  We report a simple technique for the synthesis of uniaxially textured,
metastable hexagonal close-packed-like uranium thin films with thicknesses
between 175-2800 \r{A}. The initial structure and texture of the layers have
been studied via X-ray diffraction and reflectivity and the time-dependent
transitions of the samples into various orientations of orthorhombic
${\alpha}$-U have been mapped by similar techniques. The final crystallographic
orientations of each system and the timescales on which the transitions occur
are found to depend on the lattice parameters of the original layer. The
absence of the ${\alpha}$-U (001) orientation in the transition products
suggests that the transitions in these layers are mediated by mechanisms other
than the [110] transverse acoustic phonon mode previously suggested for the
cubic ${\gamma}$-U(110) to hcp-U(00.1) to ${\alpha}$-U(001) displacive phase
transition. Alternative transition pathways are discussed.
