Ever open your
car door and look down at the inside frame? If you do, you’ll notice a carriage
symbol, the link from modern day to the past. Writing historical westerns, we
rely on terms for modes of travel as in: buggy, surrey, wagon, cart, gig, and
buckboard. But to use the terms correctly, we must understand the modes of transportation
we describe.
We all have
basic ideas of very early modes of horse drawn carriages. Chariots were two
wheeled carts that propelled the ancient world to battles. Hollywood captured
these vehicles in movies like Ben Hur and the Ten Commandments.
In the medieval
period, four to six wheeled carts known had dome or house like structures for a
shield against the weather. The 17th and 18th century saw
the biggest change in which a front hub, in a triangular shape made turning
easier and for comfort, steel springs took the place of chains. As economies
grew, the need to move more food and goods, provided the push to make what we
know as “modern carriages”.
Carriages can be
open or closed, however there are some basic terms that we need to be aware of.
The top, which can be solid or an accordion fold to lower, is called a hood or
head. If the compartment around the seats were covered it was called a closed
carriage. If the sides had glass, then the carriage was a “glass coach” aka
Cinderella. The carriage driver would be outside the closed carriage on a seat
called “box or perch”. In the rear, you can find a small platform for a footman
to stand. If there was a seat, it was called a “rumble”. Removable platforms
were called “jump seats”, sounds pretty familiar when we look at our
automobiles today.
So what about
where the horse goes? The long wooden poles, the horse would be back between
were called limbers by the English. Western folk might refer to them as shafts.
If you have a two horse team, the bar or shaft between them was called the “tongue”.
On the edge of this tongue would have been the yolk or collars which the horses
would have worn around their necks. Make sense? Of course it does.
By 1760 there
were over 325 types of carriages from which to choose. A horse and buggy would
refer to a two wheel, simple carriage, drawn by one or two horses. It was used
for personal transportation; hence a doctor’s buggy or something easy for a
woman to drive. They were easily to afford, the cost being anywhere from $25.00
to $50.00. As families grew, goods provided more income, people wanted more.
Photo courtesy of
A surrey was an
open two seat that had upholstered seating for four. The tops would have been
fringed or flat without decorative silk tassels.
Photo: courtesy of
The buckboard is
a uniquely American development. One seat, up front, with a spring on either
side and the back a flat surface upon which to carry personal equipment or
small, lightweight goods. It was actually invented by Reverend Cyrus Comstock
from Lewis, New York. These grew popular
in the Adirondack Mountain area and were widely used where ever settlements
grew.
Photo courtesy of customwagonwheels.com
A wagon would be
a heavy duty form of transportation mostly for movement of goods, the
forerunner to our trucks. The use of heavy draft horses were developed for suck
vehicles.
So until next time, happy writing!
Yours,
Nan
Great post, Nan! Thank you!
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