{"title":"Michael Hitchen","description":"\u003cp\u003eDelve into the thrilling world of Michael Hitchen, where gripping narratives and suspenseful plots await. Perfect for fans of fast-paced mysteries and crime fiction, these books promise intrigue on every page.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"mod-railways-book-michael-hitchen-9781445697987","title":"MOD Railways","description":"Across the country at numerous locations the government operated another railway, hidden from the public, behind high wire fences. These were the railways serving the Ministry of Defence. A fascinating collection of sites, with differing gauges, origins and functions.  At its peak in the 1950 and 1960s the nation was covered with rail-served military locations, varying from a siding right up to huge storage locations, with self-contained internal networks. Each military service had its individual rail command, operating independently, with different locos types and even gauges. Recent history has seen these brought together, amalgamated as the Defence Rail Organisation. Unlike many industrial rail systems, a feature of military rail sites was the high standard of maintenance, not only of the rolling stock, but of the surrounding environment, well kept track formations were a usual order.  Part of the fascination of these railways was the mystery that naturally surrounded their operation, use and stock. Some locations remain in use, but the large majority have been taken out of use, mainly as units have closed down, but in some case the abandonment of rail in favour of internal road transport.  This book looks at rolling stock used at a number of locations, both standard and narrow gauge, and where appropriate the locations served by these largely unknown systems.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49739614060817,"sku":"NGR9781445697987","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50941248045329,"sku":"GOR012045248","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53053019980049,"sku":"GOR014717608","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/144569798X.jpg?v=1777714371"},{"product_id":"hants-dorset-a-national-bus-company-book-michael-hitchen-9781398104563","title":"Hants \u0026 Dorset: A National Bus Company","description":"As part of the National Bus Company, Hants \u0026amp; Dorset Motor Service once served a large diverse area, stretching from the remote chalk uplands of North Hampshire, across Salisbury Plain through rural East Dorset to the coastal resorts of Swanage, Poole and Bournemouth, and the heavily populated areas of Southampton and Winchester. Its Poppy Red buses were a common sight on the roads of central southern England through the 1970s and early 1980s.  In 1972 with the introduction of its corporate image, the National Bus Company merged the Hants \u0026amp; Dorset and Wilts \u0026amp; Dorset fleets. This created one identity, with the Hants \u0026amp; Dorset name retained along with the red livery from Wilts \u0026amp; Dorset. It was the one of the most interesting NBC fleets, with vehicles in their former liveries, numerous non-standard coaches, associations with Gosport \u0026amp; Fareham (Provincial) and variety from the former King Alfred Motor Services of Winchester. An early division of an NBC company, 1983 saw the company separated into four operating units – Hampshire Bus, Wilts \u0026amp; Dorset, Provincial and Shamrock and Rambler.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49745181606161,"sku":"NGR9781398104563","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53567070109969,"sku":"GOR014964689","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1398104566.jpg?v=1777714834"},{"product_id":"national-bus-company-service-vehicles-1972-1986-another-look-book-michael-hitchen-9781398115033","title":"National Bus Company Service Vehicles 1972-1986: Another Look","description":"The erstwhile National Bus Company was the largest bus company in the world and like any large organisation, it required auxiliary vehicles to support its core activities.Formed of around thirty-six local constituent companies and the 'NATIONAL' Central Activities Group, each company had its own Service Vehicle fleet to support its operations, varying from Heavy Vehicle Recovery to Driver Training and every other facet to keep the fleet operational. Well photographed and documented were the former PSV conversions, Driver trainers, Tree loppers or Towing buses, as these were based on a bus and attracted the attention of photographers and enthusiasts. In an era when film was precious, the commercial vehicles owned by the NBC were often ignored, making photographs very rare.In this second volume we look a more examples used by the NBC between 1972 and its demise in 1986.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49745471144209,"sku":"NGR9781398115033","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51372255674641,"sku":"GOR014243965","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1398115037.jpg?v=1764064918"},{"product_id":"crosville-a-national-bus-company-book-michael-hitchen-9781445692715","title":"Crosville: A National Bus Company","description":"In the 1970s the state-owned National Bus Company operated services across England and Wales, and one of the largest of its thirty-six constituent bus companies was the huge Crosville Motor Services. Though Crosville enjoyed similarities to other former BET companies within the NBC, initially with its fleet of Bristol\/ECW buses and coaches, many other facets of this company made it interesting. It had a vast operating area, growing in the corporate era of the early 1970s to stretch from the hills above Macclesfield in Cheshire to the industrial area of Biddulph in Staffordshire, rural Shropshire at Oswestry, through the city streets of Liverpool, across all of North Wales and right down through remote mid-Wales to the far-off West Wales towns of New Quay, Newcastle Emlyn and Lampeter.  From its headquarters in Chester, Crosville operated truly diverse services, ranging from rural market day-only routes and open-top holiday services to intense inter-urban services, even on dedicated busways, unique at the time. Here, Michael Hitchen looks back to a time full of variety and interest, with a wealth of fascinating and often previously unpublished photographs on show.