Text straight from the Crossness fund website, Well worth supporting if you can......... http://www.crossness.org.uk/sites/20030922PJK/index.html

The Crossness Pumping Station was built by Sir Joseph Bazalgette as part of Victorian London's urgently needed main sewerage system. It was officially opened by the Prince of Wales in April 1865.

The Beam Engine House is a Grade 1 Listed Industrial Building constructed in the Romanesque style and features some of the most spectacular ornamental Victorian cast ironwork to be found today. It also contains the four original pumping engines (although the cylinders were upgraded in 1901), which are possibly the largest remaining rotative beam engines in the world, with 52 ton flywheels and 47 ton beams. Although modern diesel engines were subsequently introduced, the old beam engines remained in service until work on a new sewerage treatment plant commenced in 1956. Following abandonment in the mid 1950's,

Everyone knows theis place for mainly the shot of "the octagon" A huge centrepiece of Multi coloured ornate metalwork..........this does not do the whole site justice, every part of this place is breathtaking!

They will be running the beam engines again on the 29th oct, I WILL be there to see it, I urge as many of us on here as possible to go too!!!!!!!

Massive thanks to the people running the day for letting us all run all over the place............. And also the guy who gave me the tip off

"ah you a photographer then? looks like you've got a good angle there...........we had some guy earlier climb up that ladder to get a great shot of all four engines in one..........Its roped off but not very well really........was a great shot too......Well i'll leave you to it.....bye!"

Legend!

Anyways, here's some pics.......I make no apologies for the size!