3D scans reveal inner workings of world’s oldest model train

By Douglas Whitbread via SWNS

Stunning 3D scans have revealed the inner workings of the world’s oldest model locomotive - after more than 200 years.

The miniature train was built for famed engineer Matthew Murray in 1811 to replicate the revolutionary mechanics of its full-sized counterparts.

His roughly ten-inch-long (25cm) miniature helped woo potential investors and colliery owners - as well as impress fellow designers and contemporaries.

And this in turn helped power a worldwide boom in the railway industry.

Leeds Industrial Museum , which exhibits the model, has now permitted university experts to CT x-ray the highly influential locomotive to unlock its secrets.

Museum curator John McGoldrick said: “This tiny model played a huge part in the development of the early rail industry, allowing Murray to showcase his brilliance to investors and giving him the opportunity to bring his trailblazing designs to life.

“Thanks to these remarkable scans, we can now explore for the first time since 1811 how the model worked, and the extraordinary ingenuity and intricacy which went into its creation.

“Short of cutting open the model, which we wouldn’t ever do, we’d never have got to see its inner workings in quite this way.

“Now, not only are we examining a piece of engineering history, we’re also getting a unique and unprecedented insight into the mind of one of the world’s great inventors.”

Full-sized Murray designs, such as the famous Salamanca, became the very first commercially viable steam trains and were built around the same time as the model.

At least two other models of the same type were made, with one being gifted by Murray to Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia when he visited Leeds in 1816.

Murray's early attempts to market his engines proved successful, with full-sized versions selling for £350, which is around £35,000 in today’s money.

And his locomotives later inspired the great George Stephenson’s designs.

The trains also revolutionized the transportation of coal in places like Leeds, as an engine could haul more than 20 times its own weight, powered by steam.

The scans of the model were carried out at the Wolfson Multiphase Flow Laboratory in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds.

The full findings of the scans and research will be featured in a future exhibit about the model.

Councillor Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s executive member for adult social care, active lifestyles and culture, said: “The status Leeds has as a center for engineering excellence over the centuries is incredible, and this extraordinary model really encapsulates that spirit invention and ingenuity.

“It’s also inspiring to see partners and organizations in modern-day Leeds working together to uncover more about the city’s story and using the latest technology to add new dimensions to what we know about the past.”

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