Evening star., 1946-04-14

! ties have not been announced for
/ 1916.
! About 10 miles south OF Thornton
Gap is Skyland, whose hotel and
cottages, overlooking the Shenan-
doah Valley, offer 100 rooms. These
accommodations, which provide
meals also, will be opened May ~,
with October 26 as the closing date.
Whole cottages may be rented for
large motoring parties.
Approximately - miles beyond
Skyland is Big Meadows, which is to
be open from next Thursday until
November 2. The spacious stone
lodge and its cottages offer 10 rooms,
each with bath. The public camp
grounds at Big Meadows have space
for so trailers and 20 tent sites, and
a picnic group with the usual appur-
tenances.
Facilities at Swift Run Gap, ap-
proximately 6 miles from Front
Royal, include filling station and a
restaurant. These services opened
April 4. At Swift Run, U. s. high
way No. SO (the Spotswood traiD
crosses the drive. Westward on the
highway is Harrisonburg. Eastward,
the highway connects with paved
roads leading south toward Char
lottesville and Lynchburg; northeast,
toward Culpeper and Washington.
Skyline drives resorts are oper-
ated by concessionaires, the Virginia
Skyline Co., Inc, with headquarters
in Richmond. Tomorrow, the COM
pany opens a reservation office at
Luray, Va, to which the National
Park Service directs that applica-
tions for reservations be sent Prices
this year are slightly above those
prevailing during 1s41, the last year
Of operation.
Bus service over the northern part
of the $4,500,000 97-mile Skyline
drive will be operated from WASH
ington by two companies, under
present plans. The Gray Line is
planning tours this summer, leaving
Washington about 8:45 each morn |
ing, and completing a circle to ar
rive In the Nations Capital about
6 pm. The schedule is tentative, as
is this route: Washington to Front |
Royal, where the party stops for
lunch. Thirty miles over the drive,
with stops at certain overlooks, to
Thornton Gap. Left at the gap onto
Lee highway to Sperryville, at the
foot of the mountains; Washington,
Va, and Warrenton to Washington,
D. c.
About mid-May or early June,
Virginia railways plan to resume
its route over the drive as a part of
its transportation to Charlottesville,
Va. for connections to Richmond,
Lynchburg and North Carolina
points.
The schedule is expected to fol-
low the prewar pattern Of: Leave
Washington about 7:30 am. for
Front Royal. Along the drive, with
stops at the more inter-
esting overlooks, through Thornton
Gap and on to Big Meadows. An
hours luncheon stop at Big Mead
ows Continue southwark over the
drive to Swift Run Gap. left down
into the valley to Ruckersville. Va,
and southwark over U. S. 20 to !
Charlottesville.
New equipment to be operated by
railways this season, north and
south out of Washington includes
IL large air-conditioned buses, 10
new Diesel-driven vehicles and 10
more of another type, carrying 81
In q move to promote. highway
safety, the Greyhound Lines plan
to equip their fleet of $500 buses
with a war-developed plastic that
glows in the dark when catching the
headlight beams of other cars.
The new material is described as
4 film in which thousands Of micro
scopic glass lenses are imbedded
In each square inch. While the final
designs have not yet been decided,
the "tryout" decorations include
the distinctive greyhound dog be-
ing composed Of the plastic, and
wide strips running lengthwise of
he bus on each side. Characteristic
'ront and rear designs are being
worked out in the reflector material.
The daylight color scheme of blue
and white will be retained, as the
reflector material is manufactured