THE CARRIAGE OF MAILS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVII, Issue XLVII, 11 July 1912, Page 6

THE CARRIAGE OF MAILS.

EXPERIMENTS WITH MOTOR VANS. Experiments are being made by the ! Postal Department with a view to establishing motor services in different parts of the district. This morning a 16 horse-power Albion motor mail van arrived from Wellington, and later proceeded through' to Blenheim on a trial run. The car is British make, being built at Glasgow, weighs two tons, and carries 17cwt., exclusive of passengers. Mr. Grapes, representative of the Albion Motor Co., accompanied the- car, which was in charge of Mr. S. of the Post and Telegraph Department, Wellington. The trip through to-day will prove a good test of what the car is capable-of doing under adverse weather conditions. The hills should prove no obstacle, as a grade of 1 in 3J nas been climbed. A return to Nelson will be made to-morrow, and the van will then be sent back to headquarters. Mr. W. T. Ward, Chief Postmaster, informs us that alternative tenders for a horse and motor service, both passenger and mail, are to be called for Nelson to Blenheim, Nelson to Motueka and Nelson to Reefton. The new service comes ( into force from January Ist next, so there is a possibility of the present coach service being displaced'by the more modern method. It is considered that the route j to Motueka offers fewer obstacles for mo- i tor traffic than either of the other lines, ] and it is more than .possible that from the | beginning of next year the mails will be conveyed to and from that district per medium of motor. Considerable interest is being evinced in the trial trip to and from Blenheim, and further steps by the Department in regard to the development of the motor service will be eagerly awaited.