Bøker av Michael Hitchen

A nostalgic photographic look back at the railway hub of Crewe during the heyday of British Railways.

Previously unpublished images celebrating this fascinating period in the history of the National Bus Company (NBC).

A follow-up to the popular first volume, looking at service vehicles in the golden age of the National Bus Company.

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.

As part of the National Bus Company, Hants & 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 & Dorset and Wilts & Dorset fleets. This created one identity, with the Hants & Dorset name retained along with the red livery from Wilts & Dorset. It was the one of the most interesting NBC fleets, with vehicles in their former liveries, numerous non-standard coaches, associations with Gosport & 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 & Dorset, Provincial and Shamrock and Rambler.

With previously unpublished photographs documenting this famous and much-loved Crosville bus company.

A fascinating collection of previously unpublished images of railways around this famous hub of British transport.