The strict conduct of coaching business may readily be perceived by a glance at the appended time-sheet carried on every journey:
| TIME BILL, “TELEGRAPH” LONDON AND MANCHESTER COACH, 1833 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Down. | Guard.................... | |||||
| Leave the “Bull and Mouth,” 5 a.m. | ||||||
| Left the “Peacock,” 5.15 a.m. | ||||||
| Proprietors. | Places. | Miles. | Time allowed. | Should arrive. | Did arrive. | |
| H. M. | H. M. | |||||
| Sherman | St. Albans | 19½ | 1 54 | 7 9 | ||
| Liley | Redbourn | 4½ | 0 22 | 7 31 | ||
| Fossey | Hockliffe | 12½ | 1 10 | 8 41 | ||
Northampton | 0 20 | |||||
| Shaw | Harboro’ | 47½ | 4 30 | 1 31 | ||
Leicester | 0 5 | |||||
| Pettifer | Loughboro’ | 26 | 2 27 | 4 3 | ||
Derby | 0 20 | |||||
| Mason | Ashbourne | 30 | 2 48 | 7 11 | ||
| Wood | Waterhouses | 7½ | 0 43 | 7 54 | ||
| Linley | Bullock | 29½ | 2 46 | 10 40 | ||
| Wetherald & Co. | Manchester | 9 | 0 50 | 11 30 | ||
| 186 | 18 15 | |||||
| Guard (Sign your Name) .................... | Timepiece No. ...... | |||||
Observe.—That a fine of 1s. per minute will be incurred by each proprietor for every minute of time lost over his stage or stages, to one-half of which the coachman and guard will be held equally liable between them, should their employers see sufficient cause for enforcing the same.
Misdating the time-bill, or neglecting to date at all (either with pen and ink or pencil), at any of the above places, the moment he arrives, will subject the guard to a fine of 5s. for each default. The guard is also to leave his time-bill in the office on his arrival at the “Bull and Mouth,” or forfeit 5s. for each omission.
THE “MANCHESTER TELEGRAPH,” 1834
[After Robert Havell.
Sherman’s “Estafette” was a great advance in coaching luxury, and was a product of the keen competition in the last few years of coaching. The interior was lighted with a reflector lamp, illuminating an elegantly engraved ivory tablet, showing a table giving all towns on the route, distances, and intermediate times.
SPEED AND LUXURY