TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
Bold text is denoted by =equal signs=.
Footnote anchors are denoted by [number], and the footnotes have been
placed at the end of the chapter.
A superscript is denoted by ^x or ^{xx}, for example und^r or 36^{th}.
Some minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book.
_A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON_
COACH-BUILDING
HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE
CONTAINING
FULL INFORMATION OF THE VARIOUS TRADES AND
PROCESSES INVOLVED, WITH HINTS ON THE
PROPER KEEPING OF CARRIAGES, &c.
_WITH FIFTY-SEVEN ILLUSTRATIONS_
BY JAMES W. BURGESS
[Illustration: Capio Lumen]
LONDON
CROSBY LOCKWOOD AND CO.
7, STATIONERS’ HALL COURT, LUDGATE HILL
1881
[_All rights reserved_]
LONDON:
PRINTED BY J. S. VIRTUE AND CO., LIMITED,
CITY ROAD.
PREFACE.
It is singular that such an important industry as coach-building
should have received such slight attention from writers either at
home or abroad; yet such is the case, the last book dealing in any
way exhaustively with the trade having been published some fifty
years ago. The manufacturers themselves have doubtless very copious
notes, which, if printed, would make several large volumes; but they
do not publish the result of their experience to the world, and
consequently the general public, and more particularly apprentices
and others whose occupations or amusements may be in any way
connected with the trade, have no means of gaining an insight into
this branch of industrial art.
It is hoped that this book will supply, to some extent at least,
this deficiency. Its object is general utility rather than technical
instructions on minor details. The principles on which carriages
ought to be constructed, rather than the arbitrary proportions of
parts, are what the author has sought to make clear.
From an antiquarian point of view the history of carriages is very
interesting. In the first chapter the gradual development of vehicles
and their parts from the first rude forms of raft and sledge, down to
the shapes with which we are now familiar, has been carefully dealt
with, and all matters of interest in connection therewith have been
added.
In dealing with the practical part of the business, the preliminary
operations of the carriage designer and draughtsman are first
considered, and directions given how to make the drawing of a
proposed vehicle; from whence the reader is taken into the workshop,
where he is introduced to the points which usually have to be
considered before commencing the construction of a vehicle, and
instructions given as to the preparation of the full-sized working
draughts or drawings. The component parts of body and carriage
are then particularised, and notes added to assist in their being
properly understood. A glance is given at the various materials
used, and then the most important parts of the vehicle are dealt
with separately, as wheels, axles, springs, &c., both the theory
and manufacture of each part being given, in order to make clear
the work it has to perform in operation, and the means of obviating
difficulties.
In the chapter devoted to the painting department a slight sketch has
been given of the theory of colour, in order that the unscientific
reader may understand the harmonies and contrasts of colour, which
are so important to the successful conduct of this branch. The
materials and implements that the painter uses are described, and the
vehicle followed through the successive stages of priming, painting,
colouring, and varnishing. In addition to this a chapter is given on
“Ornamental Painting” _i.e._ painting monograms, crests, and coats of
arms on the carriage panels.
In the chapter “General Observations on the Trade” several
interesting facts and statistics have been dealt with; such as the
present position of carriage artisans; application of machinery; the
coach trade in America and in India; also the theory of lengthening
or shortening the carriage parts.
A chapter on “Invention” has been added, which it is trusted may
prove of value. As a concluding chapter, some hints on the proper
treatment of carriages by their private owners have been given, which
will no doubt be useful to the coach-builder.
What few authorities there are on the subject have been carefully
consulted by the author, with a view to making the book as accurate
and reliable as possible.
If any member of the trade desires to make suggestions as to
improvement in any of the processes given, his communication,
addressed to the author (care of the publishers), will be carefully
considered in connection with subsequent editions of the work.
