lrnp

THE

LRCC IN THE NEWSPAPERS

The following items were extracted from old issues of the Skegness Standard and Skegness News newspapers. Due to the fragile nature of these, it is not possible to scan these directly. Instead, they are copied photographically and a scan is then taken from the photograph. Whilst every effort is made to improve the quality electronically, the newspapers themselves are printed on low grade paper which is rather thin and sometimes worn, consequently the quality of the images below may not be of a very high standard. Hopefully, this will not detract from anyones enjoyment of this item.

19.07.1950 : Accidents usually merited photographs and one of several occasions where the vehicle left the road was featured in this issue, the vehicle being 658/1903 GN 6219. An extract of the accompanying article details the incident:

"Forty passengers in a Lincolnshire Road Car double decker 'bus service from Lincoln to Skegness, had miraculous escapes from death or serious injury, when the 'bus left the road in the middle of a steep hill, mounted a bank and came to rest at an acute angle, prevented from overturning only by the fact that the top corner of the 'bus was resting against a telegraph pole. The accident happened midway between Spilsby and Partney, half-way down Blue Hill .... ".

23.02.49 : Guy 589/1701 (BFW 539) is seen after landing in a ditch. The caption to the photographs describes :"Men with a problem - Mr. H. Wrathall, assistant to the Lincolnshire Road Car Company, Mr. J. Brown, Ministry of Transport vehicle examiner, and members of the breakdown gang takestock before commencing the task of getting the overturned bus back on the road."

The article then gives details of the incident: "The driver, conductor and 9 passengers of a double-decker 'bus travelling from Skegness to Boston all escaped without serious injury when the vehicle overturned at Friskney last week. The accident occurred as the vehicle was passing another 'bus travelling in the opposite direction of a narrow stretch of road near Holland Lane End. The bank of the deep ditch at the roadside gave way under nthe weight of the 'bus which overturned. All the windows were shattered but otherwise the damage to the vehicle was slight, and after a breakdown gang had got it back on the road, it returned to Boston under its own power. Driver of the 'bus which belongs to the Lincolnshire Road Car Co.Ltd., was Mr. F. Enderby of Fishtoft, and the conductor was Mr. H. Steadman of Wyberton."

20.08.58 : 2324 (NBE 127) whilst operating the last bus of the day from Mablethorpe to Skegness ended up in a ditch near Ingoldmells. Although the bus was described as "crowded", only minor injuries were incurred by some passengers. 2324, a Bristol LD6B, was new in September 1955 and was withdrawn in 1974.

10.12.1958: Apologies for the poor quality of this copy (the original was slightly worse !). The vehicle illustrated is a Bristol LS which was on the express service A to Nottingham. The accompanying report reads: "The road was blocked for over six hours on Saturday when a Lincs. Road Car bus skidded into a dyke at "Cornerways", Sutton-on-Sea ... It missed a telegraph pole by only inches. The bus was on the Mablethorpe to Nottingham service." The engine was damaged and there were no injuries to passengers.

26.07.1950 : CFW 505 is seen after ending up in a ditch whilst working a service 57. The caption to the photograph reads: "The 'bus lying in the ditch shortly before it was recovered on Sunday morning". There were no serious injuries to the 40 passengers on board.

04.06.1960: AEC, DFW 76, was converted to a publicity bus to advertise Skegness. It is seen here departing for the West Riding with a rather slender (probably due to the narrow entrance) Jolly Fisherman. Lettering on the side advertises rather optimistically "Skegness Welcomes You in all Seasons".

07.06.1939 : During the 1930's, the LRCC was developing a growing network of express services and excursions. The express services were all lettered rather than numbered and that shown in the advertisement here, from Skegness to Hunstanton, was allocated "N". It was suspended during the Second World War and was not resumed. Note also the reference to Butlin's which non residents were allowed to visit (or inspect !) on Sundays.

27.05.1942 : During the War, the LRCC embarked upon a major advertising campaign illustrating their part in the War Effort as well as attempting to encourage non essential journeys to be done out of peak periods. This rather interesting one illustrates BBE 790 and ends with the comment "With 50 fewer buses we have to carry 50% more passengers". Most adverts were not illustrated with photographs. A pity,as it would have been interesting to see one for a newspaper of 20.10.1943:

"The Gas Producer - Saves Petrol - And maintains services. The trailers fitted to our vehicles - after months of research - make possible the operation of buses on gas generated from home produced coal. Millions of gallons of petrol will be saved for the fighting forces, so we are confident the public will share our pride in this valuable contribution to the War effort."

01.10.1941 : Another in the series of War adverts gave details of the employees of the LRCC. The Connie the Conductress theme is extended in another advert (18.02.1942) :

"GIRLS !

You've heard all about Connie, the Conductress, and of the splendid work she is doing in an ESSENTIAL WAR SERVICE.

SHE NEEDS MORE HELP.

This is your opportunity.

Girls, 18 and over, are WANTED AS CONDUCTRESSES by the Lincolnshire Road Car Co. Ltd. Training is given and uniforms are supplied. trade Union rates of pay. Work is controlled by Essential Works Order. Free Travel.

08.09.1943 : Less frequently, the LRCC used cartoons to make their point. This one directed at those crowding the entrance ! The problem of jumping from moving vehicles was tackled by the following poem which appeared in an advert (08.03.1944):

"See here the ghost of Bronco Brown

A black-out victim in the town,

From a moving bus he hopped;

He couldn't wait until it had stopped,

Tho Earlier he had hoped to be,

He's now know as the Late B.B."

03.08.1955 : Finally, a rather amusing photograph and accompanying article ! "Out on a tour in Skegness on Tuesday evening, Tom Fogg found that the vehicle he was driving developed clutch trouble on a hill just outside Skendleby. Using his van, Mr. Ken Scrimshaw of Skegness towed the bus over two hills and passengers assisted by pushing. They then gave up the unequal struggle and sent for another coach."