Hackney-coaches—so called from the French coche-a-haqttenhe; that is, a coach and horse let out for hire for short journeys—were first brought into use in France during the seventeenth century by one Nicolas San vage, who lived at the sign of " St. Fiacre," in the Rue St. Martin, and hence hired carriages came to be called fiacres, though eventually the name was restricted to such as were stationed in the streets. Hackney coaches were first established in London in 1625. The cabriolet a'a now shortened into " cab "—came into popular favor in France about the middle of the eighteenth century. The original cctbriolet was a kind of gig, inside of which sat the driver, beside whom there was room left for only a single passenger. Hansom, the inventor whose name is attached to the London two-wheeled vehicle of the present day, patented his cab in r834. It consisted originally of a square body hung in the centre of a square frame, the two wheels being about feet in diameter, the same height as the vehicle. The prototype of the modern omnibus first commenced plying- in the streets of Paris in 1662, going at fixed hours and at a stated fare. Soldiers, pages, and livery-servants were forbidden to enter such conveyances.
In what is now the United States common-carrier lines for transport ing goods and passengers were in existence in the early part of the last century. The special attraction of a line of passenger-coaches established in 12-66 to run between New York City and Philadelphia was that it had " good stage-wagons with the seats set on springs." The following data respecting American progress are collated from the rich fund of informa tion on the history of transportation collected by Luther Ringwalt. Before the present century very few steel carriage-springs were used in the United States. A favorite method of gnarding passengers against the jolting and jarring on rude roads was to hang the bodies of the coaches on strong leather supports, which, in turn, were sometimes supported by a simple form of steel spring, and this plan continued to be used extensively during-, part of the present century. The " tally-ho " coach, or drag—sometimes called four-in-hand because drawn by four horses—is an importation from England. It is a large vehicle built somewhat like a stag-e-coach, with seats inside and outside. This kind of conveyance is much used by gen tlemen-drivers who wish to carry large parties on the road for pleasure.
introduction of springs for supporting the wag-on bocly and its load, in place of resting this directly upon the axles, repre sents a great advance in construction. At first these devices were applied only to the class of vehicles called pleasure-carriages, but of late years they have come to be almost universally employed, not only upon carriages and public conveyances for passenger service, but also upon farm-wagons and those intended for the transport of merchandise in cities and towns, from the delivery-wagon of the grocer and baker to the heaviest wagons of the brewers and of the freight and express companies, capable of carrying a load of several tons (fi/. 21, figs. 5, 6).
The advantag-e to be derived from the use of springs upon vehicles in tended to transport heavy loads was well knoi.vn many years before their adoption upon such vehicles became general. At present almost all wag-ons used for this form of service (light and heavy freight-wagons) in American cities are provided with springs, and by their use a great gain is effected in rapidity of travel, in the weight that a horse (or a number of horses) can draw, and in the saving of the wear and tear of wagons and streets. A large proportion of the light freight-vehicles used in country districts are also furnished with springs.
pleasnre-vehicles and others in which springs are introduced (p. 20, fisr. 39) this feature involves, likewise, certain subordinate modifications of the mechanical structure. As the pressure of the carriage-body and its load does not come directly upon the axles, but indirectly through the in terposed spring or springs, the effect of the irregularity of the road-surface, which would otherwise be transmitted from the wheels to the axle and from this to the wagon-body as a succession of jolting and jarring blows, is modified by the springs into a gentle vibratory movement in a ver tical plane. The spring (fig. 4o), therefore, not only renders driving over the roughest roads, if not positively comfortable, at least endurable, but also lowers the tractive force required to transport a given load and notablv diminishes the wear and tear of the vehicle. The front truck of spring-vehicles turns upon a kingbolt, as in the case of the springless wagon above described. For accurate guiding,,-, the so-called " fifth wheel," which is fastened to the futchels and to the axle-bed, is now commonly used in all forms of wagons.
Ringwalt further notes that few of the minor industries have increased (in the United States) more rapidly than the manufacture of carriage- and wagon-springs, on account of the immense increase in the number of vehi cles used and the cheapening of steel through the Bessemer and open hearth processes. They are now made in great variety, of which it will be unnecessary to give the specific names. Some of the forms in common use upon freight-wagrons are shown on Plate 21 (fig. advances are noted by Ringwalt in connec tion with the materials and shapes of various parts of carriages; in the adoption of contrivances for preventing the escape of lubricants; in substi tuting- iron for wood in parts of vehicles where great strength is demanded; in improving the construction of axles and wheels; in the mode of fastening the spokes; in increasing the facilities for turning within a short space; in designing special forms of vehicles for special service; in decreasing the weight of many classes of vehicles; and, generally, in all the details of their construction.