The STEAM museum, in Swindon, will be celebrating its 20th anniversary this month.
The staff at STEAM are marking the milestone with a look back at the early days of the museum, and some of the highlights of the past two decades.
The museum is currently closed due to the coronavirus. However, when the museum reopens, visitors will be able to attend the museum for the same price as it was for the first visitors 20 years ago.
STEAM opened its doors on Wednesday 14th June 2000 for the first time and was royally approved soon after when HRH The Prince of Wales officially opened the museum on the 27th June 2000.
A number of volunteers that are at STEAM today were involved with the preparations for the museum 20 years ago, including the transfer of the collection from the former Swindon Railway Museum, which is now The Platform.
Liz Day, Membership Secretary of the Friends of Swindon Railway Museum, said: “The things I remember are being surrounded by cardboard boxes for months as we were trying to pack everything up ready for the move. When I first went into the new building, long before we opened, I thought I would never be able to find my way around. The night before we opened, we were in the building for many hours on our knees cleaning. I did my bit in Caerphilly Hall. I can’t remember what time we went home but not far off midnight.”
Kevin Shurmer, Visitor Experience Assistant at STEAM, said: “I started working for the STEAM Museum at the beginning of 1999. I worked in the Long shop opposite, renovating all sorts of things to go in the new museum. My main project was the Shunters Truck. The shunters truck was in a terrible state when it came in, and was almost deemed impossible to renovate. Over a period of six months, we successfully renovated parts and returned it to its former glory.”
Cllr Dale Heenan, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for the Town Centre, Culture and Heritage, said: “Last year more than 130,000 people visited the museum to learn about Swindon’s rich heritage, and the staff do a tremendous job in bringing to life science, technology, engineering, art and maths topics for visitors. The success of the Science Festival and the Brick Show, which will both return, means I believe STEAM has a bright future ahead for another 20 years. And there is still so much potential. A fun fact is that the original Hogwarts Express, Olton Hall, was built in Swindon 83 years ago, at Swindon Works.”
Back in 2008, STEAM secured a £450,000 investment to convert a disused workshop into a conference and event space. Today, Great Western Hall hosts a number of high-profile events including the National Trust AGM and Swindon’s General Election count.
IN 2011, STEAM received a once-in-a-lifetime bequest, which is now known as the Harry Collection. This donation included a huge variety of significant items, which are now on display.
Elaine Arthurs, STEAM Collections and Exhibitions Officer said: “Mr Harry, who died in August 2005, was a serious Great Western collector over many years and clearly had an eye for the best quality material. He started off his early career at Swindon Works before moving to the banking world and his passion was evident as the items arrived in pristine condition.”
The donation included 72 cab number plates, 15 locomotive tender plates, more than 150 iron signs and a variety of GWR object, including signalling equipment and silverware. Approximately 40,000 photographs and rare archive material was also included in the donation.
Two flagship steam locomotives made a return to Swindon in November 2015, these being No. 6000 ‘King George V’ and No. 3717 ‘City of Truro’. The arrival of these two iconic locomotives signified the year-long programme of events to celebrate Swindon 175.
Both locomotives are still on display at STEAM and are on loan from the National Railway Museum.
In August 2018, GWR No. 2818 returned to Swindon, where it was built in 1905. 2818 was a heavy goods locomotive used during World War I to transport coal for the Royal Navy.
2818 is the first complete locomotive to be owned by STEAM, and is on display on the 1930s station platform.
Through June and July, STEAM will be sharing more of their achievements and highlights on social media.
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