Budding engineers have already begun prototyping a series of 20 replica locomotive statues in the shape of ‘Catch Me Who Can’ - the world’s first fare passenger engine built in Bridgnorth back in 1808 for British inventor Richard Trevithick.
Each statue will be hand-painted in a kaleidoscope of colours by local artists and placed in strategic locations around the town to create an interactive walking trail.
The project is putting Grainger and Worrall’s apprentices under real-time engineering pressures. Not only are they being asked to design and engineer the statues based on a sketch drawing, but they also need to manufacture four a week leading up to the deadline of 1 April.
The replicas, which when cast and set on a plinth stand some 1.5m high, provide several external design challenges that the apprentices must overcome.
Matthew Snelson, director of systems at Grainger and Worrall, and director of the neighbouring Marches Centre of Manufacturing and Technology, says: “This project gives our apprentices experience of working in busy engineering conditions, utilising their skills in computer aided design, simulation, prototyping, 3D printing and sand casting.
“These are the skills Grainger and Worrall’s 700-strong team practise every day in response to demand from leading OEMs for complex metal solutions, and puts the apprentices in good stead for long, successful careers at the company.”
IMAGE CAPTION: Sam Foley, Oliver Lewis, George Brown, Ella Jones, Jack Curtis, Alex Parton, Martin Whyatt – the Grainger and Worrall apprenticeship team leading Catch Me Who Can.
