Museum of Power – Steam Gala Day

The Museum of Power is housed at the Steam Pumping Station at Langford in Essex, between Hatfield Peverel and Maldon. It was a red letter day for them today, as the enormous Marshall steam engine was running for the first time in 50 years. It was a gorgeous day for it, and we arrived mid-morning with over 300 visitors already there. And there was a huge amount to see!

The Marshall engine is three storey’s high, and seeing (and hearing!) it in full majestic motion was thrilling. Watch the video below, which will hopefully give you some idea. In addition to being able to get up close to this beauty, the Steam Gala day also offered an opportunity to look at a range of other engines running in the museum. The back room had an Edwardian belt-drive workshop, and right next to it, a miniature version powered by a scale-model traction engine – also on the video.

Out in the bright sunshine were a range of other traction engines, ranging from big steamrollers, to tiny ones – but which still had the power to pull someone behind them. The miniature steam train was busy all day, taking passengers on the circular route.

So a big thumbs-up from us – keep an eye open for their steam days to get full value. It’s a hidden gem, and hopefully now that Marshall is operating it will get more attention and draw more visitors. And many thanks to the small army of volunteers, without whom the day would never have happened!

Below are a few photographs, then our video. Keep an eye on our Essex Museums page for dates of special events at the Museum of Power, and sign up for our monthly e-newsletter to keep up to date with other exciting Essex Days Out.