RANG Railway at CROSSNESS ENGINES TRUST

RANG RAILWAY needs your help

Royal Arsenal Narrow Gauge (RANG) railway at Crossness Engines Trust, Abbeywood, London has suffered a major mechanical problem with the locomotive Bazalgette which has brought operations to a halt for the foreseeable future. 

We urgently need to raise £10,000 to pay for the repair of both the front and rear hydraulic drive motors and overhaul of the primary pump so we can get “back on track”.

The loco, a Severn-Lamb diesel powered unit, came into service in 1986 at the Stoke-on-Trent Garden Festival and moved to Bygones Village Museum Fleggburgh Norfolk in 1988. In 2003 the loco and 3 carriages were put into storage until 2017 when it was purchased by Crossness Engines and RANG railway transformed from an idea into reality.

The railway transports visitors to and from the historic Crossness Pumping Station (www.crossness.org.uk) on Open Days. The train ride has become a “little gem” in Abbeywood with many compliments from passengers and their amazement that a train track such as this exists on their doorstep right beside the River Thames.

Busy Basil, the locos original name, was in a dilapidated state when it arrived in November 2017 but, after many hours of preparation and restoration by a group of dedicated volunteers, its look was transformed.

It was renamed Bazalgette in March 2019 after Sir Joseph Bazalgette, the civil engineer, who led the construction of the London sewer system. 

Track laying started in December 2018 and the line was completed in November 2021 despite volunteers enforced absence from site in 2020.

The 2 restored carriages were transformed from this - 

to this 

and this

We now desperately need your help to ensure the 4+ years the enthusiastic volunteers have spent restoring and constructing have not been in vain.

Please give generously to the RANG Railway Crowdfunding appeal to get us up and running again and in so doing enhance the visitor experience to Crossness Engines and provide a legacy for future generations. Your donation will help the railway survive and in turn helps preserve this important historic site.

If you do decide to donate it would be beneficial if you are able to gift aid your donation which would allow us to claim back 25% of the amount from HMRC. Moreover, we would also ask you to email us at [email protected] as we’d really like to send a personal thank you from the team.

Regardless of whether you can or can’t afford to help out it would be very valuable to us if you could send this message and our Crowdfunding link onto your friends.

If we are able to raise more than our target it would give RANG railway a chance to possible purchase a 2nd electric loco which would spread the workload as well as being more environmentally responsible. 

If you would like any further information before deciding to contribute just email RANG at [email protected] and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Regardless whether you donate or not when we are operational please come ride with us and chat with our RANG volunteers. Maybe you’d like to join us?

View from the footplate

Many thanks

Our RANG Volunteers

Donations rewards

- £20 or more - Bazalgette loco magnet
- £50 or more – Footplate ride for 1 and Crossness/Bazalgette loco key ring
- £100 or more - 2 tickets to visit Crossness Engines on an Open Day of your choice
- £250 or more - Your name on a plaque to be displayed in the RANG engine shed
- £500 or more – Footplate ride for 1 and personal guided tour of historic Crossness Pumping station for 2 people by one of our knowledgeable Crossness guides.
- £1500 or more - Drive the loco and enjoy a personal guided tour for 4 people of historic Crossness Pumping station by one of our expert guides and finish with tea/coffee and biscuits.
- £3000 or more – Unique opportunity to operate Prince Consort the largest rotative beam engine in the world as soon as the building structural issues are resolved and on a non public entry day enjoy a guided tour for 6 people from one of our specialist guides including afternoon tea & scones.
- £5000 or more - Name one of the stations and take a guided tour for 6 on a non public day with one of our first-class guides concluding with cream tea. Platform names suggestions have to be judicious. (RANG will vet all proposals)