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COMBINED MAIL AND PASSENGER SERVICES.

27th January 1925
Page 23
Page 23, 27th January 1925 — COMBINED MAIL AND PASSENGER SERVICES.
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How Motor Vehicles are Being Used to Link Up Isolated Dales in Parts of North Yorkshire,

IN THE course of a trip recently into the very heart of the wilds of North Yorkshire—the picturesque, but isolated valleys of Swaledale and Wensleydale-a representative of The. Commercial Motor was accorded facilities for investigating the possibilities and uses of motor vehicles in a sphere which appears to be capable of considerable expansion. Moreover, it is one which might very profitably be made the object of development by bus and coach owners in the more remote and outlying districts not served by the railways, who are out to break new ground and secure additional business.

The company whose operations formed the subject of this most interesting investigation are the Richmandshire Garages, Ltd., of Queen Street, Richmond (Yorks). Our visit could scarcely have been made at a more opportune time, for, during the past two or three months, this company have materially increased their ramifications by motorizing the mail service into Wensleydale.

The inadequacy of the old method of collection and delivery of postal matter along this widely scattered district lying between Hawes and Northallerton has for a long time been the subject of agitation, and, as was briefly announced in The Commercial Motor dated October 21st, the letting of the contract for the performance of this work to the Richmondshire Garages, Ltd., resulted in an immediate daily saving of fully an hour and a half in the transport of mails, in addition to improving passenger services.

In placing the contract with the Richmondshire Garages, Ltd., the postal authorities secured the services of a company who are well-versed in motor mail requirements. They have had a lengthy association with the organization of this class of work, and, by the use of light and speedy motor vehicles. have eliminated the frequent complaints which were formerly heard anent the irregularity and generally unsatisfactory nature of the postal work.

Indeed, for 20 years or more the two neighbouring valleys, Wensleydale and Swaledale, have formed a striking contrast between the old order and the new, for, whilst the former continued to rely upon inadequate rail and foot arrangements, the latter, separated from Wensleydale by a single range of hills only. have, thanks to the services arranged by the company, been provided with upto-date mail services maintained by motor vehicles.

The holders of the new Wensleydale contract very justly claim to be the pioneers of road transport services in their locality, for the company were inaugurated in 1903, under the title of the National Road Traffic Co., for the specific purpose of expediting postal and passenger facilities in the counties of York, Durham and Northumberland. Indeed, at one period they had a much more extensive road connection than they possess at the present time.

The earliest endeavours of the company were directed towards providing suitable services for Swaledale, and since 1903 they have served the vast and difficult tract of farming country on the fringe of the Pennines, between Darlington and Keld, without a break.

Once the practicability of the scheme had been ascertained, the company quickly increased its scope, and in a , short time were responsible for postal transport between Leeds and York ; Leeds, Halifax and Bradford ; Sunderland and Newcastle; and Sunderland and Seaham Harbour, amongst other places. The original service was maintained by a fleet of Star vehicles, arid, as the necessity for additional vehicles became apparent, this was supplemented by the purchase of Aster, Wolseley and other Star vehicles.

At a later date the reorganization of Postal deliveries and the improved mainline train services resulted . in the gradual curtailment of this extensive network of motor mail routea, until only the Sweledale service remained. This, together with the recently added Wensleydale route, is now being efficiently served by the vehicles owned by Richmondshire Garages, Ltd., who are controlled by the original management. •

The exact amount of time saved daily by the utilization of motor vehicles in Swaledale is very hard to estimate. Some idea can, however, be gleaned from a brief study of the administration of this route. The first train due to Richmond—the " capital " of the dale—does not arrive until 8.34 a.m., but by collecting the mails from the main-line north and south expresses at Darlington, and rushing them without delay over the 15 miles separating the towns, many of the letters have reached their destination, and all arc well on the road, before the time of arrival of the train.

The vehicles used on this work are three Fords. One of them has a roomy box body, and is employed for bulk work between Darlington and Richmond, whilst the others (one has a coach body and the other a bus body) effect the final distribution.

Iii addition, passengers are carried, and by this means additional revenue is derived. The combined mail and pas.: senger services maintained are

Similar delays have been overcome in the Wensleydale district by the recent adoption of motor vehicles. All postal matter for this. dale is deposited at Nerthallerton, and, formerly, was, conveyed throughout the .dale by. trains running at infrequent intervals. These did not even permit connections to be made With main-line facilitiea, which involved lengthy periods of waiting. The adoption of a road service for niails and missfingers has, therefore, been deeply appreciated by local residentS; and the new service, which traverses the entire valley, is securing goes' •patronage.. It is probably one. of -the longest, and certainly one of the wildest, stretches of country joined up by motorbuses, for the termini are 38 miles apart, and are separated by extremely difficult country,

a circumstance which makes the rapidity and punctuality for which the service is already noted outstanding factors. The route is by way of Leyburn and Bedale, and, inclusive of time taken for the numerous calls, the journey occupies just under three hours. The single-journey charge per passenger is 4s. 8d.

In order adequately to serve the inhabitants of this valley, Richmondshire Garages, Ltd., are --operating three Morris saloon buses which can each accommodate 14 passengers, in addition to mail bags. The bodies of these vehicles were constructed by Messrs. Pearse and Dobson, of Stockton, at a east of £135 each, and, as will be seen from an illustration on this page, they have been built on graceful and dignified lines. Shod with pneumatics, the buses are capable of a good turn of speed, and passengera can make the journey in complete comfort, for springing, seating and the upholstery are all of a high standard. We understand that it is the ultimate object of the company to standardize upon Morris 1-ton chassis for the whole of their services.


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