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Engineering excellence results in cart fit for Olympian

Students from Furness College will have their engineering skills put to the test when an Olympian takes to the wheel of their handcrafted cart later this month.

Eddie the Eagle Edwards, who won hearts in the 1998 Winter Olympics, will pilot the cart down the launch ramp at the Barrow BID Super Soapbox Challenge in the town centre on June 29th.

Students at Channelside have created the cart over the past couple of months in preparation for the big event in the town centre.

They were approached by Colin Garnett, of Barrow BID, to make the cart for the event, which will see dozens of soapbox carts head down a two-storey ramp.

Craft engineering lecturer Scott Wilson, who has overseen the project, said; “The event provides a real-time project for our students to work on and use a range of skills. The soapbox build requires design, engineering and creativity. We think we have built a gravity racer that will have the capacity to win.”

“The craft engineering students created the frame, welded the pipework and put all the strengthening sections on. Then our motor vehicle students worked on the suspension” he said. “It is brilliant, it is looking really good. It has taken them about two months to get to this point and they have learnt a lot on the way.”

The Furness College soapbox cart will be available for people to see on Sunday 23rd June at the Barrow Carnival Colour Run event in Barrow Park, when the Soapbox scrutineering takes place.

The cart will also be available to see and children will get the chance to sit in the driver’s seat at the two Soapbox Launch events hosted by Eddie the Eagle on Friday 28th June at the Forum: www.theforumbarrow.co.uk

Finally, people can see the cart racing down the Barrow Super Soapbox course on Saturday 29th June at 10am, when Eddie the Eagle pilots it on its maiden run. The event is sponsored by BAE Systems.
www.visitbarrow.org.uk/soapbox

Pictured (left to right) Furness College students Alex Johnston, Chloe Scott, Todd Newton and Oliver McAloone in the car.


Channelside
Barrow-In-Furness
Cumbria
LA14 2PJ
Rating Lane
Barrow-In-Furness
Cumbria
LA13 9LE
Contact Us Tel: 01229 825 017 (Channelside Campus)
Tel: 01229 828 377 (Barrow Sixth Form College)
Email: info@furness.ac.uk
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Email: businesssupport@furness.ac.uk
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