J. W. B.
LONDON, _April_, 1881.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER I.—GENERAL HISTORY 1
CHAPTER II.—PREPARATION OF THE DESIGN AND SETTING
OUT THE FULL-SIZED DRAUGHT 22
CHAPTER III.—VARIOUS MATERIALS USED IN COACH-BUILDING 29
CHAPTER IV.—POINTS TO BE CONSIDERED BEFORE COMMENCING
THE CONSTRUCTION OF A CARRIAGE.—COMPONENT PARTS
OF THE BODY.—SMITH’S WORK.—GLUE 35
CHAPTER V.—PARTS COMPOSING THE UNDER-CARRIAGE.—FRAMING
THEM TOGETHER.—WROUGHT-IRON PERCHES.—BRAKES 48
CHAPTER VI.—WHEELS 54
CHAPTER VII.—AXLES 70
CHAPTER VIII.—SPRINGS 82
CHAPTER IX.—WHEEL-PLATES AND FORE-CARRIAGES 90
CHAPTER X.—IRON AND METAL-WORK GENERALLY.—LAMPS.—PRINCIPLES
OF COMBUSTION 96
CHAPTER XI.—PAINTING 102
CHAPTER XII.—ORNAMENTAL PAINTING 123
CHAPTER XIII.—LINING AND TRIMMING 132
CHAPTER XIV.—GENERAL REMARKS ON THE COACH-BUILDING
TRADE 142
CHAPTER XV.—INVENTION 168
CHAPTER XVI.—REMARKS ON KEEPING CARRIAGES 178
A PRACTICAL TREATISE
ON
COACH-BUILDING.
CHAPTER I.
GENERAL HISTORY.
The origin of the word coach has not yet been accurately determined.
Menage says it is taken from the Latin _vehiculum_, which most
people will take the liberty of doubting; Wachten, from the German
_kutten_, to cover; Lye, from the Belgic _koetsen_, to lie along,
or, as it really means, a couch or chair; it has also been tried to
prove that the word is of Hungarian origin, and that it took its
name from _Kotsee_, the old name of the province of Wiesellung,
where various kinds of carriages were made; and in Beckmann’s
“History of Inventions” it is mentioned that “when the Archbishop
received certain intelligence that the Turks had entered Hungary,
not contented with informing the king by letter, he speedily got
into one of those light carriages of the place they call _kotcze_,
and hastened to his majesty.” This, in addition to the fact that
some years previously the King of Hungary presented to the Queen of
Bohemia a vehicle that excited great wonder and admiration, by reason
of its trembling (_branlant_), showing clearly that it must have been
suspended, is strongly in favour of the Hungarian coachmakers; but
we must leave it to the philologists to determine the exact truth,
for what with the _caroche_ of France, the _caroce_ of Italy, the
_carri-coche_ of Spain, and our own coach, the head gets somewhat
bewildered, and is fain to take refuge in the simple _carruca_ of
ancient Rome, from which these appellations most probably had their
rise. In any case the honour must be a divided one, as the _caretta_,
_chare_, car, _charat_, &c., must have been the earliest forms of
the derivation, as such were the names given to the first vehicles;
later, we have the Hungarian _kotcze_, the German _kutsche_, &c., and
adding both form and name to what had gone before, produced a mixed
vehicle with a mixed appellation. Dr. Johnson defines coach as a
“little carriage.” The _large_ carriage that he had in his mind’s eye
at the time must have been a marvellous vehicle.
The progress of the art of coach-making, like the progress of
most inventions and discoveries, has been rather slow, we may say
remarkably slow; sometimes it made a sudden start, but a reaction
in the other direction generally settled it before much advance had
been made; but seeing that the early portions of the Old Testament
contain references to wheel carriages, it does seem rather strange
that perfection should take so long to arrive at. This may be partly
accounted for by the fact that the nations of the earth were always
at war with one another, and consequently had no time to foster
inventive power. And this has unfortunately been the case until
comparatively recent times.
The first land carriages were doubtless very primitive contrivances.
Though the “chariot” and the “waggon” are mentioned in Genesis, no
description is given of their construction. Joseph rode in the second
chariot of Pharaoh as a mark of great honour and dignity. “Waggons”
were dispatched from the court of Egypt to convey thither the wives
and little ones of the family of Jacob. From this, as well as the
fact of the brethren of Joseph bearing their corn away on asses, we
may infer that wheel carriages, even of the most simple construction,
were not in general use at this time. It is very probable that the
common vehicle of the period was an embryo sledge, drawn by man or
beast along the ground.
The Bible and the hieroglyphics on the various ruins of ancient Egypt
furnish us with the earliest authentic records. In the case of Egypt
this is particularly valuable to us, because of the great degree of
culture arrived at in the civilised arts. In fact it is the chief
country of which we have any record of the progress of these arts,
and though not actually established, it is extremely probable that to
the Egyptians we owe the invention, or at least the introduction of
the wheel. These people were early engaged in the erection of large
buildings and monuments, of which the pyramids and sphinxes are such
striking examples; and in order to convey the enormous blocks of
stone and granite to their ultimate destination, the roller would be
the first thing to suggest itself as a means of facilitating transit.
