{"title":"Ken Gibbs","description":"\u003cp\u003eDelve into the world of Ken Gibbs, a master of suspense and thrilling mysteries. Perfect for fans of Harlan Coben and Lee Child, Gibbs's books will keep you on the edge of your seat.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"swindon-works-apprentice-in-steam-book-ken-gibbs-9780860933809","title":"Swindon Works - Apprentice In Steam","description":"Renowned throughout the world as a centre for engineering excellence, the Swindon Works of the former Great Western Railway hold a special place in the affections of rail enthusiasts. Former Swindon apprentice Ken Gibbs remembers the sights, sounds, smells and work from the days of Great Western steam at this magnificent institution. This book recalls with fondness and nostalgia a period that was really the beginning of the end of steam and the start of a new era. Ken Gibbs' family has long had an association with the Great Western. He started his apprenticeship at Swindon Works in 1944.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49534508106001,"sku":"GOR003263411","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51544507875601,"sku":"GOR003101026","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0860933806.jpg?v=1751043954"},{"product_id":"carriage-and-wagon-works-of-the-gwr-at-swindon-book-ken-gibbs-9780750964197","title":"The Carriage and Wagon Works of the GWR at Swindon","description":"The Great Western Railway at Swindon, with its highly skilled craftsmen, is world-famous. It has been written about and filmed countless times, and many of its old steam locomotives have been saved from the scrapyards and lovingly rebuilt to run again on heritage lines. But despite such affection, its skill in the construction and repair of the carriages and wagons has often been sadly overlooked. Rolling stock is essential for the operation of any railway and no doubt played a key role in the success of the GWR, transporting people and goods of all kinds across its extensive network. Retired GWR railwayman Ken Gibbs seeks to redress the balance and reveal for the first time exactly ‘how they did it’ – showcasing the history and work of the Carriage and Wagon Works at Swindon.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49601502707985,"sku":"GOR009278593","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50786168504593,"sku":"GOR008813852","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0750964197.jpg?v=1750881478"},{"product_id":"swindon-works-apprentice-in-steam-book-ken-gibbs-9781445604510","title":"Swindon Works Apprentice in Steam","description":"Renowned throughout the world as a centre for engineering excellence, the Swindon Works of the former Great Western Railway hold a special place in the affections of rail enthusiasts. Former Swindon apprentice Ken Gibbs remembers the sights, sounds, smells and work from the days of Great Western steam at this magnificent institution. This book recalls with fondness and nostalgia a period that was really the beginning of the end of steam and the start of a new era. Ken Gibbs' family has long had an association with the Great Western. He started his apprenticeship at Swindon Works in 1944.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49634618343697,"sku":"GOR013563744","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49634784182545,"sku":"GOR009390479","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50310159040785,"sku":"GOR013921771","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1445604515.jpg?v=1760522303"},{"product_id":"steam-locomotive-book-ken-gibbs-9781445609188","title":"The Steam Locomotive","description":"Books on railway history invariably start with the Stephenson's or with Richard Trevithick's locomotive of 1804., but the story begins much earlier with the development of steam engines for pumping out deep mines. Ken Gibbs, a retired engineer who served his apprenticeship in the Swindon Works of British Railways, takes a more practical approach to railway history, using its engineering developments to tell the story of the railways. From the first ideas to the development of better metals, manufacturing, technology in wheel casting, improved boilers and valve gears, his book is a refreshingly different approach to the plethora of picture books showing branch lines in days past. Ken's engineering background and love of railway technology gives us a book suited to the layman and engineer alike, explaining how each development made the railways better, faster or safer. It took over 150 years to develop the steam locomotive from a basic boiler on wheels weighing a couple of tons to the magnificent express passenger and freight locomotives weighing in excess of 100 tons and capable of speeds over 120mph.    Read how the steam locomotive developed from those early days to the last days of steam.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49728626098449,"sku":"CIN1445609185G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49733122162961,"sku":"NGR9781445609188","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49972065337617,"sku":"GOR006440426","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52153534021905,"sku":"GOR009442313","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53269966717201,"sku":"GOR011258306","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1445609185.jpg?v=1761645570"},{"product_id":"steam-rail-motors-of-the-great-western-railway-book-ken-gibbs-9780750961035","title":"The Steam Rail Motors of the Great Western Railway","description":"Self-propelled carriages were a major innovation at the beginning of the twentieth century, and the GWR was quick to develop a large number of steam motor cars to link farms and scattered villages across the South West to the new branch lines. Their steam motor cars ran from 1903 to 1935, stopping during the war, and were so effective at making rural areas accessible they became victims of their own success. Wagons brought in to meet the high demand proved too heavy for the carriages and they struggled on hills. Soon the steam rail motor services were in decline. After its cancellation all ninety-nine steam carriages were eventually scrapped. Engineer Ken Gibbs reveals the unique GWR carriages, a window into early twentieth-century transport, and the modern replica he helped build, now the only way of viewing these charming historic vehicles.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49889399963921,"sku":"GOR011807258","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":50697279078673,"sku":"NGR9780750961035","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0750961031.jpg?v=1750848839"},{"product_id":"great-western-railway-book-ken-gibbs-9781445604503","title":"The Great Western Railway","description":"The Great Western Railway (GWR) was founded in 1833 and would connect London to the West. It was engineered by the famous Isambard Kingdom Brunel and was known to many as 'God's Wonderful Railway'. Here is the story of how it grew. Ken Gibbs traces the GWR's history from the very beginning. He describes the canals that existed in the approximate area eventually covered by the Great Western Railway, and their fate as the railway developed. He then examines the tramroads and plateways that existed in the area fed by the canals, the mining, quarrying, iron working, and commercial interests as the Industrial Revolution spread, accompanied by the Great Western Railway. The final section looks at the only real opposition to the Great Western: the existing and new railway companies that became targets for takeover as the Great Western expanded its hold and its territory. With Nationalisation in 1947, the GWR's independence ended. All the struggles with canals, plateways, tramroads and other railway companies were now confined to the history books and the memories of the reducing numbers who knew the Great Western Railway as it was at the height of the steam years.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50011883077905,"sku":"GOR006440430","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1445604507.jpg?v=1760521986"},{"product_id":"steam-workshops-of-the-great-western-railway-book-ken-gibbs-9780750959124","title":"The Steam Workshops of the Great Western Railway","description":"As the Great Western Railway grew, it absorbed a huge number of railway companies, the astonishing figure of 353. Many had their own workshops, depots and manufacturing, often assembling their own locomotives to the design of other companies. All these, along with the various designs, became the responsibility of the Great Western on takeover, and followed its standardisation of components where it could be done. Retired GWR railwayman Ken Gibb tells the story of the growth and expansion of the steam workshops, all now Great Western property, which thrived until the end of the steam era.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50899317948689,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50899319456017,"sku":"GOR009429947","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51782745260305,"sku":"NGR9780750959124","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51828552990993,"sku":"GOR014415471","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0750959126.jpg?v=1766657239"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-ken-gibbs.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}