Way we were

100 years ago

There were in the course of construction in the shops of the North Eastern Railway Company at York several motorcars, which were to be used as an experiment by the company. The cars were fitted with three tiers of seats, two rows on a tier, so that each passenger would obtain an uninterrupted view of the country in front. There would be no covers as in the motor omnibuses, and the seats were arranged on the toast rack principle. They were to be used for touring purposes from the railway station in pleasure resorts, and were exactly similar in arrangement to the vehicles which were in daily use for sight-seeing in New York and Washington. Each car would accommodate from thirty to thirty-two passengers. They were not intended to travel at the excessive speed of the ordinary motorcar, but at a rate, which would enable the passengers to see the country through which they passed with comfort and ease.

50 years ago

The social standing and behaviour of a nation could be judged by the material deposited in its dustbins, the Cleansing Superintendent of Dagenham told the annual conference of the Institute of Public Cleansing at Scarborough. "The varied contents reflect the standard of living enjoyed," he declared. On the changing character of household refuse, he said that quick breakfast cereals in place of cooked foods, and the availability of canteen meals reduced the amount of vegetable and putrescible matter in the dustbin. The growing popularity of canned and frozen foods had also reduced waste. He attributed the increase in the amount of dust and cinder to improved grates, less time spent by housewives in sifting cinders for re-use, and the poor quality of the cinders due to inferior coal. The rise in social standards among the poorer classes had resulted in less care being exercised in separating cinders from the ash, as difficulties of purchasing fuel were not so stringent upon the family purse.

25 years ago

Ramblers walked more than 50 miles to take greetings to the Dean of York, The Very Rev Ronald Jasper. Their trek marked the opening of a long-distance footpath the Minster way from Beverley Minster, across the Wolds to York Minster. The Ramblers' Association members set off with a message from the Dean of Beverley, the Rev Peter Harrison, which they presented to Dr Jasper with a copy of a book describing the 54-mile path. This was the association's Footpath Heritage Week, and in the York district members had organised a series of rambles from a ten-mile hike starting at City Hospital, to a five-mile walk starting at Dunnington Cross. There would also be a "ride and ramble" from Pickering station.

Updated: 15:33 Wednesday, June 15, 2005