The Advanced Steam Traction Trust’s 9th Annual Conference is being held in Darlington on Saturday and Sunday the 4th and 5th of October 2025. The conference theme is keeping steam locomotives operating beyond the celebration of 200 years of rail travel and into the 21st century.
There will be presentations on alternative fuels, new build steam locomotives and a series of presentations from young engineers about their contribution to steam locomotive engineering and operation.
As well as presentations, there will be a visit to the A1 Trust’s Darlington Locomotive works and a conference dinner on the Saturday night.
The Group promotes the development of steam traction with the aim of prolonging steam operation of both main-line and heritage line workings for the benefit of present and future generations. We are probably unique in that we focus on the engineering aspects of steam locomotives and the application of 21st century tools and techniques.
There are members worldwide and in addition to the annual conference, we are building a large scale miniature locomotive to demonstrate some new concepts, we publish a newsletter 3 times a year and publish books on 21st Century Steam locomotive engineering.