Rail business makes record over holiday

One train to Meaford carries over 1,000 passengers.

Extra trains run

Mail and express are heavier than in recent years.

Railway traffic over the holiday was heavier than it has been for years according to officials of the Canadian National Railways. One train bound from Toronto to Meaford Tuesday night was carrying 1,171 passengers when it reached Allandale.

There were five extra train sections operated through Allandale the day before Christmas. The great volume of passenger business was due in large measure to the state of the highways which made motoring impossible except on trunk roads that had been plowed out.

Heavy snow storms in central and eastern Ontario made trains from the part of the province late in arriving at Toronto and for that reasons it was impossible to start trains for the north and west on time. Trains operating on lines running out of Allandale were able to maintain their schedules fairly well in spite of the volume of traffic as snow did not affect the roads in this part of the province.

Busses operating between Toronto and Orillia reported business heavy over the holiday. The highway was in fair shape and these vehicles were able to make their trips without difficulty.

Heavier mails than ever have been handled before were reported at the Barrie post office today. Twenty clerks were required to take car of the tons of material that came by parcel post. By Thursday most of the packages had been called for although there were some still piled around the sides of the sorting room awaiting owners. The post office staff worked until noon Christmas Day to sort the heavy mails which continued to pour into the office. Postmaster Thompson Crew stated that as time passed people were paying more attention to the departments warning post parcels early.

Like the postal and railway services the Express Company reported heavier business than usual this Christmas. Clerks had to work overtime to handle the tons of parcels that arrived on each train and were distributed through the local office.

The Canadian National Telegraphs did more business over the holiday than ever before. Indications are that more people are using the wire to send greetings every year. Up to noon Thursday Christmas felicitations were still coming to Barrie over the telegraph lines.

No figures are available at the Express office or the post office showing the actual amount of business handled but those in charge agree that it is much more than last year.

Railways: C.N.Rys.

Stations: Meaford

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