In the early 1930s the tramcar in Blackpool was at a crossroads; the system needed investment in both new track and new trams whilst there was a serious threat that the 'town' routes - as elsewhere in Britain as operators faced the same challenges - might have been converted to bus operation. The appointment of Walter Luff as the new general manager was, however, to prove a turning point. Working closely with English Electric, based in nearby Preston, Luff developed a series of streamlined trams - both single-deck and double-deck - that were to revolutionise the town's tramway. By the end of 1930s, the corporation had acquired more than 100 new trams - the majority built by English Electric but with 20 coming from Brush - that ensured the survival not only of the key route along the Promenade to Fleetwood but also of the bulk of the 'town' routes. Over the next 70 years these trams were to form the cornerstone of the Blackpool system. Almost from the start, when a number were modified to cater for the changed requirements during the Second World War, many of the trams were rebuilt - into the power cars that worked with the trailers, for example, or the one-man operated cars of the early 1970s - that extended their lives and saw them outlast more modern designs. It was only with the modernisation of the Blackpool system in the first decade of the 20th century that, finally, they became largely obsolete but still, as part of the heritage fleet, they remain very much part of the contemporary Blackpool scene. This book examines the history of Blackpool's streamlined trams of the 1930s from development through to preservation.

Chris has tried to show the tractors carrying out a wide range of tasks. His concise text explains what is going on in the pictures. He includes some basic technical specifications such as power outputs so that the reader can roughly compare different tractors and have an idea of the size and capability of each. The 41 tractors chosen come from 25 marques. Many of the tractor manufacturers have parent companies, some of which own a number of tractor makers. Chris gives these details as well as the country of assembly and/or manufacture. Tractor enthusiasts will enjoy this book, but it is particularly designed to be an introduction for visitors to rural shows, farm parks and country bookshops.

Die Chance, dass Sie Ihren VW Golf genau so ein zweites Mal auf der Strasse sehen, ist gering. Die Explosion der Variantenvielfalt, getrieben durch Verbraucher, die auf ihre Individualitat bestehen, ist voll im Gange. Diese dritte Revolution nach Henry Ford und Toyota betrifft nicht ausschliesslich die Hersteller, sondern die gesamte Wertschopfungskette. Die Autoren zeigen, dass die Losung des Konflikts von Effizienz und Vielfalt bereits in der Entwicklung neuer Fahrzeuge zu suchen ist. Eine Antwort auf diese Herausforderung sind modulare Konzepte, die vollig neue Geschaftsmodelle eroffnen. Pflichtlekture - nicht nur fur Automobilmanager."

Harry Ferguson was a remarkable inventor and a man of vision. Aside from his innovations in mechanized agriculture he designed a four-wheel drive system for road cars and created inspired design solutions to a wealth of engineering problems. Yet he is best remembered for the small, unobtrusive gray tractor that bears his name. Launched in the late 1940s, it rendered its competitors obsolete and provided farmers with a tool that could meet almost all their requirements. The book starts with Harry Ferguson]s early work on tractors and his development of the system, and his collaboration with Ford in the USA on the development of the Ford 9N tractor. Then comes an in-depth study of the TE20. Later chapters cover the TVO- and diesel-powered versions, American- and French-built Fergusons, industrial models, special-purpose variants, and conversions including four-wheel-drive and high-clearance models. There is an extensive study of the extraordinary range of implements available, with information also on tractor options and accessories.

Although ancient farmers used draft animals for plowing, the heavy work of harvesting fell to human hands, using sickle and scythe. Change came in the mid-19th century when Cyrus Hall McCormick built the mechanical harvester. Though the McCormicks used their wealth to establish art collections and universities, battle disease, and develop birth control, members of the family faced constant scrutiny and scandal. This book recounts their story as well as the history of the International Harvester Company (IHC-a merger of the McCormick and Deering companies and the world's leader in agricultural machinery in the 1900s.

From 1915 through the early 1920s, American auto racing experienced rapid and exciting change. Competition by European vehicles forced American car manufacturers to incorporate new features, resulting in legendary engineering triumphs (and, essentially, works of art). Some of the greatest drivers in racing history were active during this time-Ralph DePalma, Dario Resta, Eddie Rickenbacker, the Chevrolet brothers, Jimmy Murphy. This history recalls the era's cigar-shaped speedway specials and monumental board tracks, the heavy-footed drivers, fearless mechanics, gifted engineers and enthusiastic backers.

AEC, Bristol, Crossley, Daimler, Dennis, Leyland and others were all manufacturers of passenger vehicle chassis which could be seen throughout the country in the years following the end of World War Two. They produced a wide range of double deck and single deck buses and coaches, bodied by a considerable number of body builders. With the exception of Dennis, all those chassis makers have now disappeared, along with nearly all the body builders. In addition, most operators of this variety of vehicles are no longer in existence, being primarily absorbed into larger operations. This book can only give a small indication of the major role Steve and his Quantock Heritage fleet have played in preserving not only part of the engineering history of this country, but its effect also on social history. In practical terms he has displayed this by enabling the general public to see, enjoy, and also use vehicles of a bygone era.

