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MODERN PARCI POT FOR NOT

12th January 1962
Page 62
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Page 62, 12th January 1962 — MODERN PARCI POT FOR NOT
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Keywords : Nottingham

Atlas Express Plan for the Futur Parcels Link-up with the Confine

By NORMAN H. TILSLEI

ATLAS EXPRESS—who can rightly boast that they are one of the country's leading exponents of " smalls " traffic in the country, and also between England, Europe and Scandinavia—consolidated their position in the Midlands last week when they began operating from their new depot in Nottingham.

The predicament they found themselves in when their old-fashioned and overcrowded Carrington depot was acquired turned out to be a blessing in disguise. They were forced to seek alternative accommodation; here was an opportunity for them to choose a site and build a depot to their own specifications.

Out of two areas offered to them by the Corporation, they chose a 21-acre plot on the Bilborough Trading Estate at Wollaton—situated 21 miles from the City centre— because of its easy access to the Ring Road. In contrast to their previous depot, which was much nearer to the City centre, drivers of long-distance vehicles would be spared the onerous congestion they encountered whilst approaching or leaving Carrington.

At an overall cost of about £50,000, Atlas Express have had constructed for them a sturdy, spacious T-shaped parcels depot, designed in such a manner that will for further development in the form of a second f. which can be added to the office block, an extension present loading bank and, well into the future, a si building which will be a loading bank or a warehou!

Forming the leg of .the T-shaped struct the 45-ft. wide, 199-ft. long double-sided lo bank, the floor of which is 3 ft. 6 in. ground level, under an asbestos portal-sl roof. Translucent panes provide sufl natural lighting to allow work to pr throughout most of the day without the I the strip lighting that is provided for working.

The concrete pillars which support the have an additional function—they act as Ii for the concertina-type wooden sliding which, when closed, form a smart, we proof wall the whole length of the bank. ' are nine such doors on each side of the each is 18 ft. wide, allowing two vehicles backed against the opening for unloadi ;. Thus, even without the extra accomon that is planned for the future, the an cope with 3.6 vehicles unloading and rig at the same time.

ial Care was taken in the design to ensure ■ damage could be done to the building ult of careless vehicle manceuvring. The pes, for example, carrying rainwater ;e'frorri.the roof, slant inwards from the of the roof and are carried inside the through the floor of the bank to drain eneath the building. To protect the vans, k is faced with wooden sleepers secured gbolts. the heads of which are sunk into ber.

affice block, which forms the cross stroke [design, is,spacious and well ventilated.

pot manager (Mr. J. D. Livesey) and his have separate offices overlooking the e, whilst the remainder of the clerical staff occupy teral office. A door at .one end of the office leads on to the loading bank where, in a glass structure, 3e members of the traffic office work.

he moment, 10 van-type vehicles are based in ;ham—they are Fords and Bedford T.K.s—all rigids e exception of one articulator. The fleet is usually ited by sub contracting to a total of 11 or 15 vehicles the day, engaged on collection and delivery work. !hides on permanent hire from a local operator are • n trunk runs to and from London each night.

✓ vehicle makes a daily trip to Birmingham, and a two make a daily delivery run through to Sheffield. method of working the depot is simple. The bank) taff unload trunk arrivals and afterwards 'load the ails which are taken out of the depot at 8 a.m. the .y. The drivers—and these vehicles carry no mates 1 the forenoon delivering the packages. The rest lay, from lunchtime onwards, is taken up with collecThe vans start to arrive back at the depot at 5 p.m., he night staff commence to unload and tranship the to the trunk vehicles standing by.

. Express are an old established company—indeed, debrate their centenary in 1963. By sheer hard. nd efficiency: they have built up a smalls ".parcels on and delivery service second to none. With depots at Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bradford, Wakefield, Manchester, Liverpool, Nottingham, Leicester, Coalville, Birmingham, Dunstable, Cardiff and Oxford, and two depots in London, plus agents in most of the remaining towns and cities in the kingdom, they will undertake to collect and deliver the smallest parcel from anywhere to anywhere.

The company are also associated with Eurofreight, Ltd., who operate the " Trukair " scheme of smalls ". traffic between England and the Continent, via the Channel Air Bridge Service from Southend Airport. With this link-up a parcel handed to an Atlas Express driver in Nottingham one day can be delivered in Amsterdam the next day, with the minimum of documentation on the part of the consignor.

If Britain joins the Common Market, parcels traffic between the United Kingdom and the Continent will vastly increase. But even if the step is never taken, the steady increase in the volume of traffic already carried across the "Air Bridge" has given considerable confidence to Eurofreight in the future of their services to the Continent, in which Atlas Express play so important a part, so far as the country is concerned.'

The East Midland Licensing Authority, Mr. C. R. Hodgson, Was the chief guest at the official opening of this new Nottingham depot on Monday evening. A reception was held after the ceremony,


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