What to See at Kempton Steam Museum

See the engines that pumped London’s water for half a century

Kempton Steam Museum is home to the world’s largest working triple-expansion steam engine. It stands as high as four stacked double-decker buses and along with its identical twin, pumped vast volumes of London’s drinking water from 1929 to 1980. Follow this link to learn more about our History and the story of London’s water supply.

Open days at Kempton Steam Museum

The museum is open for several Steaming Weekends per year when we will operate ‘The Sir William Prescott Engine’. Alongside our steaming weekends are often extra events including classic cars, model boats, steam rollers, arts & crafts and much more. Please see our Special Events page for further information. The museum is also open on certain Sundays for Static Viewing, when the engine will not be running, between March and October.

Engines of Titanic proportions

The triple-expansion engines at Kempton Steam Museum are very similar in design and size to the RMS Titanic’s engines. The engines at Kempton feature in many films and documentaries about the ill-fated ship.

Things to do at Kempton Steam Museum

Every visitor is issued with a self-guided tour book which they are welcome to keep. This book allows visitors to explore the museum at their own leisure using a simple number system. Five touch screen terminals are also located in different parts of the building which enable visitors to delve deeper into the history of Kempton through a range of audio-visual materials.

On Steaming Weekends we run guided tours in the afternoons, which are available to book when you arrive on site. These tours involve exploring the static Lady Bessie Prescott Engine number 7 with one of our knowledgeable volunteers. The tours run every 20 minutes from 1.10pm until 3.30pm and must be booked at reception. They are very popular and we recommend booking as soon as you can.

In the mornings we offer self-guided tours of engine number 7 with a free guidebook, and volunteer guides will also be available on each engine level. The engine is accessible from 10.30am until 1pm, with last entry at 12:40pm.

All tours will require climbing steep stairs and have a minimum height requirement of 1.4m (4′ 7″) due to the historic railings. Guided tours are limited to 8 people per tour, self-guided tours are limited to a total of 30 people on the engine at any one time.

On all open days there will be volunteer guides available around the museum who are always happy to talk to visitors about the engines as well as the history of London’s water supply.

Other attractions

Alongside the triple-expansion engines are two Steam Turbines. One of the turbines has been motorised to demonstrate how the turbine and centrifugal pump function. Also see two rare Mercury Arc Recifiers in action powering our vintage electrical equipment.

Another attraction is the Hampton & Kempton Waterworks Railway, which is adjacent to the museum building. Train rides are normally available to the public on our steaming weekends. The railway is operated by a separate organisation and you must obtain a ticket from them for entrance to the trains.

Cafe & Shop

On Steaming Weekends we have a cafe offering hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, cakes and other light refreshments. There is also a gift shop with books, posters and toys. On Static Sundays the cafe and shop are not open.