The next step would be the formation of a truck, to which these
rollers could be attached, and on which could be placed the materials
to be moved. Progression with a contrivance of this kind would
necessarily be rather slow, but it would soon become apparent that if
a larger roller were used the motion could be accelerated. The next
improvement would be an endeavour to lighten the rollers by sawing
them into thick slices, and connecting them by a horizontal roller
of smaller dimensions, giving a rude representation of a wheel and
axle. The agricultural carts used by the peasantry of Chili, in South
America, were made in this fashion until very recently. The further
lightening of these cars would follow almost as a matter of course,
by cutting the slices of the trunk to form the wheel, thinner, and
further by cutting away portions of this slice, forming spokes. The
wheel having arrived at this stage of perfection, the axle would
call for a little attention. Up till the present, they would be fixed
firmly to the wheels and revolve with them. This arrangement would
cause great inconvenience in turning, for one wheel would revolve
more rapidly than the other, by reason of the circle described by one
wheel in turning round being greater than that of the other, and the
vehicle would be liable to overturn. The next step was to arrange
that the wheels could revolve independently of the axle. This being
done, we have the wheel, in its principles, the same as at present.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.—Egyptian Chariot. Fig. 2.—Egyptian Chariot.]
The paintings and sculptures upon the walls of the temples and tombs
of Egypt show that wheeled carriages were in use in that country
at an early period (Figs. 1 and 2). In the Bible they are usually
translated “chariot.” They are of great interest to us, as they
formed the chief means of conveying man for 2,000 years before
Christ, and were more or less the type of all the other vehicles of
the ancient world. We find certain words used in describing them,
both by Homer, who lived 1,000 years B.C., and by Moses, who lived at
least 500 years earlier; and these words are the technical terms in
use at the present day, such as axles, wheels, naves, tyres, spokes,
&c. It is reasonable to infer from this, that the art to which these
terms apply must have existed prior to the writers’ description; so
that any doubt as to the correctness of the Egyptian sculptures must
be dispelled by the references of the above authors. In the fifth
book of the Iliad “The awful Juno led out the golden-bitted horses,
whilst Hebe fitted the whirling wheels on the iron axle of the swift
chariot. The wheels had each eight brazen spokes, the felloes were of
gold, secured with brazen tyres all round, admirable to the sight.
The seat was of gold hung by silver cords, the beam or pole was of
silver, at the end of which were hung the golden yoke and the golden
reins.”
[Illustration: Fig. 3.—Roman Chariot.]
The car was greatly used by the Romans, being adopted from the one
used by the Etrurians (Fig. 3), a neighbouring country on the Italian
peninsula. These latter people were traditionally the first to place
a hood or awning over the open two-wheeled car, and they showed great
taste in decorating their vehicles in the manner familiar to us by
the remains of their pottery. A very fine copy of one of the Roman
cars is in the museum at South Kensington, cast from the original in
the Vatican.
[Illustration: Fig. 4.—Scythian Chariot.]
Herodotus (450 B.C.) mentions that the Scythians used a vehicle which
consisted of a rough platform upon wheels, on which was placed a
covering like a beehive, composed of basket work and covered with
skins. When they pitched anywhere these huts were taken off, and
served them as dwellings in lieu of tents. Fig. 4 shows one of their
chariots.
The war chariots used by the Persians were much larger than those
used by contemporary nations. The idea seems to have been to form a
sort of turret on the car to protect the warriors in action. These
vehicles were provided with curved blades, like scythes, which
projected from the axletrees, for the purpose of maiming the enemy as
they drove through them.
At the period of the invasion of this country by the Romans, a car
or chariot seems to have been in use which they had not met with
before. It was larger than the Roman car, and possessed a seat, from
which feature it was called _essedum_. It was doubtless an improved
vehicle of its kind, for Cicero, writing to a friend in Britain, says
“that there appeared little worth bringing away from Britain except
the chariots, of which he wished his friend to bring him one as a
pattern.”
Sir William Gell, in his work on Pompeii, which was destroyed A.D.
79, mentions that three wheels had been dug out of the ruins in
his day, very much like our modern wheels—a little dished, and 4
feet 3 inches high, with ten spokes rather thicker at each end
than in the middle. He also gives an illustration of a cart used
for the conveyance of wine in a large skin or leather bag; it is a
four-wheeled cart, with an arch in the centre for the front wheel to
turn under. The pole appears to end in a fork, and to be attached to
the axle bed.
