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'The Dickinson Memorial Lecture' by Bridget Eickhoff
2026-05-13 18:00 - 19:30 (Europe/London) | LONDON Alan Baxter Gallery, 75 Cowcross St, Clerkenwell, London, EC1M 6EL
Photo Credit: Image courtesy of the Julia Elton Collection
This event is both an in-person and on-line event. No need to register – just come along or click this zoom link to join on-line.
The Historical & Current Challenges of Gauging & their Impact on the Operations of Railways & Canals
Bridget Eickhoff will start this presentation with some of the concerns regarding tunnels for the early railway builders and look at some of the magnificent structures that these engineers produced.
She will then consider the challenges that have emerged in more recent times, from 1970s to the present day, both in Great Britain and internationally, and how railway gauging engineers have been continually innovating to rise to these challenges.
Bridget will also look briefly at the different but related issues with gauging of canals.
About the Speaker
Bridget Eickhoff is Principal Infrastructure Engineer at Rail Safety and Standards Board and Honorary Professor of Railway Interface Engineering at the University of Birmingham (Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education) where she supports the MSc programmes.
She has extensive experience in railway vehicle-track interaction and wheel-rail contact, including the study of derailment mechanisms, track forces and deterioration, gauge clearance methods, related standards and approval processes.
Bridget has been involved in the development of GB and international standards in associated areas as well as supporting a number of research and innovation projects. She is also a past Chair of the IMechE Railway Division.
