BUS SERVICES IN AND AROUND GRIMSBY.
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Brief Information Relating to the Bus Activities of the Corporation and of the Chief Private Companies.
THE operation of motorbuses by the Grimsby Corporation was commenced in November, 1927, the vehicles
being used to serve Old Clee and to replace a section of tramway route on the northerly side of the old l.f.arket Place, a 10-minute • schedule being adhered to throughout the day.
The vehicles chosen for the initial portion -of the Grimsby municipal fleet were AIbions of the 30-60 h.p. forwardcontrol type, with 32-seater saloon
bodies, built by C. lige, Ltd., of Leeds. The bodies are divided into two compartments, a central entrance being provided between the rear compartment, in which smoking iS permitted, and the forward non-smoking section.
In addition to running these petrol buses, the tramways department of the corporation completed, in October, 1926; the conversion of the Weelsby Road section of tramways route to trolley-bus working, seven Garrett 32seater 0-type vehicles, with bodies of similar pattern to those on the petrol. driven buses being placed in commission. The trolley-bus route is slightly longer than the original tram route, and a five-minute service is easily main tabled by the use of four trolley-buses, five trams .previously being used to operate the same schedule.
Under the Grimsby Corporation Act of 1927 powers were obtained inter-alia to convert all the tramways to trolleyhis routes, rffid to operate petrol-driven buses on any route within the borough.
Besides these purely local municipally maintained services, there are • several companies running to' the various surrounding villages and to towns situated farther . afield. An example of this class of service is provided by the Enterprise and Silver Dawn Motors, Ltd., of Scunthorpe, the buses of which run to Markefltasen and Gainsborough in one direction and to Barton, New Holland and Scunthorpe on the other side of the town. Associated Daimler and Dennis vehicles with United bodywork chiefly figure in this concern's fleet. '
The oldest oeneern in Grimsby is the Provincial Tramways Co.; Ltd., the
pioneer bus venture of which dates back to 1907. The company was one of the first to employ the Palladium chassis, with cantilever springing, a number of these vehicles still being in constant daily service.
At the present time the company has rather a mixed fleet; including Daimler, Thornycroft, Guy and Chevrolet (with the Longframe six-wheeled attachment) vehicles; three of the Guy vehicles are special chassis with small-diameter wheels, and are used as runabouts. During the season these runabouts are used on a service along the.premenade at Cleethorpes (three miles distant from Grimsby), from which town this company also runs a number of motorcoach tours. The bus routes serve the more local places, such as Tetney, Laceby and Watham.
A service to Louth and another to Lincoln are maintained daily by the buses of the Silver Queen Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd., of Lincoln, the vehicles of which, in this area, are Chevrolets.
New Cleethorpes, Waltham and Holton-le-Clay are served by the buses of Messrs. Morley and Hargreaves, these being what is known as the "Ada" service. These buses run hourly on the routes mentioned and are 20seater and 26-seater Guy saloons.
'Other smaller proprietors operate services to Thoreshy, Scunthorpe and Mablethorpe.
An unusual passenger vehicle in service is a novel form of char-a-banes—or should we call it a char-ii-boat?—which plies .on the beach at the adjacent seaside resort of Cleethorpes. In this type of machine the 1-ton Ford chassis is used and it is made to float on the water. A "round trip" takes the passengers along the beach, and for a short sea cruise, a propeller being provided to drive the machine through the water.