OMNIBUSES AND CABS
OMNIBUSES AND CABS
_THEIR ORIGIN AND HISTORY_
BY
HENRY CHARLES MOORE
_WITH THIRTY-ONE ILLUSTRATIONS_
LONDON: CHAPMAN & HALL, LD.
1902
NOTE
It is with great pleasure that I acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr.
George A. Glover, who kindly placed at my disposal much valuable
information concerning the early history of omnibuses and cabs, and
several rare pictures, which are now reproduced for the first time.
I desire, also, to thank Mr. G. A. Thrupp, the venerable author of “The
History of the Art of Coach-Building,” for permitting me to have access
to his interesting collection of illustrations of vehicles, and to
reproduce several engravings dealing with the subject of this book. For
a similar courtesy I am greatly indebted to the Worshipful Company of
Coach Makers and Coach-Harness Makers.
H. C. M.
LONDON,
_August 23, 1901_.
CONTENTS
PART I--OMNIBUSES
CHAPTER I
PAGE
_Carrosses a cinq sous_ invented--Inauguration ceremony--M.
Laffitte’s omnibuses--The origin of the word “omnibus”
as applied to coaches 3
CHAPTER II
George Shillibeer introduces omnibuses into England--The first
omnibus route--Shillibeer’s conductors defraud him--His
plans for preventing fraud--An omnibus library--Shopkeepers
complain of omnibus obstruction 10
CHAPTER III
Shillibeer runs omnibuses in opposition to a railway--Extraordinary
action of the Stamp and Taxes Office--Shillibeer
is ruined--He appeals to the Government for compensation--Government
promises not fulfilled--Shillibeer becomes
an undertaker 28
CHAPTER IV
Introduction of steam omnibuses--The “Autopsy,” the “Era,”
and the “Automaton”--Steam omnibuses a failure 36
CHAPTER V
Some old omnibus names--Story of the “Royal Blues”--Omnibus
racing--Complaints against conductors--Passengers’
behaviour--The well-conducted conductor--The ill-conducted
conductor--The “equirotal omnibus” 46
CHAPTER VI
Twopenny fares introduced--The first omnibus with
advertisements--Penny fares tried--Omnibus improvements--Longitudinal
seats objected to by the police--Omnibus
associations--Newspapers on the “Favorites”--Foreigners
in omnibuses--Fat and thin passengers--Thomas Tilling
starts the “Times” omnibuses--Mr. Tilling at the Derby--Tilling’s
gallery of photographs 62
CHAPTER VII
Compagnie Générale des Omnibus de Londres formed--The
London General Omnibus Company starts work--Businesses
purchased by the Company--It offers a prize of £100
for the best design of an omnibus--The knife-board
omnibus introduced--Correspondence system tried--Packets
of tickets sold--Yellow wheels--The L.G.O.C. becomes
an English Limited Liability Company--The first board of
directors--Present position of the Company--The Omnibus:
a satire--The Omnibus: a play 79
CHAPTER VIII
The opening of Holborn Viaduct--An omnibus is the first
vehicle to cross it--“Viaduct Tommy”--Skid-men 95
CHAPTER IX
A new Company--The London and District Omnibus Company,
Limited--The London Road Car Company, Limited--Its
first omnibuses--The garden seats--The flag and its
meaning--Foreigners’ idea of it--The ticket system--The great
strike--The London Co-operative Omnibus Company--Mr.
Jenkins and advertisements--The Street Traffic Bill--Outside
lamps 100
CHAPTER X
The Motor Traction Company’s omnibus--An electric omnibus--The
Central London Railway--The London County
Council omnibuses--The “corridor ’bus”--The latest omnibus
struggle--Present omnibus routes 119
CHAPTER XI
“Jumpers”--“Spots”--Some curious passengers--Conductors
and coachmen--The Rothschild Christmas-boxes--Mr. Morris
Abrahams and the Omnibus Men’s Superannuation Fund--Horses--Cost
of omnibuses--Night in an omnibus yard 137
CHAPTER XII
Pirate omnibuses--Their history and tricks 164
PART II--CABS
CHAPTER I
The introduction of hackney-coaches--“The world run on
wheels”--The first hackney-coach stand and the oldest
cab rank in England--Sedan chairs introduced--Charles I.
