Pneumatic train

A model train pushed along by the pressure of the air from a centrifugal pump to model a historical underground post railway in London.

We were asked for a demo to show how the trains on the London Pneumatic Dispatch Company underground railway worked. They ran through small tunnels and were pushed along by steam powered centrifugal fans.
Pneumatic Rail Car. Circa 1860 by Mike Peel

One of the London Pneumatic Dispatch carriages. by Mike Peel

So we built a smaller version using a hand cranked fan and a transparent tube so you can see what is happening. The original carriages lent themselves to being machined from red PVC, and there is a space to carry a small victorian on a joyride.

Also: 
Demonstration
Commission