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49786666909969,"sku":"NGR9781445692715","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53074779701521,"sku":"GOR010855962","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53567070077201,"sku":"GOR014964687","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1445692716.jpg?v=1777714364"},{"product_id":"national-bus-company-service-vehicles-1972-1986-book-michael-hitchen-9781445679051","title":"National Bus Company Service Vehicles 1972-1986","description":"Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s the state-owned National Bus Company, with its familiar corporate livery, was a common sight across much of England and Wales. The huge variety of the various buses is well documented, but alongside there was a much less well known facet of operations - that of the humble service vehicle. Often in the same corporate livery, this part of the fleet contained the 'oddments', such as towing and recovery vehicles, training vehicles, tree cutting vehicles and publicity buses often converted from ex-PSVs, as well as the elusive and often ignored lorries and vans.The National Bus Company was broken up over thirty years ago, making photographs and details of these vehicles increasingly hard to find. The author has spent forty years researching the NBC service vehicle fleet and presents a selection of photographs to give the reader an overview of a little known but never the less fascinating subject.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49940300431633,"sku":"GOR011482666","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51268281762065,"sku":"GOR010698474","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1445679051.jpg?v=1760522447"},{"product_id":"crewe-in-the-days-of-br-blue-book-michael-hitchen-9781445692753","title":"Crewe in the Days of BR Blue","description":"Crewe needs little introduction. Even in a country built on railways, with many other railway centres, Crewe is a railway town that is unequalled: five major routes, several motive power depots, an extensive station, large marshalling yards and at one time the largest locomotive works in the world. The British Rail corporate era was the end of a golden age for the enthusiast; around Crewe the railway remained much as it had been in steam days, the station layout was unmodernised, two large motive power depots were in full use and the still vast locomotive works built and repaired locomotives in large numbers.  This was a fascinating time of loco-hauled trains, traction exchange, parcels and mail services, freight and trip workings, new and ex-works locomotives and an almost continuous flow of trains. Only after much of this had disappeared did we realise what had gone. Though blue was the order of the day, it was far from dull. With an array of previously unpublished photos, this book looks back to a time when a trip to Crewe never failed to deliver!","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51391203868945,"sku":"NGR9781445692753","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51413794423057,"sku":"GOR010282903","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51795693306129,"sku":"GOR014405646","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1445692759.jpg?v=1777714483"},{"product_id":"national-bus-company-19721986-book-michael-hitchen-9781398118850","title":"National Bus Company: 19721986","description":"Previously unpublished images celebrating this fascinating period in the history of the National Bus Company (NBC).","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51467432853777,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51467433083153,"sku":"GOR014292020","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51533588857105,"sku":"NGR9781398118850","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53335215407377,"sku":"GOR014855729","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1398118850.jpg?v=1751177190"},{"product_id":"crewe-the-br-blue-years-book-michael-hitchen-9781398121478","title":"Crewe: The BR Blue Years","description":"Crewe has long been a destination for the rail enthusiast keen to see lots of interest and continuous operation. In the era when Rail Blue dominated, it drew huge numbers with the guarantee of loco-hauled trains, close-ups of the large diesel depot and the potential to explore beyond the station to see heavy freight activity. If you were to visit on the occasion of a works open day, then the bonus of a look inside the extensive workshop facility where a large number of locomotives were under repair or construction could also be enjoyed.   Michael Hitchen presents a vibrant selection of images featuring the platform ends at the station, visits to the depots and a trip around the world-famous locomotive workshops, as well as plenty of lineside scenes now consigned to history.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51631801336081,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51631801729297,"sku":"NGR9781398121478","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1398121479.jpg?v=1778147097"},{"product_id":"national-bus-company-dual-purpose-vehicles-book-michael-hitchen-9781445686370","title":"National Bus Company Dual Purpose Vehicles","description":"After the 1969 nationalization, bus and coach companies had generally continued with their traditional liveries and, in 1971, it was decided the time had come to apply a corporate image to state-owned bus operations. The livery scheme would be a simplification of the colors previously used. The livery of a bus would be one color all over, later relieved by a central 3-inch white line, and vehicles designated as dual purpose or Local Coach would use the base color on the lower half and white above. The dual purpose vehicle could be a bus fitted with comfortable seats, an older coach no longer deemed suitable for full coach duties, or a new coach fitted with bus-style doors. With a wealth of previously unpublished images, Michael Hitchen looks at this interesting part of the NBC fleet as it journeyed between towns and cities across England and Wales, at a time when there was still plenty of variety and exceptions to the rule.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51848073183505,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51848073281809,"sku":"GOR011594881","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781445686370.jpg?v=1753439100"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-michael-hitchen.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}