Books published by Crecy Publishing

A celebration of Gresley's A4 Pacific locomotives, including Mallard, holder of the world speed record for a steam locomotive.

The name of Tony Atkins will need no introduction to followers of the Great Western Railway. In Part 2 of this monumental work on Great Western Goods working, the story is taken forward starting with 20th Century goods train on the GWR working to the various types of special traffic handled. This heavily illustrated volume looks at perishable traffic: flowers, fruit and vegetables, banana workings, as well as livestock, refrigerated and fish traffic. There are also sections on dangerous goods and exceptional loads, the movement of the latter often requiring considerable planning to avoid structures and other trains from a load which was outside the standard loading gauge. The culmination of several decades of painstaking research this complex and detailed subject is split into two volumes, both rightly deserving a place on the bookshelf of the enthusiast and historian.

The years of World War II saw the greatest single leap in US military aircraft technology and design, from the relatively fragile pre-war designs to the very edge of the supersonic era. Many remarkable aircraft came and went in quick succession with some missions and types disappearing altogether. Indeed, there were scores of little known or minimally documented aircraft projects that significantly advanced technology of aeronautics, propulsion, aircraft systems, avionics and weapons, while never achieving full-rate production and deployment. Focusing almost exclusively on official programs, experimental, prototype, limited production models and aircraft that actually entered development, American Aircraft Development of WWII, Special Types 1939-1945 opens with the "state of the art" designs at the beginning of the war, continuing on to the advances during the conflict itself. These so-called "special types" are far less widely known than fighter and bomber designs, but no less important, and include armed photo reconnaissance aircraft, catapult-launched seaplanes, autogyros, tactical haulers and armed drones. Other designs covered include "one-off" experimental aircraft, rocket boost, floats and skis added to landplanes, fighters with second seats assed for training, engine testbeds, "oddballs" experiments and more. Illustrated throughout with 3-view drawings and rare photographs, many little-known and unusual aircraft and missiles, American Aircraft Development of WWII, Specialty Types 1939-1945 tells the stories of engineering teams and test pilots struggling against short schedules and tight resources to develop new aircraft that pushed the bounds of technology. This book is a fitting testament to the epic and sometimes life-threatening accomplishments which were every bit as vital to the war effort as actual combat operations themselves.

Following the success of the author's first book on weathering locomotives, this is a new volume of modelling case studies based on a completely different set of steam, diesel and electric locomotives, including multiple-units

Robert Kershaw follows-up his best-selling account of the Battle of Arnhem from German eyes - It Never Snows in September - to focus on the experiences of the Dutch civilians and British and German soldiers in one street, fighting to survive at the heart of one of the most intense battles of World War 2. A Street in Arnhem tells the story of the battle of Arnhem in September 1944 from the perspective of what could be seen or heard from the Utrechtseweg, a road that runs seven kilometres from Arnhem railway station west to Oosterbeek, and which saw virtually every major event during Operation Market-Garden played out in front of its inhabitants.The book charts the heartbreaking destruction of a well established, exclusive and popular rural community through the eyes of the British, Polish and German soldiers fighting amid the confused and horrified Dutch locals. It portrays a collage of human fears and emotions as ordinary people seek to cope when their street was so suddenly, and so savagely, overwhelmed in a mighty battle not of their making. Robert Kershaw's new research reveals the extent to which most people in this battle, whether soldiers or civilians, saw only what was immediately happening to them and had virtually no idea of what was going on around them. Many original Dutch Dutch, German and English accounts have been unearthed through interviews, diary accounts and letters. Post combat reports have also been discovered charting the same incidents from both sides, as well as giving the Dutch civilian perspective.This gripping story is incredibly compelling and graphically portrays for readers the dramatic reality of having the street you have lived in peacefully for years engulfed in a major conflict.