Turning Young Inventors’ Train Designs into Reality with Creative Collaboration

This project celebrated the 200th anniversary of the first journey on the Stockton and Darlington Railway, inviting children from around the world to imagine futuristic train inventions and imaginative vehicles for a future full of possibility.

From hundreds of entries, a selection of standout ideas were chosen to be brought to life as physical models, blending youthful inventiveness with the practical skills of experienced makers.

Crafting Dreams: Students Bring Designs to Life

We were thrilled to partner with The Northern School of Art’s BA (Hons) Model Making & Props students, who worked closely with Orbital FX to interpret and build several of the winning train concepts.

Second-year model making student Molly Avery, who led the group, explained the brief in her own words:

The challenge was for children to send whatever futuristic and imaginative ideas they had and we were then tasked to bring these sketches and ideas to life.

Molly described how the project began:

After a full briefing over Teams we were on our way. We all divided up into groups and got to work on our pitches and budgeting proposals to send back over to Luke Daley… Luke contributed ideas that he and the Little Inventors client liked or disliked etc.

She reflected on the guidance they received:

We had some really good feedback from Luke as he is very knowledgeable and experienced and works to a high quality industry standard. To get all his thoughts, ideas and opinions was invaluable advice to receive.

Molly also talked about creative freedom and teamwork:

We didn’t work directly with the children, all we had to go off were their sketches on the Little Inventors’ website. As long as the core concept of the train was the same, we had the creative freedom to decide how the trains and sets would look.

And about the collaborative process:

I really enjoyed us all being able to utilise other students’ skillsets… and create a really impressive collaborative effort that we were all able to contribute to in our own way and where we each had our moment to shine.

Industry Mentorship and Skills Development

The experience wasn’t just about building models - it was an opportunity for students to learn professional practices and gain feedback from industry experts. Luke Daley, Director and Creative Engineer at Orbital FX, shared how impressed he was with the students’ approach:

Projects like this are exactly where education and industry should meet. Molly and the wider Model Making and Props cohort showed an exceptional level of professionalism, creativity and technical understanding. Translating children’s imagination into physical artefacts is not easy, but the students approached it with care, rigour and genuine respect for the original ideas.

Luke added praise for Molly’s leadership:

It was a genuine pleasure working with them, and Molly in particular demonstrated a level of reliability and leadership that you would expect from someone already working in industry.

Celebrating Young Creativity

This collaboration helped bring tangible form to the bright ideas submitted by young inventors and showcased how creative partnerships can unlock opportunity - both for children imagining the future and for students developing their craft. The resulting models are part of the Next Stop: The Future! exhibition at Preston Park Museum, where visitors can explore how imaginative thinking and practical making combine to spark innovation.

At Little Inventors, we’re proud to support these kinds of collaborations that celebrate creativity, nurture talent, and put young people’s ideas at the heart of real-world making.