On the decline of the Roman power, many of the arts of civilisation
which they had been instrumental in forwarding fell into disuse. The
skilled artisans died and left no successors, there being no demand
for them. This will account for no mention being made of carriages or
chariots for some centuries. Of course there were various primitive
contrivances in use to which the name of cart was given, but the
great and wealthy moved about the cities or travelled on horseback,
or if they were incapable of this, they used litters carried by men
or horses. The great bar to the general adoption of wheeled carriages
was undoubtedly the very bad state of the roads.
An evident improvement in construction was made by the Saxons. In the
Cotton Library there is a valuable illuminated manuscript, supposed
to be the work of Elfricus, Abbot of Malmesbury. The subject is a
commentary on the Books of Genesis and Exodus, with accompanying
illustrations. In one of these is represented the first approach to a
slung carriage; and it may be interesting to the lovers of historical
coincidence that it is given in an illustration of the meeting of
Joseph and Jacob, and in that part of the Bible which first makes
mention of vehicular conveyance. The chariot in which Joseph is
seated is a kind of hammock (most probably made of leather, which
was much used by the Anglo-Saxons), suspended by iron hooks from
a framework of wood. It moves upon four wheels, the construction
of which is not clear, owing to the decorative license taken with
them by the artist. The father of Joseph is placed in a cart, which
we doubt not, from its extreme simplicity, is a faithful type of
those of the time. This proves the illuminator to have been true to
his subject and the custom of the period in which he lived, as the
chariot was monopolised by the great men, while the people rode in
carts.
With the Normans came the horse litter, a native originally of
Bithynia, and from thence introduced into Rome, where it is still
used by the Pope on state occasions, and also among the mountain
passes of Sicily, as well as in Spain and Portugal. Malmesbury
records that the dead body of Rufus was placed upon a _rheda
caballaria_, a kind of horse litter. King John, in his last illness,
was conveyed from the Abbey of Swinstead _in lectica equestre_. These
were for several succeeding reigns the only carriages in use for
persons of distinction. Froissart writes of Isabel, the second wife
of Richard II., as “La june Royne d’Angleterre en une litieré moult
riche qui etoit ordonèe pour elle.” These litters were seldom used
except on state occasions. When Margaret, daughter of Henry II., went
into Scotland, she is described as journeying on a “faire palfrey,”
but after her was conveyed by two footmen “one very riche litere,
borne by two faire coursers vary nobly drest; in which litere the
sayd queene was borne in the intryng of the good towns or otherwise
to her good playsher.”
Carriages proper were first introduced on the continent. Italy,
France, Spain, and Germany contend with each other for the honour
of the first introduction. The earliest record we have is on the
authority of Beckmann, who says that, when at the close of the
thirteenth century Charles of Anjou entered Naples, his queen rode
in a _caretta_, the outside and inside of which were covered with
sky-blue velvet interspersed with golden lilies.
The English were not long before they adopted this new innovation. In
an early English poem called the “Squyr of Low Degree,” supposed to
be before the time of Chaucer, the father of the Princess of Hungary
thus makes promise:—
“To-morrow ye shall on hunting fare,
And ride my daughter in a _chare_.
It shall be covered with velvet red,
And cloths of fine gold all about your head,
With damask white and azure blue,
Well diapered with lilies new:
Your pomelles shall be ended with gold,
Your chains enamelled many a fold.”
The pomelles were doubtless the handles to the rods affixed towards
the roof of the “chariette,” and were for the purpose of holding by
when deep ruts or obstacles in the roads caused an unusual jerk in
the vehicle.
On the continent, there seems to have been a great deal of opposition
to the use of carriages. In 1294, Philip, King of France, issued an
ordinance prohibiting the citizens’ wives the use of cars or chars;
and later on, Pope Pius IV. exhorted his cardinals and bishops not to
ride in coaches, according to the fashion of the time, but to leave
such things to women; and it really was thought _infra dig._ for a
man to travel other than on horseback. Even his Holiness the Pope
rode upon a grey horse; though to indemnify him for the exertion, his
horse was led, and his stirrup held by kings and emperors.
These exhortations had about the same effect as James I.’s
“Counterblast to Tobacco;” they created an increased demand, and the
people showed their sense in preferring the ease that does no injury
to the self-denial that does no good, in spite of the opposition of
their superiors.
The first coach made in England was for the Earl of Rutland, in 1555,
and Walter Rippon was the builder. He afterwards made one for Queen
Mary. Stow’s “Summerie of the English Chronicle” is the authority
upon which this statement is made.
