Part Two
The area chosen for extracting water for the growing town of Hastings is in a picturesque river valley through which the Brede river and its tributaries flow. It is near to the village of Broad Oak. The site for the engine house, boiler house and coal store was Church Farm, which had been purchased outright by the council, however there was no hard road access to the site so everything needed for building and equipping the pumping station had to be transported by river, navigable from the port of Rye as far as a bridge about three-quarters of a mile away from the site.
Work on the main buildings began in 1903. To carry materials and equipment for the works an 18-inch tramway was constructed from a wharf above Brede Bridge to transfer materials from sailing barges coming up river from Rye. A small steam crane was provided for unloading the barges which could only be carried out on two consecutive days each fortnight when the river conditions were right. In March 1899 Bagnalls of Stafford supplied an 0-4-0 saddle tank locomotive, works number 1560.
In addition four 4-ton wagons were provided. When council officials visited for an inspection a wagon was lined
