From our archives:

85 years ago

Two York railwaymen had a narrow escape from serious injury when the engine of a goods train on the main London and North Eastern Railway line from York to Sheffield left the rails and came to a standstill on the edge of an embankment 30ft high. A breakdown gang from York with a steam crane, was immediately summoned to the scene in attempt to raise the two trucks which had been smashed and overturned, and by the evening service the track had been cleared and normal duties were resumed. To shorten the time required for the quotation of rates to traders the LNER company had decided to install a new carrier wave telephone circuit between London, York and Glasgow, which would provide facilities for direct telephone communications between points. And British applications had already been received for tickets in France’s huge lottery. With more than one winning ticket in every 10, the position of British subjects anxious to subscribe was not yet clear.

50 years ago

Six motor launch-lifeboats and 12 lifeboats for the new Cunard liner Queen, Elizabeth II, had been completed and were waiting transportation from Watercraft, the riverside boat builders, to John Brown’s shipyard at Glasgow. The motor launchers, which were to double as lifeboats were 40ft long, with hulls and superstructures made of fibreglass. Graham Carr, the York City captain, had received a letter from Joe Shaw, manager of the club until his shock resignation, wishing them every success for the season, and assuring the team that it was not poor results that caused him to hand in his notice. And York had managed to hold on and salvage a point from their recent game at Leeds, even though the rugby match had been shortened by the rain.

20 years ago

President Bill Clinton had finally acknowledged to a grand jury and the American people that he did have a relationship with Monica Lewinsky that was “not appropriate”. Refusing to give detailed answers to questions about the explicit nature of the contacts, Clinton told Americans in a nationally televised address that the whole relationship had been “wrong,” and that he had “misled people” including his wife. And thousands of racegoers had converged on York for the city’s biggest event in the racing calendar, the three-day Ebor meeting.