Transport & Industry Archives - The History Press

Lost Cars of the 1960s

Cynthia Hamilton — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 04:01:21 +0000

Sixty diverse cars, sixty fascinating stories, sixty contrasting specifications, just one uniting factor: they’re all forgotten, neglected or misunderstood classics.
What is that car? Think you know it? Take another look; is it really what you remember? The 1960s may be regarded as the cradle of the classic car, but these are the tantalising ones that got away. Giles Chapman has assembled a line-up of contrasting automobiles here, which quickly became obscure. Each of the cars you’ll discover here tells an unusual story, and the endings are often surprising. In this turbulent decade, brave new engine technology was championed and then rejected, design trends suddenly exploded, and car-buyers became unpredictable. The cars in this book sometimes suffered as a result – although some of them were actually just plain odd! Lost Cars of the 1960s is the final part of a trilogy that includes Lost Cars of the 1940s and ’50s and Lost Cars of the 1970s, recording the intriguing sideshows of motoring history from around the world.

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Whitney Straight

Thu, 28 Aug 2025 04:01:55 +0000

Whitney Straight made his own way in life. Born in New York with a silver spoon in his mouth, he would earn his living in the board rooms of some of Britain’s greatest companies. He dropped out of Cambridge to become an outstanding racing driver, and run a team of Maseratis across Europe and Africa. A qualified pilot at 17, he revolutionised aircraft design for the enthusiast, and his extraordinary war saw him rise from Pilot Officer to Air Commodore. He survived the invasion of Norway, a crash-landing in occupied France and a year as a PoW to emerge with an MC, DFC and US Legion of Merit. Rejecting Churchill’s proposal of a career in politics, he became CEO of BOAC, transforming it into a national airline to be proud of. At Rolls-Royce, he railed against a company dominated by engineers who made poor businessmen, and played a founding role in the separate paths of the aero and auto businesses still seen today. An incurable romantic, he could never imagine being married to anyone other than his wife, yet he had numerous mistresses. Paul Kenny has been granted unfettered access to Straight’s diaries and photograph albums, and has scoured archives on both sides of the Atlantic, leaving no stone unturned in pursuit of the full story of one of the twentieth century’s greatest mavericks.

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Great British Steam Locomotives that Made History

Cynthia Hamilton — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 04:01:35 +0000

The industrial revolution and the age of steam were intertwined, each pushing the boundaries of the other, and the creation of steam locomotives changed the world forever. This book looks back over some of the most significant and beloved of Britain’s steam locomotives, also charting the developments in railway history along the way. Many of the locomotives featured were ‘firsts’, with dramatic interest in their technology, the level of public fascination and love continuing to this day. This book charts changes in railway history around Britain from the early days of steam, the Penny-darren of 1804, now accepted as the first passenger carrying steam locomotive on a railway track; Locomotion No.1, celebrated as the first ‘formal’ railway line to carry fare paying passengers in 1825; Stephenson’s Rocket of 1829; GWR’s broad-gauge North Star from 1832; the world famous Flying Scotsman; LNER’s Mallard; BR’s Britannia; right up to the new-build steam locomotives with the impressive Tornado.

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LOCOMOTION No.1

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 04:01:08 +0000

In 1825 the Stockton & Darlington Railway began operations as the world’s first public railway to be operated by steam. The first train, that opened the railway on the 27th September, was drawn by the locomotive that became known as LOCOMOTION No.1, and from this origin all public railways the world over developed to become the driving force behind economic progress. The brief history that accompanied the locomotive’s preservation in 1857 was both inadequate and factually incorrect. In anticipation of the railway’s bicentenary a major archival and archaeological study was initiated by the National Railway Museum to establish the true history of the locomotive both in service and during retirement. This is the story revealed by the study.

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George Stephenson

verity.brighton — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 04:01:35 +0000

Much is known about the achievements of George Stephenson and of his infamous creation, the Rocket, yet little is known of the man himself. This volume is a profile of the self-taught and often testy Geordie, whose Victorian invention is now the backbone of every nation on the planet.