In a postscript to the life of Thomas Parr, written by Taylor, the
Water Poet (and a mortal enemy to land carriages), we find the
following note: “He (Parr) was eighty-one years old before there was
any coach in England (Parr was born in Edward IV.’s reign in 1483);
for the first ever seen here was brought out of the Netherlands by
one William Boonen, a Dutchman, who gave a coach to Queen Elizabeth,
for she had been seven years a queen before she had any coach; since
when they have increased with a mischief, and ruined all the best
housekeeping, to the undoing of the watermen, by the multitudes
of Hackney coaches. But they never swarmed so much to pester the
streets as they do now till the year 1605; and then was the
gunpowder treason hatched, and at that time did the coaches breed and
multiply.” Taylor is to be thanked, not only for his information,
but for his capital though unconscious burlesque upon those fancied
philosophers who talk of cause and effect, where events, because
they happen in sequence, are made to depend one on the other, when
the fact of their being two things apart makes them independent
existences.
We have not space to dwell upon these old specimens at length. Queen
Elizabeth’s coach is called by an old author “a moving temple.” It
had doors all round, so that when the people desired, and the virgin
queen was agreeable, they might feast their eyes on the beauty of its
trimming or linings.
The following entry in Sir William Dugdale’s diary may be
interesting: “1681. Payd to Mr. Meares, a coachmaker in St. Martin’s
Lane, for a little chariot w^{ch} I then sent into the country, £23
13s. 0d., and for a cover of canvas £01 00s. 00d.: also for harness
for two horses £04 00s. 00d.”
The opposition on the part of the watermen to the introduction of
coaches assumed rather serious proportions, more especially as the
populace sided with them; to such a height did the antagonism run
that a movement was made to introduce a Bill into Parliament to
prevent the increase of coaches; the apology for its introduction
being, that in war time it would be a matter of great difficulty
to mount the troops if so many horses were monopolised for these
coaches. Luckily, however, it came to nothing, and the antipathy
gradually died out.
Coaches and vehicles of all descriptions now became general, and
in 1635 a patent was granted to Sir Saunders Duncombe for the
introduction of sedans; their purpose being “to interfere with the
too frequent use of coaches, to the hindrance of the carts and
carriages employed in the necessary provision of the city and
suburbs.” A rivalry now sprung up between coach and sedan, and gave
rise to a humorous tract, in which they hold a colloquy as to which
should take precedence, a brewer’s cart being appointed umpire.
The coaches at this period were fearfully and wonderfully made. There
are several examples of them scattered about in the various museums.
The people who used them at this time had no great ideas of them, for
so formidable an affair was the undertaking of a journey reckoned,
that even from Birmingham to London a departure was the signal for
making a will, followed by a solemn farewell of wife, children, and
household!
Towards the end of the seventeenth century improvements began to
take place. In Wood’s diary mention is made of a machine called the
“Flying Coach,” which performed the journey between Oxford and London
in thirteen hours! This was express rate for that age, especially as
there was some talk of making a law to limit the ground covered by a
coach to thirty miles a day in summer, and twenty-five miles a day
in winter. Oh, those good old times! The outcry lessened, and the
imperfect vehicles and bad roads were left to passengers unmolested.
What the latter were may be imagined from the fact that, when Charles
III. of Spain visited England, and Prince George of Denmark went out
to meet him, both princes were so impeded by the badness of the roads
that their carriages were obliged to be borne on the shoulders of the
peasantry, and they were six hours in performing the last nine miles
of their journey.
In the eighteenth century improvements were made in the construction
of coaches, but they were still heavy lumbering contrivances, so that
little or no progress was made in the rate at which they travelled.
Even so late as 1760 a journey from Edinburgh to London occupied
eighteen days, a part of the roads being only accessible by pack
horses. There is a very good specimen of the vehicle of the early
part of the eighteenth century in the South Kensington Museum,
belonging to the Earl of Darnley’s family, and is well worthy of
study as being one of the lightest examples known of this period.
In the Museum of South Kensington is also an excellent example of the
fully developed coach of 1790. It is a very massive-looking affair,
and belonged to the Lord Chancellor of Ireland; it looks very much
like a faded edition of the City state coach now, though when new it
doubtless had a very good appearance. It consists of a very large
body, suspended from upright or whip springs by means of leather
braces; the standing pillars slope outwards, making the sides longer
at the roof than at the elbow line. The wheels are of good height,
and the carriage part is very massively constructed, the upper part
being finished off with scroll ironwork, and on this in the front
the coachman’s hammercloth is raised. The panels are painted with
landscapes, &c., by Hamilton, R.A., and no doubt altogether it cost a
deal of money.
