Gantry tower for train ferry. Fabricated 1916. For War Office
at Richborough. Erected on present site 1923 by LNER. Steel
girder construction clad with steel sheet; timber piling and
fenders. 2 steel towers with raked supports with a covered-in
machinery platform and cabin spanning between them at high
level. A girder platform of 2 rail tracks width, hinged at its
landward end is suspended from the gantry and is adjusted
according to the state of tide.
HISTORICAL NOTE: the gantry is the earliest cross-channel
train ferry terminal to be built in England. When located at
Richborough it enabled a daily through train service supplying
Allied armies during World War I.


Listing NGR: TM2576832668





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