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Part 11 - Coaches

Carts, typically two-wheeled vehicles pulled by one or more people or by draft animals such as horses, mules, or oxen were probably used for transport from the 4th millennium BCE, following the invention of the wheel, and are still used all over the world.

Four-wheeled carts, possibly developed from the addition of a two-wheeled trailer, to transport heavier loads required a longer bed with the addition of a pivoting front axle.

Carts typically had a pair of shafts, one along each side of the person or single draught animal. Two draft animals were normally harnessed to a single pole between them. The English names Cartwright and Carter derives from the work of making or using carts.

A two or four-wheeled, horse-drawn carriage was a vehicle designed to carry people from Roman times both for private transport and as taxis and buses. They differed from carts mainly because the carrying part of the carriage was suspended on chains and not directly mounted on the axles. In 15th century Hungary, carriages were made lighter so that one horse could pull the carriage. King Mathias Corvinus (1458–90), enjoyed fast travel, so he promoted better roads and fast road transport. The town of Kocs, between Budapest and Vienna, became an important post-town, where fresh horses were exchanged, and gave its name to the new vehicle type, the coach.

It could carry eight men in a cab and could be pulled by only one horse. The Hungarian "coach" quickly spread across Europe and, about 1550 CE, the coach appeared throughout the major cities. By 1600, the coach's cab had changed from a round, to a flat top (to carry luggage or extra passengers) and the "four-poster," two door, coach became standard.   In the 17th century, the ride was made even more comfortable with steel spring suspension and a covered cabin, glazed windows and wheel brakes. 

In 1758, Erasmus Darwin, a young English doctor who visited patients all over England and travelled about 10,000 miles a year by coach made a major improvement. The pivoting front axle had been used for centuries and the front wheels had to be small enough to pass under the cab during turns. The small wheels transmitted every bump on the road to the riders while increasing the drag and the danger of overturning during a turn. 

 Darwin designed a fixed front axle bar with two stub axles attached to the ends, each pivoting near the wheel. The angle of each wheel was controlled by a bar moved by a linkage connected to the draw bar so that each wheel automatically pivoted around the centre of the turning circle which was on a line through the rear axle. As the front wheels no longer needed to pass under the cab, they could be made larger. This idea reduced drag and the risk of over-turning and gave a more comfortable ride. 

 It was later patented by Georg Lankensperger, a German carriage builder in Munich, under the name of the Ackerman steering and has been used on every four-wheeled vehicle ever since.

Several types of horses had been bred to haul carts and carriages and a few heavy horses, like the Clydesdale and Percheron, were intended for hauling plows and very heavy loads.

The Clydesdale was developed in Scotland during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Scottish settlers brought horses to Canada. In the late 1880s, they were introduced in the United States, where they were used to plow fields, power machinery, pull wagons, and perform other tasks that required their formidable strength and endurance.

Clydesdales are among the tallest horse breeds, standing between 64 inches and 72 inches. Their weight, tops 1,600 pounds. Clydesdales were developed to work hard and long. In their early history, they were used as war horses, carrying heavily armed soldiers. They have pulled agricultural implements, hauled logs in forestry, pulled freight and milk wagons, and performed other general hauling tasks.