Vehicles now began to assume that variety of shape and form of which
we have in our own time so many specimens. There were Landaus,
introduced from a town of that name in Germany; these were, like
the coaches, only made to open in the centre of the roof just as
they do now, but instead of the covering falling into a horizontal
line it only fell back to an angle of 45 degrees, and this pattern
was maintained for a number of years. Landaulets were chariots made
to open. Generally speaking, the difference between a coach and a
chariot was that the former had two seats for the accommodation
of passengers, and the latter but one, and in appearance was like
a coach cut in half. Then came phaetons, barouches, sociables,
curricles, gigs, and whiskies, which, in their general form and
attributes, were similar to the vehicles of the present day which
bear these names. In those days fast driving was all the “go,” and
young men vied with each other in driving the loftiest and most
dangerous gigs and phaetons. Contemporary literature teemed with
romantic tales of spills and hairbreadth ’scapes from these vehicles,
and yet dilated on the fearful pleasure there was in driving them.
The larger wheeled vehicles were hung upon framed carriages, with
whip springs behind and elbow springs in front, like the gentlemen’s
cabriolets of the present day. When drawn by two horses they were
called curricles, or by one horse, chaises. There was a little
variation in the shape of the body, viz. the full curricle pattern
and the half curricle, with or without a boot, similar to a Tilbury
or a gig body. The wheels were 4 feet 3 inches to 5 feet in height.
Lancewood was then used for shafts.
It is at the beginning of the nineteenth century that real progress
is to be found in coaches and other carriages. In 1804, Mr. Obadiah
Elliott, a coachmaker of Lambeth, patented a plan for hanging
vehicles upon elliptic springs, thus doing away with the heavy perch,
as the longitudinal timber or iron connecting the hind-carriage
with the fore carriage is called. Perches are still used, but are
chiefly confined to coaches proper, or those hung upon C springs.
Elliott also considerably lightened the carriage part of the vehicles
he turned out. This was the first step to a grand revolution in
the manufacture of carriages, which was to affect every variety of
vehicle, great or small. Elliott’s enterprise was rewarded by the
gold medal of the Society of Arts, and by his business becoming a
very prosperous one, for the public were not slow in discovering the
advantages arising from great lightness in vehicles.
A print, published in 1816, shows a landaulet hung on elliptic
springs, four in number, with a square boot framed to the body, and
the driving seat supported on ironwork high above the boot. Behind
there is a footboard supported on the pump-handles. The distance
between the axletrees is very short, only 6 feet 6 inches from centre
to centre. The body is rather small, and the wheels are 3 feet 8
inches and 4 feet 8 inches high respectively, and the bottom of the
body is 3 feet 6 inches above the ground. The span or opening of the
springs is 10 inches.
In 1814 there were 23,400 four-wheeled vehicles paying duty to
Government, 27,300 two-wheeled, and 18,500 tax-carts in Great
Britain, showing a total of 69,200 vehicles. The later returns will
show how much a reduction in the duties and the use of elliptic
springs have promoted the increase of vehicles of all kinds.
A vehicle much in fashion at this period was the curricle, which
had been in use for some time in Italy, where it was suspended from
leather braces. Springs were added by the French, and, on its being
introduced here, the English altered the shape, giving the back a
graceful ogee curve, improved the hood, and added a spring bar across
the horses’ backs. It was a vehicle of easy draught, and could be
driven at great speed. Unfortunately it was rather dangerous if the
horse shied or stumbled, and this tended to reduce the demand for
it, and it was gradually superseded by the cabriolet, though Charles
Dickens used one as soon as he could afford it, and Count D’Orsay had
one made as late as 1836.
The vehicle called the briska, or britchka, was introduced about 1818
from Austria. It was hung both upon C springs and elliptic springs,
and was made in various sizes for different requirements. It was
nearly straight along the bottom. The hind panel was ogee shaped, and
the front terminated in a square boot. There was a rumble behind, and
the back seat was fitted with a hood which could be raised or lowered
at pleasure, and the knees were covered by a folding knee flap. This
was an inconvenient vehicle for our climate, as only half the number
could be sheltered in wet weather that could be accommodated in dry.
It was very fashionable for a time, but died out about 1840.
[Illustration: Fig. 5.—Stanhope.]
The “Stanhope” takes its name from being first built to the order and
under the superintendence of the Hon. Fitzroy Stanhope, by Tilbury,
the builder of the vehicle bearing that name. It was shaped like
the old ribbed gig, but was hung upon four springs, two of which
were bolted between the shaft and axle, and the other two crossways,
parallel to the axle at either end of the body, and shackled to the
side springs. Stanhopes are an easy kind of vehicle, and do not rock
so much as other gigs behind a rough-trotting horse. At the same time
they are rather heavy, owing to the large amount of iron plating used
to strengthen the shafts, &c.