"Lands of Lost Borders carried me up into a state of openness and excitement I haven't felt for years. It's a modern classic."-Pico Iyer A brilliant, fierce writer, and winner of the 2019 RBC Taylor Prize, makes her debut with this enthralling travelogue and memoir of her journey by bicycle along the Silk Road-an illuminating and thought-provoking fusion of The Places in Between, Lab Girl, and Wild that dares us to challenge the limits we place on ourselves and the natural world. As a teenager, Kate Harris realized that the career she craved-to be an explorer, equal parts swashbuckler and metaphysician-had gone extinct. From what she could tell of the world from small-town Ontario, the likes of Marco Polo and Magellan had mapped the whole earth; there was nothing left to be discovered. Looking beyond this planet, she decided to become a scientist and go to Mars. In between studying at Oxford and MIT, Harris set off by bicycle down the fabled Silk Road with her childhood friend Mel. Pedaling mile upon mile in some of the remotest places on earth, she realized that an explorer, in any day and age, is the kind of person who refuses to live between the lines. Forget charting maps, naming peaks: what she yearned for was the feeling of soaring completely out of bounds. The farther she traveled, the closer she came to a world as wild as she felt within. Lands of Lost Borders, winner of the 2018 Banff Adventure Travel Award and a 2018 Nautilus Award, is the chronicle of Harris's odyssey and an exploration of the importance of breaking the boundaries we set ourselves; an examination of the stories borders tell, and the restrictions they place on nature and humanity; and a meditation on the existential need to explore-the essential longing to discover what in the universe we are doing here. Like Rebecca Solnit and Pico Iyer, Kate Harris offers a travel account at once exuberant and reflective, wry and rapturous. Lands of Lost Borders explores the nature of limits and the wildness of the self that can never fully be mapped. Weaving adventure and philosophy with the history of science and exploration, Lands of Lost Borders celebrates our connection as humans to the natural world, and ultimately to each other-a belonging that transcends any fences or stories that may divide us.

Lodekkas first appeared in service during a period when the passenger-transport industry was enjoying a peak in popularity. Passenger numbers were among their highest ever in the provinces, and most members of society relied on public transport for journeys to and from work or school, or for leisure activities. The Lodekka was supplied only to state-owned transport operators, as a result of sales restrictions imposed on the manufacturer, yet some 5,217 examples were built between 1949 and 1968, making it one of the most familiar British double-deck bus types throughout the 1950s, '60s and '70s. This book, which features a huge variety of photographs, including a number of official views which will be of great interest to modellers and enthusiasts alike, recalls a period when Bristol Lodekkas not only formed the mainstay of many provincial bus fleets but also one in which company liveries were closely associated with specific areas of the country. It gives a colourful look at the life and times of the Bristol Lodekka, portraying it in different liveries and locations as it worked the country with a variety of operators.

It seems impossible to think that a company who imported their first passenger vehicle into Britain in 1972 would, less than twenty years later, take over what was once Britain's largest passenger and commercial vehicle manufacturer. It is a testament to the quality of Volvo's products that they are one of the most popular chassis on the road today. Covering Volvo from their entry into the UK market, this book gives an overview of all the models to enter the UK market. With a brief description of each chassis type and 180 photographs, all in colour and with informative captions, it showcases Volvo's products in their operating heyday.

For decades the Earls Court Motor Show was the annual pilgrimage for car idolaters, dreamers and even the odd buyer. Millions jostled to see the latest models, gadgets, showgirls, celebrities and leave with armfuls of brochures. As the Earls Court exhibition centre is demolished in 2016 Russell Hayes returns to the original excitement of the show with this colourful history, including archive images of British, European and American cars at their finest, the landmark models, the heroic failures and the one-offs. Grab a ticket, muscle into the crowd and join Russell as he relives the glory days of the Earls Court Motor Show in this nostalgic celebration. Hang on! Isn't that Sid James?

Mainstay of London Buses Ltd's fleet into the 1990s, London's MCW Metrobus fleet of M class remained almost completely intact by the time of privatisation in the autumn of 1994. In the hands of seven new companies thereafter, there followed multiple new liveries and new identities, but it wasn't until the end of the decade, when this account takes up their story, that withdrawals commenced in the face of new low-floor double-deck buses. Even then, the venerable M class remained a solid option for second-hand purchases, allowing examples to remain into service past their twentieth birthdays. Between 1998 and 2004 the M fleets of Arriva London North and South, First Capital and Centrewest, London General, London United, Metroline and Metroline London Northern and a host of smaller London contractors dwindled until the last examples, lingering on school routes for Leaside Travel, signed off at the beginning of 2006.

As head of Pierce-Arrow in its formative years, Colonel Charles Clifton played a significant role in the development of a venerated automobile manufacturer. Roundly respected in his time, Clifton was a force in automobile trade associations for nearly a quarter century but slipped into undeserved obscurity after his death in 1928. This biography covers Charles Clifton's role in the earliest conflicts and achievements of the American automobile industry and the growth of the Pierce-Arrow company, using industry publications and periodicals of the time as well as recollections of his associates and contemporaries. It details his wider importance in shaping the industry itself, especially his role in the controversies surrounding the Selden patent and the patent cross-licensing agreement between auto manufacturers. The impact of World War I on the industry and Clifton's activities responding to the vast operational changes the war brought about conclude the book.