Heavy Industry Served by Buses
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Part Chesterfield the Hub by C. S. Dunbar, M.Inst.T.
Corporation Serves Double Chestetfield's Population : Many Colliery and Works Specials Run : Only Two Joint Services
THE northern half of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire is a hilly area, still partly agricultural, but largely concerned with coal-mining and other heavy industries. Unlike the industrial areas of south-east Lancashire and the Birmingham conurbation, it does not consist of an almost entirely built-up area, but rather resembles Durham coalfield in having a number of medium-sized towns and many villages with considerable rural stretches between.
This was more particularly the case 50 years ago. and because of this the area was not attractive to the tramway• promoters of the day. When the motorbus era Arrived private enterprise had an almost clear field. On the northern fringe of the district, just over the county border, there were the municipal tramways of Sheffield, Rotherham and D.oncaster, and the company system connecting Rotherham with Mexborough and Swinton, but in north Derbyshire only Chesterfield had trams and north Notts had none.
South of the Chesterfield-Sheffield-Doncaster line, right down to Mansfield and the Nottingham-Ripley tram route in the early years of this century, people had to rely for transport on the railways or carriers' carts.
Early in the Field
Chesterfield, not a very large town in Victorian times, was surprisingly early in the field with a local transport system. The Chesterfield and District Tramways Co., Ltd., obtained the necessary powers in 1879 and opened its only route from the Market Place to Walton Lane, Brampton, on November 8, 1882.
The line was not financially successful, and the company was reconstructed in 1886. At the time Chesterfield. Corporation took over its assets on November 22, 1897, the average weekly revenue was 117 8s. and the weekly wages bill 16.
In 1904, powers for electrification and extension were obtained, and the horsed-cars were withdrawn. The Brampton route was opened for electric traction on December 20, 1904, and extended northwards to Whittington Moor on January 20, 1905. Other proposed extensions did not materialize.
Conversion to trolleybus working look place on May 23, 1927, on the Brampton section, and on July 27, 1927, on the remainder of the route. At the northern end, the route was extended to New Whittington.
The corporation had actually secured trolleybus powers as early as 1913, and in the same Act had obtained powers to work motorbuses over a considerable area not then served by public transport. Four Daimler and two Dennis single-deckers were obtained in April and May, 1914, and services were started from Chesterfield to North Wingfield via Hasland and Grassmoor to Clay Cross and to
. Brim ington .
War Delayed Development
Further development was delayed by the 1914-18 war, but expansion was continued in September, 1919, when services were opened to Bolsover and Staveley, A joint service to Sheffield, in conjunction with Sheffield Corpora
• tion, was started in 1923. The trolleybus route was converted
to motorbuses in 1938.
Messrs. Smith's service to Holymoorside and Messrs. Booker's to Barlow were acquired in 1932; Messrs. Staton's to Culthorpe and Barlow in 1933; that of Messrs.• J. Robinson and Sons to Clay Cross and Danesmoor also in 1933, and that of Messrs. J. Cresswell and Sons to the same destinations the following year.
Post-war expansion has included the development of a service between Newbold and Whittington to serve a large housing estate, the opening of a service to the Inkersall Estate, Staveley, jointly with East Midland Motor Services,Ltd., and the acquisition of the workmen's services operated by Messrs. F. H. Doughty, Brimington. Plans are now being laid for developments in the Hady Lane area in the south-east of the borough.
A comparison of today's time-tables with those of 1931 and 1938 not only shows an increase in services but brings out a point about changing habits. In 1931, better services n12 were given on Mondays (Chesterfield market day), Fridays and Saturdays (cattle market day) than on other days. So that,. including Sundays, routes had four or five different lime-tables. By 1938, this had been greatly simplified, Fridays having been thrown in with the rest of the week in most cases.
Today, only one or two services call for more than three sets of times—Monday to Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There is a big contrast between the services along the Sheffield Road to Whittington Moor, and along the Brimington Road, with, at the other end of the scale, the route to Moorhall and Wilday Green which works Saturdays only and then needs only two journeys.
26 Colliery and Works Services
The weekday-evening peak on the Sheffield Road requires 18 buses an hour and 27 on Saturday afterpoOns. The Brirnington Road is covered by 12 Chesterfield and 10 East Midland buses an hour Mondays to Fridays, and on Saturdays by 15 Chesterfield and 12 East Midland vehicles. These are exclusive of works specials.
Although the population of the borough is only about 68,000, approximately double that number of people in the area is served by the corporation. Three-shift working with changes at 6 a.m., 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. is common in the heavy industries, and this also applies on Sundays. There are 26 colliery and works special services. The full services call for 115 vehicles, but in mid-morning only 58 are required.
Rolling stock consists of 102 double-deckers (Crossley, Daimler, Guy and Leyland) and 30 single-deckers (A.E.C.,
Crossley and Leyland). During 1954, more than 4.5m. miles were worked and 41.285,153 passengers were carried.
In 1934. the corporation opened a bus station in Vicar Lane, but although this is in the centre of the town, the layout of the streets, and particularly their narrowness, makes it impossible to concentrate all services at one point. There are 10 central loading points for corporation services. Again, because of the street layout, only four cross-town services are operated.
The old-established through service to Sheffield has always been worked on the basis of issuing each undertaking's tickets in its own area, with special tickets for through fares. Unstone is regarded as the boundary. Receipts from the through fares are divided in proportion to the territorial mileage. As far as possible, vehicle mileage is worked in the same proportion, any excess being paid off.
31d. Minhman Fare
On this service there is a minimum fare of 3,id. on the outward journey from Sheffield. Chesterfield has only one other joint service, that with East Midland to Ink ersall. This requires only one bus at present, so each party works the route during alternate years.
An appeal has recently been heard concerning the through Chesterfield-Derby service started jointly last year by East Midland, Midland General and Trent (The Commercial Motor, January 14).
This service, which is a combination of services previously worked separately by the three companies, does not entirely follow the main road between Chesterfield And Clay Cross. Nevertheless, Chesterfield Corporation felt that it was inimical to its interests. inasmuch as through passengers used to travel by the direct route to Clay Cross and change there. The corporation contended that as it had operated a service to Clay Cross longer than anyone eke, it should have been invited to participate in the joint service.
it was stated at the hearing that for the past 40 years the Chesterfield-Clay Cross section had been Chesterfield's territory. The corporation provided 594 licensed journeys a week between the two points, whereas East Midland ran only 129. Following the institution of the new service the corporation bad suffered. But the appeal was refused.