From the Evening News, September 7, 1904: THE first electric car was run from Bury to Whitefield on Tuesday evening, establishing electric tramway communication between Bury and Manchester and Salford.

Radcliffe will shortly be linked up. At present passengers have to change cars at Whitefield, but it is hoped a through service will be arranged shortly. After the first car had reached Whitefield last night there was a little speechmaking at the council offices. Crowds of people witnessed the arrival.

THE plague of tramps is engaging the attention of many Irish boards of guardians, including that of Sligo, where strong complaint is especially made of chimney sweeps. According to one guardian, the chimney sweeps "go out during the day and come drunk into the workhouse at night, when they get supper, bed and breakfast." He said it was disgraceful and should be put a stop to.

From the Evening News, September 7, 1954: A YOUNG Bolton musician, Raymond Greenlees, Heaton Avenue, Bolton, will be appearing on the radio in Saturday's "Northern Young Artists" programme during "Children's Hour". Raymond, a cellist, is 17-years-old. A pupil of Bolton School, he has been a member of the National Youth Orchestra for some years.

From the Evening News, September 7, 1979: AN outsider was named today as the new Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the Rt Rev Robert Runcie, aged 57, the present Bishop of St Albans. His appointment caused surprise among churchmen because it seemed most likely that the post would go to Dr Stuart Blanch, 61, the Archbishop of York. Dr Runcie, who has been at St Albans since 1970, succeeds Dr Donald Coggan on January 26.

BURY'S "It's a Knockout" team swept to success in Portugal when it beat Swiss opponents in a European heat of the TV contest. The 12 competitors, and the two team captains, will now represent Britain in the European Championship in France in two weeks' time. Bury won their way through to the heat after beating teams from Blackburn and Salford.

From the Evening News, September 7, 1994: ONLY a few large shops have notified Bolton Council of their intention to open on Sundays. The new law, which came into force last month, allows all shops, including service businesses with a sales and display floor area below 3,000 sq ft to open any time on Sundays. But large shops with more floor area may only open for six continuous hours between 10am and 6pm.

JOURNEY times between Manchester and London could be cut by around two hours if the proposed upgrade to the West Coast Main Rail Line is given the go-ahead. The Director of Railtrack's Major Projects Division, Gil Howarth, said at a Manchester meeting: "Our study promises good news for our customers, freight users, passengers and the economy of the North-west - possibly by the year 2000. A study team is assessing a range of options desitgned to produce the best plan for WCML - one of the most important rail routes in Europe.