I am adding this post on behalf of @Peter Northover. Peter is an active member of both the ASM Archaeometallurgy Committee and the Historical Metallurgy Society.
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The Eighth International Early Railways Conference will be held in Darlington, Co. Durham, UK on 23rd-26th September 2025, to commemorate and coincide with the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR). The S&DR combined the use of steam power for goods and, on the opening day at least, passengers, running on rails rolled from wrought iron.
During the conference the Historical Metallurgy Society (HMS) is sponsoring an adjunct to the programme in the from of a poster session on the applications of metallurgy and materials science in the study of the history of railways and railway technology. Although metallurgy and early railways will be a particular focus, we welcome posters on topics through the 19th century and also showing the initiation of metallurgical studies in railway history of other parts of the world.
Initially, please send expressions of interest to secretary@historicalmetallurgy.org; prompt submissions will be considered at a meeting on October 22nd, and we will be asking for abstracts at the end of the year.
The poster session will be on display throughout the conference which can be attended in person or via Teams. For those unable to attend in person HMS will deal with the printing - send a file and HMS will have it printed. In fairness the same offer is extended, for those who wish, to delegates attending in person. There will also be an opportunity to have a paper version published in Historical Metallurgy.
We look forward to your ideas,
Regards,
Peter Northover
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Scott Henry
Director of Content and Publishing
ASM International
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