Railway Challenge at Sheffield (RCAS) is a student-led, co-curricular activity at the University of Sheffield. It involves the design and manufacture of a 1/5th scale locomotive to compete in the annual Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) Railway Challenge competition. The locomotive is assessed in front of a panel of judges over a 4-day weekend at the end of June.
The team has approximately thirty undergraduate students from across multiple engineering disciplines. New members immediately get stuck into the design process, looking at structural, mechanical and electrical components and systems. The manufacturing and testing stages allow students to experience all parts of the engineering process. Additional personal skills such as management, communication, and financial planning are developed by working with us.
Jacob Whittle has been involved in RCAS since he started as an undergraduate in 2017, and eventually led the team in 2021 to (at the time) a record points and position finish during a very difficult period.
Since starting his EngD with the Advanced Metallic Systems CDT in 2021, he has been the doctoral supervisor of the team. This role involves bridging the gap between staff, undergraduates, and external sponsors to help support the team and its activities. This year the team needed significant administrative support to complete an ambitious overhaul and redesign programme - the resultant locomotive being almost completely new. To do this he helped solidify existing sponsorship agreements as well as bringing new/exciting sponsors onboard whilst managing the teams immediate and strategic financial position.
Reflecting on the event Jacob said: “I am immensely proud of this group of young and talented engineers from across the Faculty of Engineering. They have flawlessly delivered an ambitious, technically advanced, and competitive locomotive which they’ve used to generate the team’s best ever result - finally becoming Grand Champions. This success is only possible due to their hard work as well as the past success and learning of the more than 100 students which have passed through the team. Thank you all!”
Jacob also had a managing hand in this year's winning Innovation Challenge - a research style paper which describes a novel and innovative aspect incorporated into the locomotive. The team chose to expand upon the work Jacob oversaw during the AMSCDT supported Nuffield Placement Scheme in 2023, collaborating with LB Foster. This work has the potential for direct impact on people's lives, seeking to address issues around 'leaves on the line'.
IMPACT
The railway network is known to suffer increased delays, particularly during Autumn, caused by leaf induced low adhesion events, aka the dreaded “leaves on the line”. Therefore effective management of this risk to deliver adequate passenger satisfaction whilst remaining cost efficient is critical. The current methods for managing this risk are limited in temporal, and spatial accuracy or result in additional delays due to protective mitigation measures such as speed restrictions. A solution to this problem has been developed, which involves utilising open source aerial photography and commodity navigation systems without the need for additional, expensive line-side infrastructure. This system has the potential to, in the short term, increase safety for full and miniature scale railways through targeted, location specific driver warnings. Ultimately this will help reduce dangerous events associated with low adhesion, thereby reducing delay which should improve customer satisfaction. The system described is incorporated into the Railway Challenge at Sheffield’s (RCAS) locomotive for entry into the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) Railway Challenge 2023-24.
BIO
Jacob is a researcher at The University of Sheffield studying towards an EngD within both the Department of Material Science & Engineering and Department of Mechanical Engineering. He is a member of the Rail Innovation and Technology Centre, and the Centre for Doctoral Training in Advanced Metallic Systems. His research focuses on the sustainability of steel railway infrastructure and how it can be used to support desperately needed low carbon transport systems across the world.
He also holds learning and teaching responsibilities as Doctoral Supervisor of Railway Challenge at Sheffield, Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Faculty of Engineering and Open Day Ambassador in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