[Illustration: Fig. 6.—Tilbury.]
The “Tilbury” was very much like the Stanhope, but had no boot,
and like it was heavily plated with iron. It was hung by two elbow
springs in front, with leather braces to the shafts or front cross
bar, and behind by two elbow springs passing from beneath the seat
to a cross spring raised to the level of the back rail of the body
by three straight irons from the hind part of the cross bar. Later,
two more springs were added between the axletree and the shafts,
by scroll irons. The Tilbury was a very good-looking and durable
vehicle, but its weight took away the public favour, and it went out
of fashion about 1850. It was, however, adopted with great success by
Italy and other continental countries, where the roads are bad, and
solidity of construction is the first consideration.
Dog-carts and Tandem-carts are too well known to need description.
The former were so called from their being used for the conveyance
of sporting dogs, such as greyhounds or pointers, and the slats or
louvre arrangement of the sides was for the purpose of admitting air
to the animals; though scarcely ever used for this purpose now, the
original plan has been pretty closely adhered to, except that the
boot is considerably reduced and made to harmonise more with the
other parts.
Some of the greatest improvements in the shape and style of various
vehicles were effected by a celebrated maker named Samuel Hobson,
who remodelled and improved pretty nearly every vehicle which came
under his hands. He particularly directed his attention to the true
proportion of parts, and artistic form of carriages. He lowered the
bodies, and lengthened the under or “carriage” part. The curves and
sweeps also received due attention. In fact, he carefully studied
those “trifles” (as Michael Angelo’s friend would have termed them)
on which depended the success of the production as a work of art.
Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, the other coachmakers
soon showed their sense by copying his best ideas, though, to give
these other coachmakers their due, they greatly assisted Mr. Hobson
with suggestions for improvements, and as a reward availed themselves
of his superior talent for working on these ideas.
As our interior trade and manufactures increased, the custom arose of
sending commercial travellers throughout England to call attention
to the various goods, and it was found very convenient to send these
travellers in light vehicles which could convey samples of the
various articles. This led to a very great increase in the number of
gigs; and about 1830 one coach factory of London supplied several
hundreds of these vehicles to travellers at annual rentals. And
though on the introduction of the railway system long journeys by
road were unnecessary, these gigs were found of great use in town and
suburban journeys, and in London they may be seen by hundreds daily,
and they are scarcely used by any one else but commercial travellers.
They are too familiar to need detailed description.
In 1810 a duty was levied by Government upon vehicles for sale. It
was repealed in 1825, but the returns give the number of vehicles
built for private use in 1814 as 3,636, and in 1824 as 5,143,
whilst the number of carriages in use in 1824 had grown to 25,000
four-wheeled, and 36,000 two-wheeled, besides 15,000 tax-carts; an
increase since 1814 of 20,000 vehicles.
In 1824 there was built for George IV. a low phaeton, called a pony
phaeton, which has since become very common, and has undergone but
very little change from the original. It was a cab shape, half-caned,
with a skeleton bottom side hung upon four elliptical springs, with
crane ironwork back and front. It was drawn by two ponies; the wheels
were only 21 and 33 inches high.
A carriage had been introduced from Germany, called a droitska or
droskey—an open carriage with a hood, on a perch, and suspended from
C springs. The peculiarity was, that the body was hung very near the
perch, so that the seat was only 12 inches above the hind axletree,
and the place for the legs was on either side of the perch. The chief
merits of this vehicle consisted in its lightness as compared with
barouches and briskas, and its shortness.
The cab phaeton was invented by Mr. Davies, of Albany Street, about
1835; it consisted of a cab body with a hood, hung upon four elliptic
springs, and a low driving seat and dasher, for one horse. It met
with great success and was soon in general use. It was introduced on
the continent, where it became known under the name of “Milord,” and
became the common hack carriage, after which it went out of fashion
with the upper circles. It has, however, been recently revived under
the name of “Victoria.” The Prince of Wales and Baron Rothschild set
the fashion by using Victorias about 1869, and it really is a very
elegant and useful vehicle.
In 1839 the first Brougham was built by Mr. Robinson, of Mount
Street, for Lord Brougham, since when this has become the most
common and the most fashionable vehicle in use. The size of the
first brougham was in its chief dimensions similar to those now
manufactured; it was hung on elliptic springs in front, and five
springs behind. Coachmakers seemed to have lavished the greatest care
and attention on these vehicles, in order to turn out the lightest,
and at the same time the most artistic contrivance, and great success
has attended their efforts.
