Beating the Broadcasts
Page 61
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WHEN the Saturday football edition of the Yorkshire Evening Press is printed, a few minutes' delay in delivery makes a tremendous difference to sales because of the early broadcasting of results on radio and television. Printing starts as soon after 5 p.m. as possible, and the last of the publishers' 14 vans is away from the premises in Coney Street, York, by 5.30 p.m. The edition is normally on sale in Scarborough, for instance, well before 6.30 p.m.
Despite the necessity to beat the clock over a wide and sparsely populated area of East Yorkshire, to maintain circulation figures in the face of broadcasting competition, the Yorkshire Herald Newspaper Co., Ltd. (members of the Westminster Press Provincial Newspapers, Ltd.), succeed by insisting upon a strict maintenance routine and encouraging safe driving.
Branch Line Closures When the Yorkshire Herald was established in Coney Street in 1880, distribution was by hand truck, but as the area of circulation extended, delivery was by
bus and train. By 1925, three Ford model-T vehicles were used for local work, and motorcycle boxvan sidecar outfits were used in more remote areas. The closing of many railway branch lines in East Yorkshire has increased reliance upon road transport Today the concern have an Austin A30 van. seven A40 and two A50 models, two Thames 10-cwt. vans, and a Morris 10-cwt. and a 15-cwt.
Although the Yorkshire Herald closed as a daily in 1936, it has since continued as a weekly, and is now published on Fridays as the Yorkshire Gazette and Herald. The biggest distribution problems are, however, connected with the Yorkshire Evening Press. The publishers are
also engaged in general printing work and this involves the fleet in additional local deliveries, plus longer journeys with full loads.
Over the Christmas period, the vans take more than 2,000 toys to over 50 hospitals and children's homes on behalf of the Herald's toy fund.
Many safe-driving awards have been won by the drivers and in October, 1956, 10 of the men received certificates. The one-driver, one-vehicle principle has been instituted by the transport manager, Mr. Robert Nutbrown, who maintains comprehensive individual vehicle records. Each driver performs maintenance work on his vehicle every week at the company's garage in Percy Street, York. Here there are up-to-date facilities which allow complete overhauls to be done. Paintwork is also undertaken. New vehicles are delivered in primer and sprayed in the paintshop. Trwelve of the vans are based in York, another at Malton, and another at Scarborough. The longest delivery run from York to Thirsk and back is about 131 miles. In 1956, the vehicles covered 418,210 miles and delivered 169,688 newspaper parcels.
About 30,000 miles are covered before decarbonizing is necessary, but this varies according to the kind of work upon which the vehicles are engaged, different grades of petrol used and the habits of the drivers. Average petrol-consumption rate for the fleet is 26-27 m.p.g. Smaller types of van undergo lubrication change at every 1,500 miles, and the larger vehicles at 2,000 miles.
New vehicles are run in for 500 miles, when the sump is removed and cleaned. In 1954, because of recurrent big-end trouble, it was decided to use fully detergent oils in all new and .reconditioned engines. Since then no engine has been rebored. and when three engines were dismantled at between 35,000-45,000 miles for the fitting of new piston rings, it was found that carbon deposits on the rings and in the grooves were slight.
A Thames 5-cwt. van has completed a trouble-free mileage of 70,000, its oilconsumption rate remaining at approximately 4,000 miles per pint. An Austin A40 van, purchased in 1954, required a new crankshaft after covering 55,000 miles because the big-end shells were turning in the connecting rods. Maximum wear was found to be 0.002 in. on the big-end journals and 0.0015 in. on the main journals.