The Activities of a Pioneer Coaching Company.
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T"ENAME of Chapman is known throughout the length and breadth of the country in connection ;with motor coaching, andthis. is not surprising when one bears in mind that the company—now known as Chapman and Sons, East bourne, • .esfablishecl. in the middle of the 'last century. For many years the company was carried on as an individual enterprise by Messrs. William and George Chapman, who are now both directors of the limited liability corn pany which was formed with a-capital of £100,000 in 1921.
The company's first acquaintance With motor cone-lice was in 1911, when five vebic es were purchased for road tours, . and these units formed the nucleus ofa fleet of coaches which
was destined to displace a stud. of .400 horses, which theyat
one time owned_
The fleet, of coaches which .will continueto-cater ferhnlidy makers and residents at-Eastbourne during,the' 1923 season is mainly composed of Dennis 28seaters, although s.evei..al 14' seater Unics, with bulbous bodies and Michelin pneumatic tyre equipment, will again be on the road. The .bodies an all the vehicles are of a more or less conventional type, with plain transverse seats, and it is interesting to note that, some of . them have. been built in Messrs. Chapman's own coach
building shops. .
The company_ undertake a most comprehensive series cf tong-distance tours, and they favour the conventional type of vehicle -for this service; so long as special consideration is • . given to the question, of passengers' comfort and the aor-oin mutation of ]uggage. . Considerable criticism has been levelled against many coach drivers for keeping to the crown of the road, and thus 'hindering the progress of other road users. To guard against this abuse' of the highway Messrs. Chapman have had an electric push-bell fitted to the penultimate rows of seats-.on most of CS . their_ -coaches, in order that the passenger on the off side in the rearmost seat can communicate with the driver when an oncoming vehicle is desirous of passing. During the winter months all Messrs. ,Cha.pinan's coaches. have been subject to a complete overhaul in their own 'shops, . which are well-equipped for work of this description. Thu• bodies have been renovated and repainted, so that when the fleet is put into service this season it will fully maintain_ the , reputation which the company • have 'milt up for reliability and smart appearance. The forthcoming Season will be OM:Med by the inauguration of three' Special -tours at Easter, these benig.a six-day 'tour
Iii North Devon, a• run of the i . same, duration n the Peak dist:nets' of Derbyshire, and a• week-end tour to •LOwestoft;• Cromer, and -Yarmouth, these :tours, for 'which inclusive charges are made {oven doWn to tips to servants), starting from.the•company's London offices at 33, Grosvenor Gardens, Victoria, ,SW. • The charges vary. slightly for single and . double rooms, and in every case only first-class accommodation is reserved. These' tours will be repeated at intervals throughout the season. As in past yet...rs, Messrs. Chapman are paying numb attention to the organizatiOn of tours in France and Switzerland.. These include a magnificent totir of 25 days through the two,. countries for an inclusive sum of 56 guineas, a circular tour to the South of France for 52 guineas, whilst many different tours embracing the beauty spots . of England, Scotland and Wales figure on the company's 1923 programme.
Messrs .Chapman virtudlly hold a. monopoly so far -as motor coaching in Eastbourne is concerned, a position which they have secured by long association with -the movement and by the display of considerable enterprise. • They pay special attention to the needs of rood travellers.