and Charles II. prohibit hackney-coaches--Hackney-coaches
and the Plague--William Congreve--Threatened strike of
hackney-coachmen--Hackney-chariots introduced--Prince
of Wales drives a hackney-coach--Licences--Funeral
coaches ply for hire in the streets--A pedometer for hackney-coaches
suggested--Dickens on hackney-coaches--Origin of
the word “hackney” 181
CHAPTER II
Cabs introduced into England--Restrictions placed upon them--A
comical-looking cab--Dickens on cabs--Hackney-coachmen
wish to become cabmen--The cab business a
monopoly--Restrictions are removed--_The Cab_ paper--The
Boulnois cab invented--The “minibus”--The “duobus”--Bilking--A
peer’s joke 205
CHAPTER III
Hansom invents a cab--Chapman designs and patents the
present hansom--Francis Moore’s vehicles--The Hansom
patent infringed--Litigation a failure--Pirate cabs called
“shofuls”--The “Clarence” or four-wheeler introduced--An
unpleasant fare--The decoration of cabs--Cabmen compelled
to wear badges--The “Tribus”--The “Curricle Tribus”--The
“Quartobus” 216
CHAPTER IV
A strike--Cabmen’s revenge on Members of Parliament--Cab
radius altered--Cabmen object to knocking at doors--The
King of Cabmen--Nicknames--A lady feared by cabmen--The
kilometric reckoner--Lord John Russell and “Palace
Yard Jack”--Cab fares altered--A strike against the introduction
of lamps--Another strike--The Cab-drivers’ Benevolent
Association--The London Cabmen’s Mission--The
Hackney Carriage Proprietors’ Provident Institution--The
Cabmen’s Shelter Fund 231
CHAPTER V
Cab show at Alexandra Palace--Forder’s cab--The strike of
1894--Cabmen become organ-grinders--The Asquith award--Boycotting
the railway stations--The “Bilking Act” 249
CHAPTER VI
Gentlemen cabmen--An applicant’s nerve--The doctor-cabby--John
Cockram--A drunken cabman’s horse 258
CHAPTER VII
The Shrewsbury and Talbot cabs--The Court hansom--The
Parlour four-seat hansom--Electric cabs introduced--The
“taxameter”--Empty cabs--Number of cabs in London--Cab
fares--Two-horse cabs 267
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
SHILLIBEER’S FIRST OMNIBUS 13
SHILLIBEER’S THIRD OMNIBUS 19
GURNEY’S STEAM CARRIAGE 37
THE “AUTOPSY” STEAM OMNIBUS 39
THE “ERA” STEAM OMNIBUS 40
THE “AUTOMATON” STEAM OMNIBUS 44
ADAMS’S EQUIROTAL OMNIBUS 61
A KNIFE-BOARD OMNIBUS 65
OMNIBUS BUILT BY ROCK AND GOWAR 69
TILLING’S FOUR-HORSE “TIMES” 75
RICHMOND CONVEYANCE COMPANY OMNIBUS 91
RICHMOND CONVEYANCE COMPANY OMNIBUS. END VIEW 93
THE FIRST VEHICLE TO CROSS HOLBORN VIADUCT 98
THE LONDON ROAD CAR COMPANY’S FIRST OMNIBUS 103
A ROAD CAR COMPANY OMNIBUS, 1901 107
A METROPOLITAN RAILWAY “UMBRELLA” OMNIBUS, 1901 109
A RED “FAVORITE.” 1901 110
HACKNEY-COACH. ABOUT 1680 189
HACKNEY-COACH. ABOUT 1800 194
LONDON CAB OF 1823, WITH CURTAIN DRAWN 207
THE “COFFIN-CAB” 210
BOULNOIS’S CAB 214
THE FIRST HANSOM 217
AN IMPROVED HANSOM 219
FRANCIS MOORE’S VEHICLE 221
THE FIRST FOUR-WHEELED CAB 225
THE TRIBUS. BACK VIEW 229
THE TRIBUS. SIDE VIEW 230
JOHN COCKRAM 261
PARLOUR’S HANSOM 269
ELECTRIC CAB 272
PART I
_OMNIBUSES_
OMNIBUSES AND CABS
CHAPTER I
_Carrosses a cinq sous_ invented--Inauguration ceremony--M. Laffitte’s
omnibuses--The origin of the word “omnibus” as applied to coaches.
