Institution news
The team of undergraduate engineers triumphed at the event to make the best small-scale railway locomotive
After a closely fought competition, Huddersfield University were crowned winners at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Railway Challenge which took part at Stapleford Miniature Railway, near Melton Mowbray this weekend.
The competition saw four teams compete against each other to design and manufacture the best, and most efficient, small-scale locomotive.
Philippa Oldham, Head of Transport at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and one of the judges in this year’s competition, said:
“This year’s competition was closely fought – with fantastic performances from all four teams.
“Huddersfield’s won thanks to some excellent performances in the traction and ride comfort practical challenges, and the clear way they presented their design to the judges.
“Manchester Metropolitan University came a close second with a storming performance in the energy challenge - where the locomotive has to store energy during braking and use it to drive the locomotive forward as far as possible.
“This was an extremely challenging competition where teams had to prepare a business case, finance, design, and build a compliant locomotive that would meet the set technical requirements.
Siddiq Albusmait, Huddersfield University’s Project Manager said:
“We are thrilled by this win – particularly given how well the other teams performed.
“Taking part in this competition has been a fantastic – giving us first-hand experience of the entire process of developing a locomotive.
“Our win, makes the hard work of the team over the past nine months all the more worthwhile.”
As part of the Railway Challenge teams have to prepare a business case, finance, design, and build a locomotive from scratch. The Challenge is run along the lines of a real-life tendering process, giving participants a taste of a real business experience.
These locomotives, while small-scale, have to be powerful enough to transport a 600kg load – including one of the Railway Challenge judges.
The teams competing this year were: Huddersfield University (first place); Manchester Metropolitan University (second place); the Interfleet Graduate Team (third) and Birmingham University with their hydrogen/electric hybrid locomotive (fourth).
The trophy was presented by the Technical Director for Network Rail, Steve Yianni.