Alon Siton – författare

This book, the first ever written on the subject of Leyland buses in Israel, tells the story of the company's decades-long partnership with the state of Israel.First introduced on a large scale in Israel in the fifties, the Leylands were phased out in the late eighties before being retired completely, having been replaced with modern German bus models that were built by Daimler Benz and MAN. Some were sold abroad, to developing countries, where they are said to be still running today, but the majority were quietly scrapped and broken up. Fortunately a few escaped the cutter's torch and are kept in mint condition in Egged's Heritage Center in Holon, a symbol of solid British engineering. For countless Israelis who are old enough to remember the sight and the sound of a Leyland bus in the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, they provide a chance to go back in time for one more ride on the elderly Tiger.As a tribute to what can only be described as the most durable and reliable buses to have ever run in Israel, this book is token of admiration and appreciation of that powerful, all-terrain workhorse: the Leyland bus.

Long before Brexit, the Common Market and even the Commonwealth, Britannia truly did rule the waves. Perhaps more unsung is the fact that she also ruled the rails over much of the world, for Britain’s engineers effectively exported the Industrial Revolution and specifically the railway around the globe. This was especially true in that forerunner of the Commonwealth, the British Empire. In those parts of the world that were coloured pink on schoolroom maps, the rapidly expanding colonial railways were supplied by British companies like Neilson Reid, Bagnall, Kitson, Cravens and Cammell-Laird.This book tells the story of the expansion of the railways of the British Empire in Africa, featuring stunning photographs, contemporary maps, posters, travel brochures and extracts from other interesting documents.

Historical Railways around the World is a carefully curated selection of vintage railway photos from all around the world. It was composed in the spirit of the time-honoured phrase that a picture is worth a thousand words, and transports the reader back to the golden age of steam locomotives in a stunning array of exotic and obscure locales.Using these stunning photographs, Alon Siton revisits a period in history where the railways stood at the centre of global events, and celebrates the power and variety of the world’s locomotives.

The North Western Railway of India (NWR) was one of British India’s largest railway systems. Created out of the merger of several local Indian lines, the NWR was gradually extended and charged with the double duty of running civilian passenger trains between Delhi and the rest of the country, as well as implementing Britain’s own strategic plans beyond the border – from the North Western Frontier to distant Afghanistan. In 1947, following the end of the British rule in the Indian subcontinent, the NWR was divided between the newly formed independent states of India and Pakistan.Using rare and previously unpublished photos, maps and illustrations, this book tells the story of one of the most fascinating railways of the Indian Empire.

The North British Locomotive Company came into existence in 1903 as an amalgamation of three established Glasgow locomotive manufacturers: Dübs & Co., Sharp Stewart and Neilson Reid. Each of these companies enjoyed an excellent reputation for its products both at home and abroad.The amalgamation that formed NBL created the largest locomotive builder in the British Empire, building on the worldwide renown of its predecessors and exporting its products all over the world to places as diverse as Palestine, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada. Its locomotive output was as varied as its clients, with steam locomotives of every gauge, and ranging from tiny tank engines to massive Beyer-Garratts.Moving with the times, North British entered the market for diesel and electric traction after the Second World War and its lack of success in this field ultimately brought the company to its knees.Here, Colin Alexander and Alon Siton present a lavishly illustrated exploration of one of Britain’s greatest locomotive companies, including the products of its three Victorian constituents and official works photographs, images of locos in service and some of the many preserved Dübs, Sharp Stewart, Neilson and North British locomotives on heritage railways and in museums around the world.

George Stephenson was born in 1781, the son of a Northumberland colliery engineman. Within a hundred years of his birth his railway legacy had opened up vast tracts of the planet, many of those routes engineered by George himself or his son Robert. Their locomotive factory at Newcastle upon Tyne soon outgrew its premises and a much larger site was founded at Darlington.The father and son are well known for their pioneering work on the Stockton & Darlington and Liverpool & Manchester railways, but they engineered more than locomotives. Robert is responsible for some of the world’s most innovative and impressive bridges and the company the Stephensons founded continued (as Robert Stephenson Hawthorn) to build locomotives for a burgeoning worldwide market for well over a century. This book will tell its story and show its global influence.

The ‘British’ period in the Middle East began with Lawrence of Arabia's attacks on the Hedjaz Railway in the First World War and the eventual defeat of the Ottoman Empire. It ended with the creation of the state of Israel after the stormy British mandate in Palestine. New international routes were established into Egypt and western Lebanon. There was also a powerful British influence on the railways of Iraq, Egypt and Sudan.This book is divided into chronological periods: pre-1918, the interwar years, and 1939 to the present day. All manner of British-built locomotives and rolling stock, whether purpose-built or hastily requisitioned in wartime, saw service all over this fascinating region, and this book attempts to show that variety.

Elegance in Engineering showcases an interesting and diverse collection of British-built steam locomotives from all builders, for railways at home and abroad. These examples of British engineering at its best tell the story of the development of the archetypal British steam locomotive from the 1830s to the end of steam locomotive manufacture.Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder and any selection of locomotives is bound to be subjective, but nobody can deny that by comparison, locomotives built overseas tended to be angular and austere. Maintenance staff would argue that having many of their fittings on the outside made them easier to look after but the purist would contest that it did not make them easier on the eye.

Long before Brexit, the Common Market and even the Commonwealth, Britannia truly did rule the waves. Perhaps more unsung is the fact that she also ruled the rails over much of the world, for Britain’s engineers effectively exported the Industrial Revolution and specifically the railway around the globe. This was especially true of the forerunner of the Commonwealth, the British Empire. In those parts of the world that were coloured pink on schoolroom maps, the rapidly expanding colonial railways were supplied by British companies like Neilson Reid, Bagnall, Kitson, Cravens and Cammell-Laird.This book tells the story of the expansion of the railways of the British Empire in the Indian subcontinent, featuring stunning photographs, contemporary maps, posters, travel brochures and extracts from other interesting documents.