The hovercraft was first created in 1959, when Sir Christopher Cockerell came up with a prototype that crossed the English Channel. The SRN1, the first ever hovercraft, is now proudly housed by the Science Museum and this very British invention enjoys an active role in many arenas, from travel, leisure cruising and racing to lifesaving and transporting goods. This detailed book delves into the history of the hovercraft, from the early days of its development through to the commercial and military applications of the craft. It looks into the exciting world of hovercraft leisure, cruising and racing from amateur to Formula 1, and also explores the important role the hovercraft plays in rescues whether on water or delivering aid around the word in places that helicopters can't reach. Finally, it details the types of hovercraft in use today, and what the future holds. The hovercraft is more than a product of 1960s Britain: it is one that has pushed the boundaries of transport as we look into the future and we have the back-shed culture of Britain to thank for its invention.

** Chosen as a May 2021 pick for The Fearless Book Club by Nobel Peace Prize-Winner, Malala Yousafzai ** Travel writer Julia Cooke's exhilarating portrait of Pan Am stewardesses in the Mad Men era. Glamour, danger, liberation: in the Jet Age, Pan Am offered young women the world. Come Fly the World tells the story of the stewardesses who served on the iconic Pan American Airways between 1966 and 1975 - and of the unseen diplomatic role they played on the world stage. Alongside the glamour was real danger, as they flew soldiers to and from Vietnam and staffed Operation Babylift - the dramatic evacuation of 2,000 children during the fall of Saigon. Cooke's storytelling weaves together the true stories of women like Lynne Totten, a science major who decided life in a lab was not for her, to Hazel Bowie, one of the relatively few African American stewardesses of the era, as they embraced the liberation of a jet-set life. In the process, Cooke shows how the sexualized coffee-tea-or-me stereotype was at odds with the importance of what they did, and with the freedom, power and sisterhood they achieved.

From the busy West Coast and Midland Main Lines to the thriving quarries of Leicestershire and intermodal terminals in and around Birmingham, rail freight is still alive and well in the Midland counties of England. All the established freight operators are represented, including Colas Rail, with its various ballast workings and occasional oil trains to Sinfin, and DC Rail serving Burton-on-Trent. Alongside the Class 66s, we see DB and Freightliner Class 90s on the West Coast Main Line, DRS Classes 68 and 88 on intermodal traffic, Freightliner and Colas Rail Class 70s on various flows, and DB Class 60s on heavy oil and steel trains. Turning the clock back, the closure of every remaining coal mine in the region has brought the demise of numerous freight-only lines and branches in Nottinghamshire and parts of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Warwickshire. Many steel and petroleum terminals have closed, as have several automotive railheads in the Birmingham area. The intermodal network has also seen some cutbacks, albeit compensated for by several new facilities. As for traction, we revisit an era when Classes 20, 25 and 31 were commonplace, as well as the humble and often overlooked Class 08 shunter. Illustrated with over 160 carefully chosen photographs, many of which are previously unpublished, this volume looks at the changing face of rail freight across the Midlands. It details the changes in traction, rolling stock and railway infrastructure over four decades.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, most of the current locomotives in use on the national network were becoming very tired and evermore unreliable. It was during this time that EWS took over the large bulk of freight operations in the UK, and they quickly realised that major changes were needed. In 1996, they ordered a whole fleet of 250 Class 66 locos, which followed on from the same basic design as the earlier Class 59, privately owned, locos used for the Mendip aggregates traffic. The Class 66 was intended for more general use, rather than being used for just one specific purpose though. They have now been in service for over 20 years and have proved very reliable and capable locos. This volume covers the Class 66/0s from their early days up to the present at various locations around the UK.

The automotive industry is transforming to a greater degree that has occurred since Henry Ford introduced mass production of the automobile with the Model T in 1913. Advances in computing, data processing, and artificial intelligence (deep learning in particular) are driving the development of new levels of automation that will impact all aspects of our lives including our vehicles. What are Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs)? What are the underlying technologies that need to mature and converge for them to be widely deployed? Fundamentals of Connected and Automated Vehicles is written to answer these questions, educating the reader with the information required to make informed predictions of how and when CAVs will impact their lives. Topics covered include: History of Connected and Automated Vehicles, Localization, Connectivity, Sensor and Actuator Hardware, Computer Vision, Sensor Fusion, Path Planning and Motion Control, Verification and Validation, and Outlook for future of CAVs.