L.T.C. Rolt's fame was born from his unique ability to produce works of literature from subject matter seemingly ill suited to such treatment - engineering, canals, railways, steam engines, agricultural machinery, vintage cars - such as in his classic biographies of Brunel, Telford, Trevithick and the Stephensons, and in his superbly written volumes of autobiography. In the first volume of Rolt's stunning autobiography, Landscape with Machines, the focus was on his younger days, from childhood to trainee engineer, and his ambition to explore the inland waterways of England in his converted narrow boat Cressy. Landscape with Canals, the second volume, described Rolt's meanderings through those water-lanes of England and Wales, combining his love for the English countryside with his life-long fascination with machines. In this book, written during the last years of his life, Rolt continues his intriguing and often diverse life story. He gives an account of the early days of the Talyllyn Railway Company and Preservation Society, describes his involvement in vintage and veteran car rallies, and vividly recreates his travels on the Tralee-Dingle Light Railway in remote West Kerry. Intermingled with these are his struggles to become a writer of repute. This final volume, published posthumously, completes a trilogy that is a fitting tribute to the man who, through his appreciation of the 'aesthetics of technology', could be said to have given a literary shape to the Industrial Revolution.

This book follows the history and development of Brian Harris Transport Limited, the original red, green, and yellow liveried lorries that made the trek between Devon and Scotland at regular intervals for over fifty years. In 1946, Brian's father, Jerry, and Sam Miners formed Harris & Miners; with their fleet of two Ford trucks and one Commertipper, these two men took on the ultimate haulage challenge of the time: road vs. train. The outcome was that Harris & Miners were offered a contract to haul 'Devon Grate' Candy fire surrounds to Glasgow in 1947. Young Brian Harris began driving for his father in an Albion Chieftain in 1960. When Jerry Harris passed, Brian bought out the Miners family and the company became Brian Harris Transport Limited. With his fleet of ERF lorries fitted with Gardner engines, Brian set about running the company in a way only understood by him. Over the course of its existence, the company utilized a vast quantity of magnificent machines, including the first ERF 'A' series in that area, the Leyland Roadtrain and one Leyland DAF. Brian Harris died in April 2012 and his funeral was attended by over 600 people from all over the UK. This new edition gives an update to the events that have taken place since the second edition was published in 2007, including the eulogy given by the author at the funeral, as well as 82 previously unpublished photographs. [Subject: Transportation]

It was 1972. It was summer - and the living was easy! Arthur Jackson has a good job, no ties and no responsibilities, but it is not enough - he wants adventure and he wants to see the world!Based on the author's real life experiences and illustrated with photographs from the time, Fifty Shades of Tarmac tells the fictional story of how a naive young British truck driver obtains his first job driving a Mack on the continent of Europe. His first trip with all its pitfalls and novel experiences takes him from Rotterdam to Bremerhaven via Moutiers and Salzburg and then back to Rotterdam. It is told with humour, introducing a number of colourful characters, and providing a personal and unusual insight into the life of a truck driver in the 70s at a time when Europe still had frontier posts and custom restrictions.It will be of interest to truck drivers, Mack fans and other transport enthusiasts and those who simply want to learn more about the social history of Europe in the 1970s.

Many would argue that the 1980s were a better time for truck drivers than nowadays: there were no cell phones, there was less traffic on the road, CB radio was all the rage, and stickers were the simple heart of truck customizing. However, the transport industry is constantly evolving and companies must adapt their vehicles to keep pace with the developments. As a result, vehicle design and liveries regularly change. Many of the companies around in the 1980s have expired and been forgotten. Most of the trucks from that time are long gone to the great scrapyard in the sky! David Wakefield has been working in the transport industry for over 30 years and has been taking photographs of trucks since the early 1980s. He has amassed thousands of high-quality images, producing one of the most comprehensive photographic collections of the time, but many of his photographs have never been previously published. In this vivid compilation, Nick Ireland has collated 300 of David's images from the 1980s in order to preserve them and make them publicly available for the first time. The book features trucks from all over the world, and it is a must-have for current and former truckers who will enjoy being reminded of 'the good old days, ' as well as anyone else with an interest in transport history.

