Planes, trains and … buses!

I have continued to be busy with my various proofreading projects, as usual covering a miscellany of subjects. All of these projects were done on behalf of Pen & Sword Books. First off the blocks was a manuscript that looked at the subject of the Allied bombing offensive against Germany during the Second World War. The manuscript was split into two halves, one each for the RAF and the USAAF 8th Air Force. The principal types of aircraft used were looked at, together with an overview of the lives of the aircrew concerned, mini-profiles of the force commanders, and a look at how the campaign fitted in with the wider Allied war strategy. A useful introduction to this fascinating and complex subject, and a springboard for further reading.

In total contrast, my next project was a manuscript on the subject of the Metrobus type double-decker bus, used in London since the early 1980s by the miscellany of companies that have run bus services on behalf of Transport for London. This was an all-colour picture book, divided up into sections about the different operators, together with a brief overview of those examples of the Metrobus that have joined other old-timers from the London bus fleet in preservation. One that should please fans of the Metrobus and of the capital’s bus scene.

Earlier today, I completed another railway project, this one focusing on the Great Western Society. The story, written by Anthony Burton, looks at the story of the Society, from its foundation by four schoolboy railway fans in the early 1960s to its position today as one of the premier societies in the railway heritage movement. The chapters were wide-ranging and looked at subjects such as the construction of a broad-gauge railway system at the Society’s Didcot base, complete with two replica steam locomotives, and the building of a number of ‘new-build projects’, these including a steam railmotor and a ‘Saint’ class steam locomotive, ‘Lady of Legend’. Throughout the manuscript, much emphasis is placed upon the hard-working GWS volunteers, without whom none of the milestones passed would have happened. A worthy tribute to a proactive group of individuals, all brought together through their collective appreciation of the former Great Western Railway.


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