Graduates to take on railway challenge at miniature railway near Melton

Twelve university student engineering teams are gearing up to compete in the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Railway Challenge at Stapleford Miniature Railway near Melton.
By The Newsroom
Published 23rd Jun 2017, 17:00 BST
The 2016 winners SNC-Lavalin's Rail and Transit team pictured alongside their innovative locomotive engine PHOTO: David ShirresThe 2016 winners SNC-Lavalin's Rail and Transit team pictured alongside their innovative locomotive engine PHOTO: David Shirres
The 2016 winners SNC-Lavalin's Rail and Transit team pictured alongside their innovative locomotive engine PHOTO: David Shirres

The competition will take place on Thursday, June 29 to Sunday, July 2. It will see teams designing and manufacturing the best, most innovative, efficient and quietest small-scale locomotive.

Philippa Oldham, head of transport and manufacturing at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said: “The Railway Challenge gives competitors a fantastic chance to test their engineering skills and get the hands-on experience of what’s needed to make a locomotive from start to finish.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Each year the entries impress the judges with new innovations, of particular note are the solutions proposed for the energy storage and energy efficiency challenges. These are two big issues currently being faced by manufacturers and so solving these challenges could mean that these young engineers could help to revolutionise our modern railways.

Most Popular

“This year looks set to be a tight contest, with more teams than ever and three previous winners taking part.”

The locomotives that will be competing are designed to work on ten and a quarter gauge railway line and must be powerful enough to transport a 600kg load - including one of the Railway Challenge judges.

Visit http://www.imeche.org/RailwayChallenge for more information.