THE WHEELS.
The Work of a Carriage is proved by the wear of the Wheels;—if it runs upon an average 10 miles per day in Town, and 15 in the Country, Well-made Hoop-rimmed Wheels, the Tire of which should not be less than five-eighths of an inch in thickness, and for a Travelling Carriage three-fourths of an inch, will not be worn out in less than 12 Months, i. e. they will run at least 3,650 Miles in Town, and it is reckoned that they will last twice or thrice as long on a smooth Road, as they will on rough Pavement.
It is said that the Macadamising of the Streets, if kept in perfect Repair, would make the Wheels last a deal longer than they did on the Pavement:—this operation is performed at present in a very clumsy manner; instead of stopping up half the Street with a Wooden Hoard, and breaking the Stones on the Spot, the materials should be brought there ready broken; One Twentieth part of the Time now taken would then be more than enough entirely to finish a Road.
The Flag Foot Pavement should also be brought ready chipped and fitted;—by working the Stones in the Streets, the Eyes of the Passengers are in no small danger.
By the Metropolis Street Act of the 57th Geo. III. cap. xxix. sec. lxiii. Every Occupier of any House, Warehouse, &c. during the continuance of Frost, or after or during the Fall of Snow, shall once in every day, before 10 of the clock in the forenoon, cause the Footway, all along the Front, Side, or Back walls of such House, &c. to be swept and cleansed;—for each neglect of doing so, to forfeit 10s.
This order for keeping the Footway swept should be extended to all Times and Seasons;—there is sometimes an accumulation of greasy dirt on the pavement, which is as slippery as if it was soaped, and is as dangerous as Ice itself:—might not this cleansing be done by poor from the Workhouse?
In Walking the Streets of a Slippery Morning, you may guess where the good-natured people live, by Sand or Ashes being thrown on the Ice before their Doors.
How far the change of the permanent and easily kept clean Granite Pavement, for the Mud and Dust of the present Roads, may be considered an improvement by the Eyes, the Legs, and the Lungs of our good Londoners, the Editor has not studied the subject sufficiently to venture a conjecture: the Quiet with which Carriages pass along is certainly extremely desirable to the Ears of the Inhabitants of the Houses which border the Streets so altered.
Our Granite Pavement has shared the fate of every thing in this World, where nothing remains long at rest: as soon as it had arrived at as high a degree of perfection as it appeared capable of, it was pulled up, and hammered into pieces:—so much for the Constancy and permanency of Human Ways!
Some persons use their Carriage so little, and go so gently, that a set of Strong Wheels will last them three or four Years: Others will be whirled along at such a furious rate, that they wear them out in ten or twelve Months.
When New Wheels are put on to Old Carriages, and the Old Wheels are taken in exchange, the usual allowance for them is about two Guineas per Set: but they are the perquisite of the Coachman if he has been in your Service as long as the Wheels have.
From the beginning to the end, it will take not less than five Weeks to finish a set of Wheels properly;—they should be made a fortnight before they are painted, and they should not be put on for use till a fortnight after they have been painted; therefore, order a set of Wheels a couple of Months before they will be wanted.
The Price of Four New Chariot Wheels with prime Ash felleys, and patent hoop tires, all of the very best workmanship, including every charge of Painting and Boxing, &c. is about £15.
A set of Wheels may be purchased for £12. 12s.: in the early part of my Apprenticeship to Carriage-Keeping, I paid as high as £16. 16s.
Watch the Tires.—When the Irons are getting thin, have them taken off, before they become too weak to protect the Wood-work:—the best plan is, when the Irons are half worn out, and before the joints in the Wood-work get loose, as they wear most on the outer edge, to have them taken off and turned;—if the Wood-work is sound, they will run then half as long as they did at first; then, if the Wood-work continues sound, have new Irons put on;—the Ringing is about one-third the price of New Wheels, say £6. 6s., and if the Spokes and Naves are good, they will then run nearly as long as New Wheels.
THE
ORNAMENTS OF CARRIAGES,
If for common use, cannot be too simple and plain: Expense is saved in the purchase, and Time in the cleaning;—it is not so much the Quantity of furniture about the Carriage and Harness that makes it appear to advantage, as the having what there is, kept nicely Clean and Bright.
I would not advise any Brass or Plated Beading on the Body of a Carriage, as in the rubbing it bright, you are very apt to rub off the Varnish and Paint contiguous to the moulding—which, for this reason, had better be painted black, or of the same colour as the Body.
The Key-hole of the Lock on the Carriage Door is sometimes of Brass, or Plated, and covered with a Plate; but it is much neater to have it Black;—as we have already observed, of all Ornaments attached to the Body, as often as they are cleaned, some of the Varnish and Paint is carried away, and in the same proportion that those Metallic additions are kept bright, the Body becomes blemished. For this reason, we recommend the Accommodation Handles, if any are fixed, (the Body looks infinitely more elegant without), to be Black.
Those Buckles, &c. are best formed for wear that have fewest sharp edges;—Round moulded furniture is also the cheapest.
