This spring your donations will support our STEAM! fundraising campaign.

Our historic steam crane and Marshall steam roller ‘Joan’ need essential boiler repairs to get them back in to steaming action. Just £2,000 will enable us to fund the specialist works required and once again demonstrate the exciting power of the steam crane and roller to our visitors. 

The Steam Crane.

Displayed in the Museum’s wood yard, the steam crane was made by Smith of Rodley near Leeds in 1937. Steam cranes were built in large numbers for use in docks, construction sites and factories up to 1950. Today less than half a dozen remain in operational condition in the UK.

Until the last couple of years Museum volunteers have frequently demonstrated the steam crane to visitors, using it to move wood onto the rack saw bench next to the crane. Now the crane’s boiler is in need of intensive repair work, and we need to raise funds to employ a specialist welder to carry out the work. The aim is to work the steam crane and saw benches together and reinstate the area as a working exhibit. This will greatly add to the educative and enjoyment value of the woodyard. The working steam crane is a dramatic and exciting sight!

The Marshall Steam Roller

The Museum looks after the steam roller, which is on long term loan from West Sussex County Council. Purchased new by Midhurst Rural District Council at a cost of £600, this roller operated in the Midhurst area all its working life, both with its original owner, and after 1931 with West Sussex County Council, which later became the Highway Authority.

For a couple of years, the steam roller has been out of action, requiring extensive boiler work, including new tubes. Funds are needed to complete these works and get Joan back into steam! A working roller is a visibly exciting event and we would love to be able to drive her around the Museum on a regular basis, helping show visitors how roads were maintained.