21st-century technology has been used by Leeds Industrial Museum to reveal the inner workings of the world’s oldest model locomotive.

A CT scanner at Wolfson Multiphase Flow Laboratory in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds was used to reveal the intricate inner workings of the model steam locomotive for the first time in more than 200 years.

Use of the scanner came about after Leeds Museums and Galleries teamed up with Dr Michael Bailey, an early railway historian and archaeologist of early locomotive technology, Dr Alice Macente from the University of Leeds School of Civil Engineering, and Dr Sam Allshorn from the School of Earth and Environment.

Dr Bailey will use the scans to assist production of a detailed historical account of the model and an assessment of its design and components.

The model was made for the famed engineer Matthew Murray in 1811, and the scanned images showed that the mechanics of the model replicated those of its full-sized counterpart.

Murray would have used the model to woo potential investors and colliery owners and impress fellow designers and contemporaries.

Murray’s efforts were successful and encouraged him to create further locomotives which later inspired George Stephenson in his designs.

Funding for the project came from Leeds Cultural Institute’s Collections Research Fund, and results from the scanning and research will feature in a future exhibit about the model where they will show museum visitors how the model worked and its importance in the evolution of early railways.

High technology is also being used by the national railway network, including use of Fibre Optic Acoustic Sensing technology to provide information that will lead to future improvements on the railway and to support Transport for Wales Network Rail in providing information to counteract the problem of falling leaves in autumn.

“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 insight into the mind of one of the world’s great inventors.”

John McGoldrick, Leeds Museums and Galleries curator of industrial history