Nothing varies in quality more than the Plated Furniture for Horses and Carriages—the inferior kind of Plating is cheaper than Brass, but at first looks as well as the best strong plating, which costs twice as much, although it will not wear half so long.
The making of Lamps for Carriages is a distinct branch of business—and those who are desirous of choosing for themselves, should ask their Coachmaker to attend them to his Lamp Maker, where they may see the various patterns which are in vogue.
The same with regard to the Door Handles.
There are several Shops for both these Articles in Long Acre.
The present fashion for Lamps is preposterous—many are made so large and so heavy, that they are evidently too great a Load on the Front Pillar of the Carriage. Have Square Lamps, about six inches square:—these are sufficiently large to hold air enough to feed the Lamp or Candle, and the less they are, the lighter they are, and the less injury they do to the Carriage Pillars:—Two sides of this Lamp are to be of Glass, and the others furnished with Reflectors, which will increase the light on the Road, and exclude it from the interior of the Carriage.
Circular Lamps are the most elegant; but if your Carriage is much used in Travelling, we must recommend the Square sort; because if a Square Glass is broken, it can be replaced easily, and costs not one-half so much as a Circular one, which it is also difficult to find, except at the place where the Lamp was bought; moreover, they seldom fit so nicely and so closely as the Square ones, and the Air rushing in, your Candles are quickly consumed, without any additional light being given.
Lamps are generally lighted by Wax Candles, which weigh each a quarter of a Pound, and cost about 1s. each: if the Lamp is well made and well glazed, and no air gets in except where the air-holes are, they will burn about five hours: such Candles will burn about 7½ Hours when still in a Room; but the motion of the Carriage, and the current of Air in the Lamp, so greatly accelerates their consumption, that they will sometimes flare away in three or four hours.
Lamps with two Flat Wicks will burn for the same time as a quarter of a pound Wax Candle, at one-fourth part the expense.
However, Candles are most commonly used, because they remain ready for immediate use for half a year together, without being injured in quality, but will burn as brightly as if only put in the day before:—Oil soon loses its spirit by remaining in Lamps; and in a little time it will hardly burn at all, therefore can only be recommended to those who use their Lamps and trim them carefully every day.
The Best Lamps are those which give plenty of light around the Carriage, but do not throw any into it,—unless the Passengers think there is an absolute necessity for letting those without see who are within.
Now the Streets are so well lighted, Lamps are useful in London only in Foggy Weather: the lighting them in London at any other time—is an act of Puerile Pomposity.
Springs should be made of the best Steel—the longer they are, ceteris paribus, the easier they are.
Improvements in the mechanism of Modern Carriages, by which they are made to convey a person from place to place almost without giving him a sense of motion, may be one of the circumstances that have contributed to the increased prevalence of Nervous and Bilious Complaints, which originate in a great degree from an indulgence in Lassitude and Languor. The notion of taking Exercise upon Springs of such construction, is scarcely less absurd, than that of taking an Airing with all the windows closed!
Valetudinarians who wish to derive all the good effects from the Exercise of riding in a Carriage, must not be super-curious about having it suspended on extremely elastic Springs. The Jolting of strong Springs is a salutary concussion, which is extremely convenient to Nervous, Indolent, and Infirm persons who do not take other Exercise, and must be classed among the most agreeable of Anti-bilious remedies.
The Coachmaker’s usual phrase of commendation—that such a Carriage “is as easy as a Boat,” should be a prohibition to Invalids against purchasing it; who should prefer a Carriage with Strong Springs, that will give them as good a shaking as Equestrian Agitation.
TO DETERMINE THE RELATIVE ADVANTAGES OF LONG AND SHORT CARRIAGES,
“A weight of twenty-eight pounds was placed in the middle of a Perch one foot six inches long, and it was drawn at the rate of five miles and a half an hour by twelve pounds.
“When the same load was placed upon a perch three feet long, that is to say, twice as long as the former perch, it required precisely the same weight of twelve pounds to draw it.
“This experiment was repeated a number of times with the same result, so that it may be relied upon. This is contrary to the opinion of drivers of all descriptions, from the waggoner in his smock-frock, to the high-bred Coachman: consequently, there must be some reason for this universal prejudice. The reason that seems to have given rise to this opinion, is, that carriages whose fore and hind wheels are near each other, extricate themselves more readily from ruts, change quarter more easily, turn in a shorter compass, and thus make their way in crowded Streets with more facility than longer Carriages.”—R. L. Edgeworth on Roads and Carriages, 8vo. p. 120. 1817.
However, Short Carriages are considered as of easiest draught; and, to use the language of the Stable, almost every Coachman and Coachmaker insists upon it, that they follow better, and that a Long Carriage will tire a pair of Horses more in Three, than a Short one will in Five hours’ Travelling.
That if the Body is hung higher behind than it is before, so that it leans forward, it will push on the fore Wheels, is a foolish Vulgar Error. You often see Hackney Chariots so hung:—such a position is uneasy to the Passengers, and of no advantage to the Horses.