Patrick Dyer's eighth book in the 'at work' series takes the reader on a journey with ERF, England's last independent truck manufacturer, between the years 1975 and 1993 with the B, C, CP and E-series trucks that the Sandbach based company produced in the face of overwhelming competition from foreign manufacturers.Apart from the renowned economy, reliability and longevity of the products, the B, C, CP and E-series truck ranges were all linked by the remarkable SP cab, which combined a steel cage with bolt on SMC panels. The system was so revolutionary that ERF patented it. The low cost of design and manufacture allowed it to update and improve its cabs with each series.ERF B, C, CP & E-series at Work draws on over 200 fine photographs from the manufacturer and trucking enthusiasts, which combine with the informative text to tell the remarkable story of these ERF products through some of the most turbulent years of the company's existence.

ON THE ROAD: GROWING UP IN EIGHT JOURNEYS - MY EARLY YEARS is a new form of autobiography, in which TOP GEAR presenter Richard Hammond tells the story of his early life through a series of significant driving episodes. He's a child in the back seat of Dad's car on the way to the seaside in Weston-Super-Mare. He's on his first bike, a red one, in Solihull, then on his first motorcycle, a Honda MTX50. He's at the wheel of his first car (and in the back with his first girlfriend). He is driving a furniture delivery van as part of his first job in and around Ripon. Now he is showing off with a friend, risking everything. ON THE ROAD is an emotional road map in which each chapter has its own registration number, and its own distinctive interior. Most importantly, each chapter sets off and arrives. ON THE ROAD surges on to its destination, reversing or moving quickly through the gears, reliving the central episodes and conflicts of Richard's life. Every chapter is a stage in a longer journey. Although there are precious few road-rage monologues against four-wheel drivers and men in vests in white vans, Richard Hammond's readers will quickly recognise the funny self-deprecating and balanced ease that has made him one of Britain's best-loved writers and television presenters.

In 1986 professional writer Robert Hutchison became a passenger on a 10,000-mile trip through fourteen countries in a Scania 111. He was sampling the life of the long-haul trucker. The truckers' world was one of long days and nights on the road away from their families, hair-raising tales of accidents and the extreme danger created by murderous driving. He grew to understand why truckers put up with the life - not just for the money and the excitement, but also for their pride in coping whatever the circumstances and for camaraderie. There was, too, the beauty of mountains and lakesides and the strangeness of the desert. Robert's trip with Graham Davies of Whittle International took him through Cold-War Europe to Turkey and then through Iraq during the Iran - Iraq conflict with twenty-mile border queues and frequent police shakedowns. Finally they delivered their cargo of machinery and ovens for making plastic pipes to Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia before heading home after 31 days on the road. This journey was undertaken when the golden age of transport from Europe to the Gulf was coming to an end. Robert's accurate record, first published in 1987, is full of interest, drama and humour, telling the story of a remarkable breed of men. This is the first paperback edition.

In Volume One of The Nuffield Tractor Story, author Tony Clare took the story up to 1967, the era of the powerful 10/60 model. Now, in Volume Two, he continues with the inception, design and development of the Mini tractor. Tony shows the final development of the Nuffield mid-range tractors, the 4-65 and the 3-45, and their further evolution into the first of the re-badged Leyland Tractors, the 384 and the 344 models. With detailed research and fine photographs - many previously unpublished - this book goes on to cover the roller-coaster background story that was to unfold around this key part of the British tractor industry. The book deals with the later difficulties of the British Motor Corporation and the government-initiated merger with Leyland Vehicles to form the British Leyland group. Further development of the tractor range was to continue with the introduction of the '98' series engines, the introduction of safety cabs and the development of the 'Synchro' gearbox. Additional technical changes took place with the introduction of the 'Harvest Gold' range until the decision was made by British Leyland to dispose of the tractor business, one of the first privatisations by Margaret Thatcher's government in 1982. The influence of the poor national industrial situation and its affect on investment and the development of the tractor range are also dealt with in detail, as is the aftermath of the sale to a private purchaser who was to absorb the nationalised Leyland tractor range.

