Press releases
A team of 29 student engineers from the University of Sheffield, is gearing up to compete in the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Railway Challenge, taking place on 29 June-2 July 2017 at the Stapleford Miniature Railway near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire.
The competition will see 12 teams compete against each other to design and manufacture the best, most innovative, efficient and quietest small-scale locomotive.
Luke Clover, Team Principal for the University of Sheffield’s team said:
“Taking part in the Railway Challenge gives us the opportunity to really develop our engineering skills and have fun designing and manufacturing an impressive locomotive. This is also one of very few opportunities to complete a full scale engineering project, from concept and design through to manufacture and testing.
“We are planning to run a similar design to last year but with improved brakes, a quieter and smoother generator and a wireless control system. The major innovation and development on the train this year is a full energy recovery system which we have never previously achieved. This will combine a mechanical system, featuring hydraulic actuation and storing the energy in springs, and an electrical system based around a capacitor. If current simulations are correct we are hoping to be particularly successful in that part of the competition.
“This year we have also bought on a major industrial partner in Furrer + Frey, who supply overhead lines to the rail industry in the UK and internationally. Not only have they provided us with funds to undertake and expand our project, their advice and motivation have been invaluable to the team. After two reasonably unsuccessful competitions in 2015 and 2016 we are hoping to be competitive this year and are well on track following successful test sessions.”
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.
“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.
“This year looks set to be a tight contest, with more teams than ever and three previous winners taking part.”
The competition comprises of a series of track based and presentation challenges, including a design report and an ‘Innovation Challenge’ which involves the production of an academic paper on the innovations in the loco. The track based challenges include: energy storage, traction, ride comfort, noise, maintainability and energy efficiency.
The locomotives that will be competing are designed to work on 10¼” gauge railway line and must be powerful enough to transport a 600kg load – including one of the Railway Challenge judges.
The teams competing this year are:
Alstom UK & Ireland
University of Birmingham
Bombardier/Derby University
Brunel University
FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences
Manchester Metropolitan University
University of Huddersfield (winners in 2013)
SNC-Lavalin (winners in 2012 and 2016)
University of Sheffield
University of Southampton
TfL (winners in 2014 and 2015)
WMG, University of Warwick
The competition will take place from Thursday 29 June to Sunday 2 July 2017 at Stapleford Miniature Railway in Leicestershire.