Railway Challenge 2021 competing teams announced

Twelve teams have been confirmed for the 2021 Railway Challenge.

The full list of competitors for the 2021 Railway Challenge is available on the Challenge website, with overseas teams coming from Poland and Germany. All teams will undertake the task of designing and building a miniature (10¼” gauge) locomotive, developing their practical skills and gaining valuable experience of working on a real-world project in the process.

After this year’s finals took place virtually owing to COVID-19, the 2021 competition is expected to return to the normal Challenge schedule with a final demonstration event planned to take place next summer at Stapleford Miniature Railway.

“Although the pandemic stopped us meeting at Stapleford last year, we are very hopeful that we will be back to normal for the 2021 competition. The Rules have been published and twelve teams registered, so we are looking forward to seeing what innovative designs they have been working on. Hydrogen fuel cells were popular last time, what will the innovative teams be using this year?” commented Simon Iwnicki, Chair of the Railway Challenge Organising Committee. “Current champions Fachochschule Aachen will be returning to defend the trophy - can someone beat them this time? We are planning a visit to Stapleford on 3 February 2021. This will a good opportunity to see the layout for those who haven’t been before” he continued.

IMechE Education Programme Manager, Jelena Gacesa adds that “despite challenging circumstances, we are delighted to see that the Institution’s Challenge portfolio continues to grow and has once again seen entries from both UK and international teams. We wish all the teams the very best of luck in this competition cycle, which will include a combination of existing and novel elements to ensure an engaging and valuable experience for all.”

Instead of our usual Welcome Workshop at the University of Birmingham, a Welcome Webinar took place on 25 November 2020 for competing teams to join. The session covered a contingency plan for the competition and the site visit, design processes, lessons learned and useful tips, a presentation on traction of electrical systems, information on how to apply for the Railway Challenge Awards and a Q&A session with the Challenge Judges. The recording is now available to view on-demand on the Institution’s YouTube channel.

All participants are encouraged to follow the Railway Challenge’s Twitter and Facebook social media channels and Challenge website for updates on the competition and teams’ locomotives, and we wish all teams the best successes with their projects.