as adopted by I.K. Brunel for his South Devon Railway in 1847/8.

It ran between Exeter & Teignmouth.

An approx. 8ft of Meccano ‘Tube’ is screwed to a baseboard, together with 8ft of wooden rail and an atmospheric pumping station at one end.

The piston car carries a 1/2" diam. piston beneath it, which travels along the tube.

On the full-size machine the piston was sucked along but in Alan’s model, it is drawn along by an endless cord powered by a Powerdrive motor.

The longitudinal valve along the top of the pipe is represented by narrow strips with sellotape hinges.