London, Brighton and South Coast Railway closely involved with the company that purchased The Crystal Palace after the completion of The Great Exhibition in October 1851 and arranged for its removal to a site on Sydenham Hill, close to the London to Brighton main line, where it became a major tourist attraction. The LB&SCR therefore encouraged the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway to build a branch line from Sydenham, opened in June 1854. This was extended in a wide arc round south London to Wandsworth in 1856 and Battersea Pier in 1858. Shortly after the line was completed, the LB&SCR leased it and
The Crystal Palace courts that provided a narrative of the history of fine art. Amongst these were Augustus Pugin's Mediaeval Court from the Great Exhibition, as well as courts illustrating Egyptian, Alhambra, Roman, Renaissance, Pompeian, and Grecian art and many others. During the year of re-opening 18 handbooks were published in the Crystal Palace Library by Bradbury & Evans as guides to the new installations. Many of these were written by the specialists involved in creating and curating the new displays. So the 1854 guide to the Egyptian Court, destroyed in the 1866 fire, was entitled: 'The Egyptian Court in the Crystal Palace.