Omnibuses, under the name of _carrosses a cinq sous_, were started
in Paris in 1662. The leading spirits in this enterprise were the
Duc de Rouanès, Governor of Poitou, the Marquis de Sourches, Grand
Prévôt, the Marquis de Crénan, Grand Cup-bearer, and Blaise Pascal,
the author of “Lettres Provinciales.” The idea was Pascal’s, but
not being sufficiently wealthy to carry it out unaided, he laid the
matter before his friend the Duc de Rouanès, who suggested that a
company should be formed to start the vehicles. Pascal consented to
this being done, and the Duc de Rouanès set to work at once to prevail
upon members of the aristocracy to take shares in the venture. The
Marquis de Sourches and the Marquis de Crénan he induced to take an
active part in the management and, best of all, he obtained from Louis
XIV. a decree authorising the establishment of _carrosses a cinq
sous_. Seven vehicles to carry eight passengers each, all inside,
were built, and on March 18th, 1662, they began running. The first
one was timed to start at seven o’clock in the morning, but an hour
or two earlier a huge crowd had assembled to witness the inauguration
ceremony, which was performed by two Commissaires of the Châtelet,
attired in their official robes. Accompanying them were four guards
of the Grand Prévôt, twenty men of the City Archers, and a troop of
cavalry. The procession, on arriving at the line of route, divided into
two parts, one Commissaire and half of the attendants proceeded to the
Luxembourg, and the others to the Porte St. Antoine. At the latter
place three of the twopenny-halfpenny coaches were stationed, the other
four being at the Luxembourg. Each Commissaire then made a speech,
in which he pointed out the boon that _carrosses a cinq sous_ would
be to the public, and laid great stress on the fact that they would
start punctually at certain times, whether full or empty. Moreover, he
warned the people that the king was determined to punish severely any
person who interfered with the coaches, their drivers, conductors, or
passengers. The public was also warned that any person starting similar
vehicles without permission would be fined 3000 francs, and his horses
and coaches confiscated.
At the conclusion of his address the Commissaire commanded the
coachmen to advance, and, after giving them a few words of advice and
caution, presented each one with a long blue coat, with the City arms
embroidered on the front in brilliant colours. Having donned their
livery, the drivers returned to their vehicles and climbed up to their
seats. Then the command to start was given, and the two vehicles drove
off amidst a scene of tremendous enthusiasm. The first coach each way
carried no passengers--a very unbusinesslike arrangement--the conductor
sitting inside in solitary state. But the next two, which were sent
off a quarter of an hour after the first, started work in earnest,
and it need scarcely be said that there was no lack of passengers.
The difficulty experienced was in preventing people from crowding in
after the eight seats were occupied. At the beginning of every journey
the struggle to get into the coach was repeated, and many charming
costumes were ruined in the crush. Paris, in short, went mad over its
_carrosses a cinq sous_, and the excitement soon spread to the suburbs,
sending their inhabitants flocking to the city to see the new vehicles.
But very few of the visitors managed to obtain a ride, for day by day
the rush for seats became greater. The king himself had a ride in one
coach, and the aristocracy and wealthy classes hastened to follow his
example, struggling with their poorer brethren to obtain a seat. Many
persons who possessed private coaches drove daily to the starting-point
and yet failed to get a ride in one for a week or two.
Four other routes were opened in less than four months, but at last
the fashionable craze came to an end, and as soon as the upper classes
ceased to patronise the new coaches the middle and lower classes found
that it was cheaper to walk than to ride. The result was that Pascal,
who died only five months after the coaches began running, lived long
enough to see the vehicles travelling to and fro, half, and sometimes
quite, empty.
For many months after Pascal’s death the coaches lingered on, but every
week found them less patronised, and eventually they were discontinued.
They had never been of any real utility, and were regarded by the
public much in the same light as we regard a switchback railway.
After the failure of the _carrosses a cinq sous_, a century and a
half elapsed before vehicles of the omnibus class were again tried in
Paris, but one or two feeble and unsuccessful attempts to start them in
England were made in the year 1800. A vehicle with six wheels and drawn
by four horses was the most noticed of these ventures.
In 1819 Monsieur Jacques Laffitte, the banker-politician, who became,
later, the Minister of Louis Philippe, introduced the vehicles now
called “omnibuses” into Paris. They carried sixteen or eighteen
passengers, all inside, and the fare was twopence halfpenny from one
side of Paris to the other. From the day that they began running they
were highly successful, and the first year’s profits, it is said,
repaid the outlay.
Monsieur Laffitte must not, however, be given the credit of applying
the name “omnibus” to the vehicles which he introduced, for it belongs
to Monsieur Baudry, a retired military officer. In 1827 Baudry was the
proprietor of some hot-water baths in the suburbs of Nantes, and for
the convenience of his patrons ran a vehicle at fixed hours to and from
the town. This coach, which was similar in build to the Parisian ones,
he named the “Voiture des Bains de Richebourg,” but quickly came to the
conclusion that the title was too long, and therefore endeavoured to
think of a more suitable one.
It happened that just at that time a local grocer named Omnès caused
considerable amusement in the town by painting over his shop “Omnès
Omnibus.” No sooner did Baudry see this than he declared that he had
found the very word which he required, and straightway renamed his
vehicle “L’Omnibus.” Later, he started lines of omnibuses at Paris and
Bordeaux, but they were not very successful, and the severe winter of
1829, which made forage very dear and the streets almost impassable,
ruined him completely and drove him to commit suicide. But before he
died he had made the word “omnibus” familiar to Parisians. Many of
the vehicles belonging to other proprietors bore the inscription
“Enterprise Générale des Omnibus,” which, while not making people
believe that the coach so inscribed was one of Baudry’s, ensured its
being called an Omnibus.