Victorian Carriages Part 3- Hansom and Rockaway

Nothing establishes a Victorian setting like carriage wheels rolling down a cobblestone street. For something so iconic, a little more information really immerses games session into the world of gaslight.

Until the 1900s, the word carriage effectively meant a vehicle for transporting people, encompassing a plethora of vehicles. In the 1850s, carriages became more economical and more focused on carrying passengers comfortably. More and more middleclass families bought carriages causing an even greater variety in use, design, and levels of luxury.

This series of posts focuses on different sorts of carriages, and gives Game Masters enough information to make any ride, chase, escape or traffic accident unique.

Hansom Cab

Concerned with traffic safety, architect Joseph Aloysius Hansom designed his two wheeled carriage, the Rockaway, in 1834. Its low mounted center of gravity kept the carriage upright during the quick turns necessary to traverse London’s crowded streets, while maintaining a smooth easy ride, great speed, and comfort for its passengers. Similar to the two wheeled French cabriolet, he named it “The Hansom Safety Cab”. Hansom cabs became one of the most popular and iconic carriages of the Victorian era. Every major European and American city had legions of Hansom cabs for hire.

Passengers enter the enclosed square body from the front, off a low step directly behind the draft horse. The interior seats two passengers comfortably or three with less comfort. Glass windows and an open top light the interior. A leather curtain can be pulled over the open top to protect from weather or give passengers privacy. The driver sits behind the carriage on a high open backed bench.

An ever popular carriage, manufactures allover Great Britain and America made their own bootleg versions of the Hansom, adding improvements and modifications with each new iteration. Rubber tires, smaller wheels, hard topped bodies, lighter suspension systems, lighter materials, an extra two wheels, and more comfortable seating all kept the Hansom new and popular.

Rockaway

In the 1830s, United States manufactures started making a new style of four-wheeled family carriage called the Rockaway. The name came from either Rockaway, New Jersey, where they were made, or the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens, where it was commonly used as transport to seaside resorts.

Rockaway carriages have a long square body with two rows of seats, often padded. A door on either side allowed passengers to the back seats, while a simple step led to the open front seats. A flat roof hangs over the open front row, and encloses the back seat. Often a window separates the two rows of seats. The driver sits in the front, but because of his low seat, his vision is often impaired by the carriage around him.

The Rockaway’s spacious seating, and modern design made it a hit with middle-upper class families, however it also made some versions of the carriage heavy. Rockaways with decorative wooden panels, glass windows, and room for six passengers need two draft horses. The simpler four seat rockaway needs one.

Next Week

That wraps up the factual part of this series. Next week, I get to do the more fun half of their blog: How to Use this information in an Adventure. 

First here is a research tip:

 I figured finding solid facts and figures for machines developed since the invention of printing would be easy. It wasn’t. I found a sea of contradictory information, sites with lists of competing descriptions of carriages, and strangely vague origin stories. I needed older more practical sources.
Thankfully, digitized books without a copyright are easy to find on Project Guttenberg and other public archive sites. A period guide to husbandry and a few turn of the century histories of carriages later, I had a solid backing for my research.
If you need a fact about the 1800s, go to the source. Download an archived book, and search the PDF. It’s quick, easy, and it won’t be hearsay (or at least it will be less hearsay than the rest of the internet).