{"title":"David Kitching","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"chinese-steam-book-david-kitching-9781445676203","title":"Chinese Steam","description":"China was the last bastion of the steam railway, with construction of new steam locomotives for industrial use continuing up to the end of 1999. Even now a few locomotives struggle on at collieries and other industrial premises, but this is likely to end very soon as boiler overhauls are almost impossible to obtain at an economical price.  As the steam era was drawing to a close in China, steam enthusiasts visited the remaining operational locations in an increasingly desperate attempt to record what was happening before it was too late. The Chinese, while often perplexed at the interest expressed by the foreign enthusiasts, were generally welcoming and allowed access to industrial premises and linesides across the vast country. The locations ranged from the far western deserts of Xinjiang to the industrial heartlands of Manchuria with excursions into central China and the Mongolian Autonomous Region. Steelworks and collieries were prominent along with the occasional narrow gauge survivors.  This book showcases the photographs obtained by one enthusiast over ten visits to China between 1992 and 2017.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49547374723345,"sku":"GOR010290576","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1445676206.jpg?v=1760522332"},{"product_id":"british-bricks-book-david-kitching-9781445659121","title":"British Bricks","description":"Bricks are all around us, yet we seldom stop to look at them. There is an almost infinite range of bricks and, likewise, brick colours. Years ago every small district had its own brickworks to meet local demand, and larger businesses began to develop alongside better transport links that allowed them to supply regionally. Many of these local works left a record of their existence in the form of their name, pressed into the frog of the bricks they made - in some cases, the only sign that they ever existed.This book uses the named examples to look at the development and history of brickworks in Britain and the wide range of bricks that they made. From the single kiln in a field to the massive continuous kilns and chimneys that grew in areas where the right clays were available, millions of bricks were produced to feed the demands of housing, transport and industry. Specialist requirements for bricks to resist high temperatures were met by using fireclay and silica rock for refractory bricks. Today there are far fewer producers, but their output can be enormous and modern works continue to supply the demand for the humble brick.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49733424513297,"sku":"NGR9781445659121","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50331096088849,"sku":"GOR008560203","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53150475288849,"sku":"GOR014781334","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53507067609361,"sku":"GOR010720781","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1445659123.jpg?v=1777714559"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-david-kitching.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}