SOME more snapshots of York this week, courtesy once more of a trawl through our own electronic archive here at The Press.

There is no particular theme to this week's [photographs, although three do feature York's historic bars or gates in one form or another.

Here they are, in date order...

1. A transformer being delivered to the Osbaldwick electricity substation in 1931, ready for York to be connected for the first time to the new national electricity grid system. The substation, which was to the west of Metcalfe Lane, was York's link to the national system. The huge transformer clearly generated quite a stir as it was in transit. 'This was the biggest load ever to travel over the line', reads the caption - the line in question presumably being the Derwent Valley Light Railway.

By 1949, however, the Osbaldwick substation's capacity was too small, and it was linked to a new, larger substation at Melrosegate

2. May 1956: the barge Reklaw glides slowly under Laytherthorpe Bridge. The Reklaw was a sand dredger operated by coal, sand and gravel merchant J.H. Walker (the barge's name was the owner's name spelled backwards), which had a yard at the bridge. As well as transporting sand and gravel up the Foss to the JH Walker yard, the barge would also sometimes be hired by York Corporation to clear obstructions

3. Workmen re-cobbling King's Staith in September 1958

4. 1950s/60s Walmgate Bar in the 1950s/ 1960s. The Bar, one of York's four main gateways, stands at the entrance to the city from the East Riding. And even 60 years ago, when this photo was taken, there were traffic lights...

5. Queen Margaret's Arch on January 27, 1960. There was talk about removing the arch to improve the flow of traffic at the junction of St Leonard's Place and Bootham. No matter how often you get stuck in traffic there today, most people are surely very glad that that never happened...

7. An expectant crowd on the 'popular' side of Knavesmire during York races on August 17, 1972

Stephen Lewis