Coventry, home of the cycle industry, was also to become the birthplace of the motor industry when the Daimler Company became the first in Britain to mass produce cars in the late 1890s. Spearheaded by H.J. Lawson, Coventry soon became a hub of motoring activity, and by the early 1900s was teaming with small and large companies, testing cars, motor-bicycles and tricycles around the local streets and surrounding country lanes. Many of these companies had previously been established as cycle manufacturers, yet introduced engines to their cycle frames in various forms, as well as producing safer three- and four-wheeled experimental machines. Other companies were established solely as motor manufacturers, many were short-lived, but others would survive and prosper. This new-found industry soon attracted a new type of worker to Coventry, specialised in mechanical engineering. These men and their families came from all parts of the UK and beyond, and made new lives for themselves in the city. Coventry has been home to well in excess of 100 independent motor manufacturers, but in recent years the city has suffered greatly with the loss of huge companied like Jaguar and Peugeot. The legacy of many of these historic cars can, however, still be enjoyed through museums and private collections. This outstanding volume is illustrated with 200 archive photographs and ephemera from the collection held at Coventry Transport Museum, and is a valuable record of the motor companies and their machines, as well as the individuals who both founded and worked for these manufacturers.

Today pollution-free transport is high on the political agenda yet it is sometimes forgotten that electric vehicles ran on the streets of London from the early 1900s until 1962. This book tells the story of that period and describes both the vehicles themselves and the effect they had on the development of the suburbs. Local historian David Berguer has endeavoured to paint a picture of what life was like in the capital during this golden age, travelling and working on the trams and trolleybuses, and includes material based on newspaper reports, council and official minutes and oral histories from those involved. With many previously unpublished photographs and detail on the vehicles and routes themselves, there is even a chapter on the colourful pirate buses which competed against trams in the 1920s. Full of local interest and insights into daily life on north London trams and trolleybuses, this celebration of the glory days of electric street traction in the suburbs of North London is bound to capture the imagination of both transport and local historians alike.

Lanarkshire was once part of Scotland's industrial heartland but, away from the grime and smoke, there was the more picturesque and rural Clyde Valley. Before car ownership became a routine necessity rather than a luxury, the citizens of Lanarkshire relied heavily on public transport. Lanarkshire Buses covers the halcyon days (1950s-1970s) of public transport and its providers, both large and small. While Central SMT may hae been state-owned omnibus overlords, famous independent operators such as Baxter's, Hutchison's, Irvine's and Stoke's all played their part. Also included are companies who provided vital transport for miners, factory workers and schoolchildren. Carefully selected period photographs - many never previously published - capture the decades of double-deckers, vanished vehicle types, the survivors and the much-missed, as well as Lanarkshire locations, which should appeal to local history lovers and transport enthusiasts alike!

The emergence of the motor car transformed the twentieth century. This illustrated book examines the earliest history of the motor age, explaining the first attempts to develop a self-propelled road vehicle. Often these early pioneers employed strange and dangerous tactics in their quest for the motor car, but nonetheless by 1914 and the outbreak of the First World War, the broad outlines of the modern car were firmly in place. This book investigates the social history of the early motor age, and the love-hate relationship which developed between the motorist and the general public, as well as the politics that lay behind the liberation of motoring from the crippling legislation that existed at the time. Discussing the technical progressions in accessible language, Stuart Hylton considers the development of the cars and the impact of motor racing, as well as revealing many of the characters - both heroes and villains - who shaped the dawn of the motor age.

