HFF North Woolwich East London 9th August 2024

North Woolwich station opened in 1847 as the southern terminus of the Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway from Stratford. The main reason for building the North Woolwich branch was to provide access to the town of Woolwich with it's military arsenal on the south side of the River Thames.

The railway ferry ran from North Woolwich pier seen here until 1908 when the Great Eastern Railway withdrew it in the face of competition from the adjacent municipal free ferry. The pier on the south bank was demolished but that on the north bank was retained and until WW2 was used by the LNER as a calling point for river steamers providing a service to Southend and Margate.

The free ferry still runs and the two vessels seen here are the Ben Woolacott and the Dame Vera Lynn both built by Remontowa shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland, to replace the previous fleet in 2019. They have not been without problems!

HFF to everyone. Have a great weekend.