We are raising funds for conservation and repair work that is vitally needed on industrial machinery and iconic steam engines at Blists Hill Victorian Town. We need to protect our Trevithick locomotive replica, 'Billy' the Road Roller and the portable engine and stone crusher in the stonemason's yard. Thank you for any level of donation you could make to our appeal for help towards this significant heritage conservation project.

Our Trevithick locomotive is a replica of the world's first steam railway locomotive, which was designed by Richard Trevithick (1771-1833) and constructed by the Coalbrookdale Company in 1802-1803. Trevithick was a Cornish engineer who began to experiment with the use of high-pressure steam to power vehicles. He worked with the Coalbrookdale Company, due to their high-quality castings, to build the worlds first steam railway locomotive. The building of this locomotive was encouraged by William Reynolds, a local ironmaster, but construction of the engine probably ended after his death in 1803. It is not known if the locomotive was ever run, but it still played an important role in the development of smaller, portable steam powered engines.

Billy is a 3-ton steam roller constructed by Wallis and Steevens in Basingstoke in 1903. It was initially constructed as a small traction engine, but as larger and more practical traction engines developed many of the smaller models, like Billy, were scrapped or converted into rollers. Billy went through this conversion process in 1912. However, in the intervening years many of these light rollers have been converted back into their traction engine form. As a result, Billy is likely to be the only Wallis and Steevens tractor still in its roller form, making it an incredibly rare survivor from a fascinating and crucial period in the development of road transportation in Britain. Billy the Steam Roller is operated 2 to 3 days a week and is the only piece of on-road steam in operation at Blists Hill Victorian Town. The engine is now very old and significantly worn to the point we may have to withdraw from operation to prevent further damage.

The Portable is a stationary engine located in the stonemason's yard at Blists Hill Victorian Town. This style of engine could be easily moved to different locations on wheels, but would be stationary when in use, and could be hooked up to a variety of machines to power them, such as the stone crusher in the stonemason's yard. Our portable engine has been constructed from a variety of sources, and includes a 1920s locomotive boiler and an 1880s engine. It was donated to the museum by Jack Crabtree who was involved with museums from their earliest days, and was directly involved with setting up the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust in 1968. The portable engine and stone crusher are in use every opening day and as a result has sustained heavy wear over time. Work is now required to prevent wear of the engine resulting in permanent damage and greater future costs.