The foregoing is a brief history of vehicular conveyances from the
earliest times to the present. During the last ten or fifteen years
many further improvements have been added, tending to produce more
perfect vehicles in every respect; but these improvements have been
more in matters of detail than those at the commencement of the
century, and hence are more likely to escape ordinary observation;
but the critical eye will soon discover these changes, and marvel at
the short space of time in which the _real_ work has been done.
A glance at public carriages may not be out of place. Hackney coaches
were first used in England in 1605. These were similar to the coaches
used by fashionable people, but they did not ply for hire in the
streets, but remained at the hiring yards until they were wanted.
Their number soon increased, owing to there being a greater number
of persons who wished to hire than could afford to keep a conveyance
of their own. In 1635 the number was limited to fifty, but in spite
of the opposition of the King they continued to increase in number,
and in 1640 there were 300 in London. In Paris they were introduced
by Nicholas Sauvage, who lived in a street at the sign of St. Fiacre,
and from this circumstance hackney carriages are called “fiacres” in
France. In 1772 the hire of a fiacre in Paris was one shilling for
the first hour and tenpence for the second. There were 400 hackney
coaches in London in 1662, and the Government then levied a yearly
duty of £5 each upon them. In spite of this their number had in 1694
increased to 700, a substantial proof of their usefulness.
In 1703 a stage coach performed the journey from London to
Portsmouth, when the roads were good, in fourteen hours. From this
time there was a gradual increase in the number and destinations of
stage coaches.
In 1755 stage coaches are described as being covered with dull black
leather, studded with broad-headed nails by way of ornament, and oval
windows in the quarters, with the frames painted red. On the panels
the destination of the coach was displayed in bold characters. The
roof rose in a high curve with a rail round it. The coachman and
guard sat in front upon a high narrow boot, sometimes garnished with
a hammercloth ornamented with a deep fringe. Behind was an immense
basket supported by iron bars, in which passengers were carried at
a cheaper rate than in other parts of the vehicle. The wheels were
painted red. The coach was usually drawn by three horses, on the
first of which a postillion rode, dressed in green and gold, and with
a cocked hat. This machine groaned and creaked as it went along, with
every tug the horses gave, though the ordinary speed was somewhere
about four miles an hour.
One hundred years ago news and letters travelled very slowly, the
post-boys to whom the letter bags were intrusted progressing at the
rate of three and a half miles an hour! In 1784 a proposal was laid
before Government by Mr. John Palmer, the originator of mail coaches,
to run quicker vehicles, though at much dearer rates of postage.
This scheme was at first opposed by Parliament, but after a struggle
of some two years, Palmer’s coaches were adopted for the conveyance
of the mails, though the rate at which these travelled was only six
miles an hour for a long time after their introduction.
A great impetus was given to the production of better forms of stage
coaches by gentlemen taking to drive them as an amusement, and two
clubs were soon formed of noblemen and gentlemen who took an interest
in four-in-hand driving and in vehicles in general. Several clubs of
this kind are now flourishing to encourage manly sport, and with the
capacity to promote improvements in the form of the “drag,” as it is
now called.
It is to an architect that we owe the invention of the Hansom cab.
The safety consisted in the arrangement of the framework at the
nearest part to the ground, so as to prevent an upset if the cab
tilted up or down. The inventor was Mr. Hansom, the architect of the
Birmingham Town Hall. Numberless improvements have been made on this
idea, but the leading principles are the same.
In 1829 the first omnibus was started in London by Mr. Shillibeer,
who some time previously had been a coachmaker in Paris. It was drawn
by three horses, and carried twenty-two passengers, all inside.
The fare was a shilling from the “Yorkshire Stingo,” in Marylebone
Road, to the Bank. This vehicle was found too large for the streets
of London, so a smaller one was started, drawn by two horses and
carrying twelve passengers inside. In 1849 an outside seat was added
along the centre of the roof, and by 1857 the omnibus had become
pretty nearly the same form as we now know it. Our present omnibus is
probably the lightest vehicle of its kind for carrying such a large
number of passengers. Its average weight is about 25 cwt. The London
General Omnibus Company have, on an average, 626 omnibuses running
on week-days, and 6,935 horses to work them. They build their own
vehicles, and each runs about sixty miles a day, at a speed of about
six miles an hour, and nearly all are supplied with brake retarders,
worked by the foot, which effect a great saving in the strain put
upon the horses in stopping.