100 years ago

During the previous few days there had been delivered to the York Corporation Tramways Department four new tramcars, which had come from the building works of the British Electrical Engineering Company, at Loughborough.

The electrical equipment had been supplied by the British Thomson Hurston Company, and the cars, with the exception of slight improvements in the construction of the trucks, were exactly the same as those already in use.

The new tramcars had been ordered with the intention of relieving the strain experienced in the running of the workpeople's services, and also to afford further inside accommodation for passengers on rainy days. The additional cars would also be extremely useful in augmenting the services on special occasions such as race days, etc.

Engineers of the British Thomson Hurston Company were currently engaged in fitting up the various parts of the new cars at the Fulford Sheds, and it was practically certain that they would be running in time for the Gala.

50 years ago

A meteorological mystery seemed to surround the village of Appleton Roebuck, which was tucked in a corner between the Rivers Ouse and Wharfe.

The rainfall there was said to be very low. There was no recent statistical evidence to support this claim, but there was a rain gauge at Nun Appleton until 30 years before, and villagers said that the measurements taken then were always below those for other places in the region, and that the spot was currently just as dry as ever it was.

For some reason, cloud bursts passed them by while York and its surrounding villages experienced a deluge. A meteorological expert said he knew of no scientific reason why this particular part of the Vale of York should receive any preferential treatment. If the village's claim was a valid one we could see Appleton becoming a very popular holiday centre.

25 years ago

Squirrels had returned to the Museum Gardens in York - to the delight of York's squirrel lady, Lorna Ripley.

Lorna, of Claremont Terrace, who took the creatures to her heart and gave them all names, said that up to seven new grey squirrels had come back to the gardens. She was devastated when the county council ordered a cull of the bushy-tailed grey squirrels, although they stressed that they had become too numerous and were damaging the trees.

Now Lorna was delighted to see the young animals returning to the area. “I cried when they were culled,” she said. “But I'm delighted there are now some babies in the gardens and I have started training them to come to me,” she said.