Wednesday, December 22, 2004

100 years ago: Throughout the night and carrying on during the day, fog signals were being discharged with the rapidity almost of a fusillade from a battery of quick firing guns, and to those who lived in close proximity to the railway, the constant detonations had far from a pleasant effect during the night. To the men, however, who were employed in the task of placing the signals on the line, and to the drivers of the trains greater sympathy was due than to those who were kept awake, a columnist pointed out. Their duty was an arduous and trying one, and the evidence that they were performing it with zeal was to be found in the constantly recurring explosions. Up to midday the railway traffic into York had not been very seriously affected, the trains running from the north without any appreciable delay.

50 years ago: About 2,000 troops, mostly stationed at Catterick, had their Christmas leave deferred and were standing by because of the "danger of flooding on the East Coast," a Northern Command spokesman said.

A police official emphasised that the alert merely called on those who would be concerned in an emergency to hold themselves in readiness, the highest priority call being an "alarm."

25 years ago: Bus tokens were given the "thumbs down" in York according to the branch secretary of the National Federation of Old Age Pensions Association, who said that pensioners preferred to pay up to £5 for a bus pass. The present system was to pay £1.50 for a pass that could be used during off-peak times, with each journey costing a flat rate of 8p. However, York Policy and Resources Committee recommended that instead the council issue £8 of bus tokens to each pensioner every year, despite complaints that they would be confused with normal coins, were likely to be used up in three months, and that it would mean pensioners having to pay full fares.

Updated: 16:33 Tuesday, December 21, 2004