IMechE Railway Challenge
Train competition for students
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The IMechE Railway Challenge is a competition for teams of apprentices and students who compete to build and operate 1/5 scale railway locomotives in a number of challenges.
| Railway Challenge | |
|---|---|
| Status | active |
| Genre | competition |
| Frequency | Annually |
| Venue | Stapleford Miniature Railway, Stapleford Park, Leicestershire |
| Coordinates | 52.757°N 0.791°W |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Inaugurated | 2012 |
| Previous event | 2025 |
| Next event | 2026 |
| Activity |
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| Organized by | Institution of Mechanical Engineers Railway Division |
| People |
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| Sponsors | |
| Website | www |
Events are organised by the Railway Division of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and have been held annually since 2012 at the Stapleford Miniature Railway, near Melton Mowbray, United Kingdom.[1]
History
The Railway Challenge was initially proposed by Simon Iwnicki to the IMechE Railway Division Board in 2010. The aim was to demonstrate to prospective young engineers that there were interesting and challenging careers in railway engineering and it was partly a response to the huge success of the Formula Student competition[2] where teams of university students design, build and compete with a small racing car.
A group was set up to prepare the rules and a short technical specification was drafted by Tim Poole from London Underground. It was decided that a ‘miniature’ gauge of 7 ¼ ” or 10 ¼ ” would be most suitable as this would result in locomotives of a manageable size and weight but that could incorporate real engineering systems. Former Railway Division Chair Cliff Perry led a review of all the suitable locations in Britain and a shortlist of four was drawn up:
- Bournemouth
- New Malden
- Audley End Railway
- Stapleford Miniature Railway
For various reasons including the central location, the space available and the track layout, Stapleford Miniature Railway was selected. Following a discussion with Lady Gretton of the Stapleford Estate and members of the FSMR (Friends of Stapleford Miniature Railway) a contract was signed between the IMechE and the Estate and the first Railway Challenge competition took place in 2011 with a final in June 2012. Stapleford has proved to be the perfect location for the Challenge and the support provided by the Estate (now through Lord Gretton) and the FSMR has allowed the competition to develop and thrive.
Over 15 years the number of teams has grown progressively. Around 25 members of the Railway Division support the Railway Challenge and the organisation of the event has become established with the following structure:
- Judges, led by Bill Reeve as Head Judge and Malcolm Dobell as Assistant Head Judge
- Scrutineers, led by Tim Poole
- Controllers, Originally led by Roger Goodall and now by Bridget Eickhoff
- Staff from the IMechE
The rules committee led by Tim Fairbrother review the rules each year and introduce new challenges to keep teams innovating and to represent the developments within the industry. The Railway Division Young Members (RDYM) provide support and arrange a social evening during the final.
Challenge
The Track gauge is 10+1⁄4 in (260 mm) with the test circuit consisting of an 800-metre (0.5 mi) descent through a tunnel, a 1.2-kilometre (0.75 mi) balloon loop and a return up the 800-metre-long (0.5 mi) 1-in-80 (1.25%) incline.[3]
During 2023‒2024 a new turntable with 21 sidings was constructed for use during the Railway Challenge.[4][5] The turntable was opened by Lord Gretton and Alice Bunn for the 2025 event.[5]
Bridget Eickhoff from the Rail Safety and Standards Board acts as operational controller for Railway Challenge.[3][4]
Activities
From 2019 onwards, teams have been required to produce an academic poster communicating the design of their locomotive[6]
Since 2019, an automatic stop test has been included, requiring locomotives to stop an exact distance after a marked position on the railway track.[6]
Results
The 2025 challenge was won by the joint team of Network Rail & Colas Rail, with Nuremberg Institute of Technology second, and FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences third.[5]
European Railway Challenge
The European Railway Challenge is organised at Kürnbach (Bad Schussenried), Germany, on the 10+1⁄4 in (260 mm) track layout within the Oberschwäbisches Museumsdorf Kürnbach.[18][19] The European Railway Challenge uses the same rules and is arranged a few weeks earlier, allowing teams the opportunity to practice and debug their equipment and techniques before travelling to Stapleford Park in England.