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Loco Motion

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 04:01:21 +0000

The steam locomotive is a machine that has inspired imagination, innovation and invention from the time of its origination and continues to evoke passion in enthusiasts today. Here Michael R. Bailey, expertly and in fascinating detail, describes the development of the steam locomotive during its pioneering first half-century until 1850 by exploring the surviving locomotives that may be seen in Britain, Europe, and North and South America. In addition to surviving relics, he also takes a look at operable replicas, which fill many gaps in international collections, to provide continuity in this evolutionary story. Exploring in depth each example’s operational and preservation history, along with design characteristics, component materials and modifications made, no detail is left unmentioned. With unparalleled detail, incredibly stunning images and a list of museums housing all of the world’s oldest locomotives, this truly is a volume that no student of railway history should be without.

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The Cunard Story

Molly Nattrass — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 04:01:36 +0000

Since 1840, Cunard ships have been transiting the North Atlantic with speed, grace and elegance. These great ships helped to populate nations, served during both world wars and have transported millions of passengers, amongst them celebrities, politicians and royalty. Through tales of ships such as Britannia, Lusitania, Mauretania, Aquitania and the immortal Queens, The Cunard Story gives readers an insight into the heritage of this historic line. Today the Cunard Line operates a fleet of modern ships, offering passengers exciting and varied itineraries to exotic locations across the globe. The Cunard Story is a must-have for all maritime historians and ocean-travellers, especially those with affection for this historic line and its grand vessels.

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Beyond the Spitfire

Simon Appleby — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 19:08:33 +0000

Popular history has a tendency to simplify, and accounts of the life and career of aeronautical engineer R.J. Mitchell are no exception. Remembered most fondly for his epochal Spitfire design, his other designs – many of them failures and disappointments – have largely been ignored. As a designer for Supermarine, Mitchell produced a huge body of concepts, projects and ideas that never left the drawing board. In Beyond the Spitfire Ralph Pegram brings Mitchell’s previously unseen work to light in an attempt to evaluate the entire portfolio of one of Britain’s most talented aeronautical designers. Illustrated with a combination of layout drawings and impressive CGI renderings of Mitchell’s designs, this book is an insightful and indispensable addition to our understanding of the work of a man often called a genius.

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Minimal Motoring

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 04:01:48 +0000

From about 1910 to the mid-1920s, the cyclecar was a popular means of transport. Cheap, simply engineered, often crude, it was really just a motorcycle engine with a lightweight chassis and body (the cyclecar/microcar often being the product of cycle and motorcycle technology). It created, however, a new market of people who could now afford a motor car; it was no longer the perserve of the well to do. The simplicity of the cars meant that they could easily be built in small quantities and this led to a growth in the number of motor manufacturers. Some, who graduated to make motor cars, even survive to this day, including probably the most famous British marque – Morgan. It was an international phenomenon with makers in France, the UK, USA and Germany producing cyclecars, albeit for various time-spans. A few makers survived into the thirties, but most had disappeared long before, killed off by the introduction of real cars at low prices, such as the Austin 7 in Britain, the German Dixi and the baby Citroens in France. The concept was not to die, however, as the French retained an interest in cyclecars beyond this period and were producing small cars such a as the Mochet throughout the Second World War. Inside the pages of Minimal Motoring is a selective history of both the cyclecar and microcar, accompanied by period photographs, advertisements and artwork.

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My Dad Raced One of Those

Simon Appleby — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 18:29:05 +0000

This new book by motoring journalist Alan Anderson follows on from Going Classic, to explore the world of historic motorsport and race and rally cars from the 1950s to the 1990s. This vibrant new book looks back at those days, and presents fifty of the most successful classic race and rally cars from across this period, considering why these motoring legends still make front runners in historic motorsport, one of the fastest-growing, most enjoyable and affordable classes of motor racing. My Dad Raced One of Those is a nostalgic look back at classic cars in motorsport across the different disciplines of Race, Rally, Autotests, Hillclimbs, Trails and Rallycross, and should satisfy and intrigue both the classic car enthusiast and (especially historic) lovers of motorsport.

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