2017 Autumn Conference – Bury, Lancs
ASTT will hold its autumn conference at the Bury Transport Museum in Bury, Greater Manchester from Saturday 30th Sept to Sunday 1st October 2017. The theme of the conference is “Building a future for the Steam Locomotive” and its focus will be on new-build steam and technological developments relating to steam traction.
The conference will include nine presentations and two workshop visits, plus a conference dinner on the Saturday evening. The presentations will cover a wide range of subjects, focussing on different aspects of locomotive engineering and improvement. Attendees will also have the opportunity to visit the East Lancs Railway workshop and Ian Riley & Sons workshops, both in Bury.
The programme for the conference will be as follows (subject to alteration):
| Start | Duration | End | Topic | Speaker |
| Saturday 30th September | ||||
| 09:45 | 00:30 | 10:15 | Registration & Coffee | |
| 10:15 | 00:15 | 10:30 | Welcome | John Hind |
| 10:30 | 01:00 | 11:30 | The Clan Project: 21st century manufacturing for a 20th century locomotive | Geoff Turner & Phil Yates |
| 11:30 | 01:00 | 12:30 | The Physiology of the Locomotive Boiler | Adrian Tester |
| 12:30 | 00:45 | 13:15 | Lunch | |
| 13:15 | 00:30 | 13:45 | Austerity 90733 Horn Guide and Frame Re-Design | Tom Kay |
| 13:45 | 00:45 | 14:30 | Improving small gauge live steam locomotives | William Powell |
| 14:30 | 01:00 | 15:30 | On the latest restoration of Flying Scotsman | Colin Green |
| 15:30 | 00:30 | 16:00 | Coffee Break | |
| 16:00 | 01:00 | 17:00 | Chapelon and the Advanced Steam Locomotive | Joseph Cliffe |
| 17:00 | 02:00 | 19:00 | Free time | |
| 19:00 | 03:00 | 22:00 | Conference Dinner | |
| Sunday 1st October | ||||
| 09:15 | 00:30 | 09:45 | Reassembly & Coffee | |
| 09:45 | 02:00 | 11:45 | Visits to both Ian Riley’s and ELR’s workshops | |
| 11:45 | 00:45 | 12:30 | LNWR George the Fifth – Coupling rod analysis for the modern railway | Jamie Keyte |
| 12:30 | 00:45 | 13:15 | Lunch | |
| 13:15 | 01:00 | 14:15 | CSR Biofuels Trials in the USA | Wolfgang Fengler |
| 14:15 | 00:45 | 15:00 | Update on ASTT’s steam locomotive instrumentation developments | Mike Horne |
| 15:00 | 00:30 | 15:30 | Coffee Break | |
| 15:30 | 01:00 | 16:30 | A new boiler to meet the challenges of the 21st century | Owen Jordan |
| 16:30 | 00:30 | 17:00 | Wrap-up | John Hind |
Abstracts of each presentation will be made available in advance of the conference.
To cover the costs of room-hire, lunches and refreshments, coach-hire and speakers’ travel costs, attendance fees have been set as follows:
| One Day | Two Days | |
| Members | £20.00 | £35.00 |
| Non-members | £25.00 | £40.00 |
Space at the venue is limited to approx 50 attendees including speakers. Seating will be reserved on a first-come-first-served basis. Reservations can be made by writing to info@advanced-steam.org.
Workshop Visit – Visits to both East Lancs Railway’s and Ian Riley & Co’s workshops (both in Bury) have been arranged for the Sunday morning. Visits will be alternated with half the attendees spending 40 minutes at each workshop in turn. Coach transport from the conference venue will be arranged once attendance numbers are known.
Conference Dinner – A conference dinner for attendees and their guests will be held on Saturday evening 30th September at the “Two Tubs” hotel located less than five minutes walk from the Museum’s meeting room. The dinner cost will be £12 per head, and those attending will be invited to pre-select a two course meal from an extensive menu (see Conference Flyer). Costs of drinks and sweets are not included in this price, so diners will need to pay the hotel directly for these items.
Conference Location – Bury is easily accessible by the Metrolink tram system from both Manchester Airport and from either of Manchester’s two railway stations. From Manchester Airport take the Route F service to Deansgate then take Route A to Bury (journey time approx one hour). From Piccadilly or Victoria railway stations, take Route C direct to Bury (journey time 30 to 40 minutes). The tram service terminates in Bury just seven minutes walk from the Transport Museum. For those coming by car, free on-site parking is available within the Transport Museum’s compound.
Accommodation – The closest accommodation can be found at the Manchester Bury Premier Inn Manchester Bury Premier Inn (about 10 minutes walk from the museum). Slightly further away are The Rostrevor Hotel and the Castle Guest House (both 15 minute walk from the museum).
The above information is also available in the Conference Flyer which can be downloaded by clicking on the link.