The book covers the history of municipal transport in Luton from the first horse-drawn buses and the town's electric trams, through to the sale of the undertaking in 1970 to United Counties, the bus company which dominated services in the rest of Bedfordshire. The book includes comprehensive information on the buses operated by LCT and the routes they served. Much of this detailed reference material for the enthusiast is contained in the appendices, allowing the bulk of the book to be devoted to the narrative history of the company. This will have a nostalgic appeal as a local interest title to all who have lived and worked in Luton in the LCT era and beyond that to many bus enthusiasts nationwide.

As trams and other light rapid transit systems make a comeback in many British cities this volume, the second of three, looks at all the tramways that have operated in the towns and cities of central England, Wales and Ireland, with lines as far apart as Skegness and Galway. From the 1870s to the 1950s, trams were a common sight in many British towns. From the pioneering Oystermouth Tramroad of 1807 to the up-to-the-minute systems of Nottingham and Dublin of 2004, this is a practical and useful tool revealing the tramway lines and networks of the British Isles. Volume One covers southern England (including Greater London and East Anglia) and the Channel Islands. Volume Two covers the counties of central England, and the whole of Wales and Ireland.

An exact reprint of the original factory document. Packed with useful technical information, repair guides and diagrams.

This is a photographic album covering three long-gone tramway systems, including many previously unpublished images of the towns and their public transport from as long ago as the 1890s. Historical backgrounds are provided, as well as route maps and stock lists of all trams operated.

From about 1910 to the mid-1920s, the cyclecar was a popular means of transport. Cheap, simply engineered, often crude, it was really just a motorcycle engine with a lightweight chassis and body (the cyclecar/microcar often being the product of cycle and motorcycle technology). It created, however, a new market of people who could now afford a motor car; it was no longer the perserve of the well to do. The simplicity of the cars meant that they could easily be built in small quantities and this led to a growth in the number of motor manufacturers. Some, who graduated to make motor cars, even survive to this day, including probably the most famous British marque - Morgan. It was an international phenomenon with makers in France, the UK, USA and Germany producing cyclecars, albeit for various time-spans. A few makers survived into the thirties, but most had disappeared long before, killed off by the introduction of real cars at low prices, such as the Austin 7 in Britain, the German Dixi and the baby Citroens in France. The concept was not to die, however, as the French retained an interest in cyclecars beyond this period and were producing small cars such a as the Mochet throughout the Second World War. Inside the pages of Minimal Motoring is a selective history of both the cyclecar and microcar, accompanied by period photographs, advertisements and artwork.

Motoring has been a feature of Surrey since the first London to Brighton Run came through the county in 1896 as a result of the repeal of the Locomotive Act. Surrey has enjoyed a wealth of variety of motor vehicles through the years. Here are images of big cars, little cars, townscapes, countryside and all sorts of period clothing to put it all in context. Surrey's pre-1929 vehicle registration records have all been destroyed but Bryan Goodman, a veteran and vintage car enthusiast all his adult life, has still been able to identify many of the owners, dates, addresses and specifications of the wide range of vehicles depicted. We can see the development of motoring from being a rich man's pursuit to that of 'motoring for the masses' as cars became smaller and cheaper within the period before the Second World War. Motoring Around Surrey will appeal to anyone interested in the history of the county, the social story of the motor car and the development of the automobile in the first decades of the twentieth century that saw commercial use of the horse become obsolete. Within the pages of Motoring Around Surrey are a selection of over 200 images showing a way of life the county will never see again.

Covering vehicles up to August 1986. Contains part numbers and illustrations.

The North Western Road Car Company is just a fading memory now, but for fifty years its red and cream buses served a broad sweep of England's North West from the Cheshire plain to the Pennines, and from Manchester's industrial mills to the threshold of the Potteries. It was known as a friendly company, familiar as a commuter bus in Stockport, or market-day transport in rural Peak Forest, or as a fast express coach to London. Eventually, through no fault of its own, the company found itself in the wrong place at the wrong time and was dismembered to satisfy bureaucrats poring over a map. The name was revived briefly in the 1980s but today the only buses with the proud name 'North Western' on their sides are to be found in museums. This book isn't a history of the company - it's a taste of the days when a North Western timetable could be found in every home in its territory, providing a lifeline and a cheerful wave. Paul Williams has collected a unique set of photos taken between the 1950s and the 1970s from the collection of the Museum of Transport, Greater Manchester, to show that North Western's memory is worth saving.

