2019

IMLEC 2019 was to have been held at Bristol, but circumstances surrounding the future of the club at the time meant another society had to step in. Thankfully, the future of the Bristol club was secured and it is scheduled to host IMLEC in 2023. Leyland SME took on the competition at short notice and what a fantastic job they did.

Taking home the trophy this year was run No.1, Marcus Peel with his B1. Alan Crossfield provides details of the winning run:

"Marcus had a good coal fire burning just before his run starting time of 1pm and after being coupled to the dynamometer car plus the requested number of trucks, he and his observer moved off towards the station. This was to be the procedure for all competitors; recording of work done would begin immediately the train moved away from the steaming bay, whilst the timed run would begin at the station once all passengers were safely seated aboard the train. With a clean start from the station, Marcus took his 10 passengers for an extremely competent and measured run with no stops. A consistent lap time was maintained and speed must have been near the 10mph limit throughout. No steam leakage, either from the safety valves or any other point, could be seen at any stage and there was no sign of slipping from the driving wheels. It has to be said that, at this stage, track conditions were excellent; days leading up to this event had seen the steel rails subjected to repeated treatment from de-greasing agents and intermittent rain showers. Marcus's run had certainly removed the rust coating from the railhead!"