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They discuss their achievements to date, challenges encountered and the lessons they have learnt in their quest to design and build a miniature (10¼” gauge) railway locomotive in accordance with a set of strict rules and a detailed technical specification.
Q: Could you briefly tell us about your team – any interesting facts or background information?
South Western Railway (SWR): We are a team of engineering graduates and apprentices and a health and safety apprentice.
Q: Could you tell us about the design and innovation aspect of your locomotive?
SWR: Our locomotive features a variable yaw system which is designed to vary the bogie rigidity in yaw and roll using actuating cylinders. This is achieved by using infrared sensors to measure the time taken for the sensor to hit the railhead to the ballast and come back. This is used to calculate the distance between the two; an Arduino microcontroller understands this distance by using an analogue to digital converter. If there is a change in distance, the controller knows to actuate the variable yaw panel and apply air. Additionally, our traction system uses a contact grid which is lowered to connect the batteries in series. This grid can be raised and lowered quickly and easily, allowing a rapid replacement of the batteries.
Q: What are the key skills you learnt from this project and what is your team dynamic?
SWR: Keys skills include time and people management, along with working as a team with members from different academic backgrounds. Everyone has something unique that they can contribute towards this challenge.
Q: What are the main challenges your team faced working on this project?
SWR: The main challenge we have faced is finding a suitable time for team members to work on the locomotive. All members of the team have a full-time job and the locations are across the SWR network and finding a time which aligns with everyone’s calendars proved challenging from the outset. However, this was overcome to an extent by delegating tasks for members to work on in their own time. But again, this proved a challenge as our workshop base is in Bournemouth, so members have had to find time to travel down to the depot to work on the locomotive.
To recognise teamwork done to date, the Railway Challenge organising committee has agreed to host a virtual awards ceremony taking place at 12:30pm BST on 26 June 2020 to present teams with the following awards:
- Design Award
- Innovation Award
- Business Proposition Award
- Technical Poster Award.