In a Chariot, it adds to the elegance of its appearance, and the ease of the passengers, if the Body is hung rather lower behind than it is before; but not in a Coach, because what is gained on the front is lost on the back Seat.
CAUTIONS
AGAINST PURCHASING OF
CHEAP SECOND-HAND CARRIAGES.
“Caveat Emptor.”
“Beware of Putty and Paint,”
Mr. Jervis told me must be the Motto for this Chapter, and that
“He who Buys,
Had need have an Hundred Eyes.”
Old Proverb.
Those who purchase Second-Hand Carriages ought to be extremely circumspect indeed. Inexperienced People are apt to imagine, that if the Price charged for a Carriage is only one-half of what a respectable Coachmaker has told them that he must charge them for a New One, that it must be a Cheap Bargain; when it is most likely not actually worth one quarter of that sum.
“Experto Crede.”
Let no person venture to purchase without the advice of a Coachmaker. It is easy enough to make an old worn-out Carriage appear fresh and fair by the help of Paint and Putty, while at the same time, it may be more fit to be broken up than to be made use of.
To promote the Sale of a Carriage, it is not seldom pretended, that it belongs to Sir Richard Whimmy, or to some other Gentleman of fashion, (who only parts with it merely because he happens to have it,) or that the Proprietor is gone abroad; to which is generally added, it has been only lately built, and has hardly worn the Nails of its First Wheels!!! &c.
First observe the Fashion of the Body, keeping in mind the time when such a shape was in vogue; examine the materials, especially the timbers of the Carriage; for however cunningly a clever Coach-Cobbler may have puttied and painted them, yet, in some parts, the infirmities and chinks which time has made, will be visible enough to Eyes accustomed to examine them.
If Old, the Futchells[12] in the chaps at the Pole Bolt hole, and at the top where the Gib is placed, are rough and patched with Leather; the Pole[13] if the original one, on the sides and top which go into the Futchells, is likewise worn, and patched with a tin covering. Look to the Transom Plates, if they are flat, thick, and clean, and that if by pushing against the Coach Box, or Springs, the Upper Carriage does not rock on them;—see that the Fore Axle-tree Bed, and transom at the middle where the Perch Bolt is placed, are sound, and that about the Perch Bolt hole there is not much patching with Leather—that the ends of the Transom where the Springs and Coach Box is placed look clean and sound;—the Splinter Bar, if much worn, has the moulding towards the end nearly effaced;—the Sway Bar[14] and that part of the bottom plate of the perch against which it wears, after much use is gulled, and the defect is made up with Leather patched on it;—the ends of the hind Axle-tree Bed where the Spring stays rest, if much indented, is old:—the hind Foot board-ledge being worn hollow, is another proof of the Carriage having been much used.
As to the Body part, examine principally the Bottom sides, at the end where the loops are placed; and in the corners of the rabbits under the Door bottoms where the standing Pillars are framed, if very old they will be rotten and appear rough; the mortices of the Door Locks, if gulled, and the Bolts of the Lock if loose in the Spindles, are proofs of their being old; and so it is if the Leather which covers the Roof of the Quarters and Boot, appear to have been mended at the welts, or if it has drawn from the sewings or nailing.
The Braces[15] should be supple and clean, free from patches and cracks at the bearings;—the Steps, if ricketty at the Joints, and when down, if the tread drops under, and the leather with which they are trimmed is dingy and torn at the joint knuckles; this shews them to have been much used: the leather also which covers the bottom sides at the entrance of the Doors, if Old, is rough, and has the grain worn or torn on the outside.
The Mahogany or Venetian Blind Frames, when old, have their colour discharged by the weather, and look of a dingy brown;—the Glass frames, particularly the front ones, are, when old, loose at the corners, the sides of the grooves loosened, and held together only by the Cloth which covers them.
Nothing is a better proof than the mouldings of the framings, and the Scroll ends or finishings of the timber; for if much filled with Paint, or defaced, it is a certain Proof of the Carriage having been often painted, and of course old; the paint will, with a slight knock, if not newly done, fly off in scales, particularly from the Iron work.
Examine well those places in the Body round the edges, if the framing where the wet has been likely to lodge has not been rotten, and the surface is not made up with Putty, or has been cased on the outside with new pieces of Wood moulding.
Examine the Cloth of the Lining, observe the sides and back against which the Shoulders rub, that the cloth is not threadbare, and that it is free from Moth-holes in every part.
The Hand Holders and pasting Lace, particularly the small Lace which is round the Lights or Windows.
If the Carriage has a Coach Box, examine the condition of the Seat under the Hammercloth at the ends and corners on the inside; if it has been much used, it will be ragged and worn through in many places.
In examining the Wheels, look not only to the outside edge of the Iron which covers them, but also to the Spokes at the Nave, that they are not started, and that the Wheels are firm on the Axle-trees.—These are the General Rules to be observed when examining a Second-Hand Carriage.
Never buy without advice from some skilful and disinterested person.