Britain's biggest county, Yorkshire, was particularly affected by the period of deregulation. Many independents have fallen by the wayside over the years but others have come to take their places. The blue buses of Samuel Ledgard of Leeds, the red ones of Connor & Graham in Hull and the delightful colours of Felix Motors of Hatfield may now be only memories, yet there are still plenty of other small businesses providing bus services within the boundaries of Yorkshire. These vary from Powells providing buses in industrial South Yorkshire to Reliance Motor Services running out from York to the rural north. John Law was born and bred in Yorkshire and has been photographing the bus scene there since the 1960s, often focusing on the independent firms that have flourished throughout the county over the years. In this book he has chosen the best of his collection, featuring a variety of photographs to illustrate the independent bus sector in the great county of Yorkshire.

This lavishly produced book provides unique photographic insight into the design and engineering of 15 landmark Ferrari road-car engines, documenting the `inside view' of the engines - each one a mechanical work of art. Photographer and journalist Francesco Reggiani has been granted a `back-stage pass' at various engineering specialists working on the restoration and servicing of Cavallino Rampante engines, taking photographs to document the restoration of some of the most beautiful Ferraris built by the Maranello factory. During these assignments, he became fascinated by the aesthetic appeal and engineering of the engines - the pulsating hearts of the cars which they power - as he photographed them both dismantled and assembled. Beginning with the first-generation Ferrari V12 engine fitted to the 195 Inter in 1949, and progressing through V6s, normally aspirated and turbocharged V8s and flat-12s to the latest 6.3-litre V12 fitted to the four-wheel-drive FF, the engines are documented in detail, with photographs of the components, assembled engines, and the cars in which they are fitted. A history and technical overview is provided for each engine and car featured, along with engine specifications, taking the reader on a journey through the history of Ferrari's engineering progress and technical innovation. Essential reading for car enthusiasts, particularly fans of the Ferrari marque, those interested in engineering, and anybody who appreciates the mechanical artistry of Ferrari's superbly engineered engines

On the eve of its centennial, Carol Dawson and Roger Allen Polson present almost 100 years of history and never-before-seen photographs that track the development of the Texas Highway Department. An agency originally created to get the farmer out of the mud, it has gone on to build the vast network of roads that now connects every corner of the state. When the Texas Highway Department (now called the Texas Department of Transportation or TxDOT) was created in 1917, there were only about 200,000 cars in Texas traveling on fewer than a thousand miles of paved roads. Today, after 100 years of the Texas Highway Department, the state boasts over 80,000 miles of paved, state-maintained roads that accommodate more than 25 million vehicles. Sure to interest history enthusiasts and casual readers alike, decades of progress and turmoil, development and disaster, and politics and corruption come together once more in these pages, which tell the remarkable story of an infrastructure 100 years in the making.

At 10.41am on a Tuesday morning in September, Mark Mason boards the number 1A bus at Land's End in Cornwall. Forty-six buses and eleven days later he disembarks at John O'Groats in Scotland. Move Along Please is his account of that gruelling 1100-mile odyssey; a paint-by-bus-numbers portrait of Britain. Along the way he visits everywhere from the village where the internet enters Britain to the urban sprawl of Birmingham (inspiration for the Two Towers in Lord of the Rings). He samples staples of the British diet from curry to the deep-fried Mars Bar, and uncovers countless fascinating facts about his native land - did you know, for example, that Crewe Alexandra football club is named after the wife of Edward VII, that Loch Ness could hold the water from all the lakes in England and Wales, or that there is a village which rejoices in the name Tongue End? Set against the backdrop of 2000 years of history and with a full supporting cast drawn from that most unusual of species, the Great British Public, this is the unmissable story of a man rediscovering his nation in all its idiosyncratic glory.