Press releases
Five teams of student, apprentice and graduate engineers from Derby, Birmingham, Huddersfield, Sheffield and London are gearing up to compete in the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Railway Challenge, taking place at the Stapleford Miniature Railway near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire in June.
The competition will see five teams compete against each other to design and manufacture the best, most efficient and quietest small-scale locomotive. This year’s teams are: Derby’s Interfleet Technology Ltd, Birmingham University, Huddersfield University, Sheffield University and Transport for London (TfL).
Journalists and photographers are invited to attend
WHEN: From 9am on Sunday 29 June.
WHERE: Stapleford Miniature Railway, The Old Forge, Stapleford, Leicestershire LE14 2SF
For further information, interviews or to attend please contact the Institution’s Communications Team on:
Telephone: 020 7304 6877 Mobile: 07710 542 381
Email: media@imeche.org
*Steam hauled spectator trains will also be running on the railway
The Institution’s Railway Challenge, which is now in its third year, will see a new competition element in 2014 focusing on noise. The other practical challenges are the Energy Storage Challenge, where teams need to ensure that the locomotive is able to store energy during braking and then use it to drive the locomotive forward again, the Traction Challenge and the Ride Comfort Challenge.
Philippa Oldham, Head of Transport and Manufacturing at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said:
“The Railway Challenge gives students, graduates and apprentices a fantastic opportunity to test their engineering skills and to get a taste of a real business experience.
“The Challenge is run along the lines of a real-life tendering process, and teams have to prepare a business case, finance, design, and build a locomotive from scratch.
“It is exciting to see that our two previous winning teams, Interfleet and Huddersfield, will be back to see if they can repeat their success, as well as hugely exciting to see two completely new teams, Sheffield and TfL, taking part.
“The new challenge, focusing on noise, is also going to present teams with a very demanding task.”
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 trophy will be presented to the winning team by Group Captain Mark Hunt, President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
Notes to Editors