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Visited this place with my two usual exploring friends. It was a nice relaxed visit and a very enjoyable one. Yeah the place is stripped bare virtually and a bit trashed, but not as trashed as I expected it too be. It's has some lovely decay in the front part in what use to be the workshops. And still a lot of railways heritage to be seen. Life started at the works in 1846 when it was built to replace an older repair facility in new cross, London. Four years later they had built a hundred and thirty new houses to accommodate the workers and it was named Alfred town, but the locals referred to it as new town. It employed 600 people when it first started, rising too 1,300 thirty years later.
In 1898 it almagnated with London, Chatham and Dover railway, this went on to be known as the South Eastern and Chatham Railway. Each one had there own locomotive works but ashore was chosen as the main works for the company. The works continued making steam locomotives and various wagons till just after the war when it concentrated on diesel shunters. It stopped repairing locomotives in 1962 and the workshops closed. The works continued producing other wagons for another twenty years when eventually British Rail engineering limited decided to shut the plant completely In 1982. Plans were afoot to make it into a studio for filming a few years back but nothing seems to have come of that. But I think since this time work is well under way now.
When looking online later I found a nice little PDF for 50p giving a brief history and saying what all the workshops were and it was interesting to read.
An overhead view of the site in 1970. Most of it has been demolished except the main workshops.
In 1898 it almagnated with London, Chatham and Dover railway, this went on to be known as the South Eastern and Chatham Railway. Each one had there own locomotive works but ashore was chosen as the main works for the company. The works continued making steam locomotives and various wagons till just after the war when it concentrated on diesel shunters. It stopped repairing locomotives in 1962 and the workshops closed. The works continued producing other wagons for another twenty years when eventually British Rail engineering limited decided to shut the plant completely In 1982. Plans were afoot to make it into a studio for filming a few years back but nothing seems to have come of that. But I think since this time work is well under way now.
When looking online later I found a nice little PDF for 50p giving a brief history and saying what all the workshops were and it was interesting to read.
An overhead view of the site in 1970. Most of it has been demolished except the main workshops.
