Crofton Pumping Station was originally built to raise water for the Kennet and Avon Canal. For well over 200 years it has carried out this work. For more than 100 years of its life Crofton was owned by the Great Western Railway. As well as the Crofton pumping water for the canal during this time, it also supplied water to GWR railway locomotives. The contract that GWR signed was to provide water to the K&A Canal “in perpetuity”. Indeed, if it were not for our relationship with GWR, Crofton would probably not have survived at all. To celebrate this long relationship with the railways, Crofton’s mighty Beam Engines will be in steam on the Anniversary weekend of the 27th and 28th of September.
Per celebrare la Railway 200 e il nostro piccolo ruolo nella storia delle ferrovie, allestiremo una mostra su tutto ciò che riguarda la GWR a Crofton, con l'esposizione di manufatti, immagini e una cronologia dettagliata del nostro legame con le ferrovie. Scoprite il nostro rapporto con l'officina di ingegneria ferroviaria di Swindon e come Crofton fornisse un piccolo aiuto agli apprendisti. Scoprite come la GWR abbia persino fornito a Crofton una piccola locomotiva a vapore (probabilmente una locomotiva chiamata Prince) per alimentare le pompe in caso di guasto. I nostri esperti volontari mostreranno alcuni degli strumenti della GWR ancora in uso oggi, alimentando la nostra caldaia e azionando i nostri motori, in modo che i visitatori possano sperimentare la potenza del vapore in azione.
Children’s activities will include a special trail guiding them round our station, seeking out our GWR tools, as well as a crafting area for children to be able use their imagination to describe, draw and even have a go at junk modelling a train.