Showing posts with label transport. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transport. Show all posts
Saturday, 28 March 2020
Saturday, 3 November 2018
Friday, 6 April 2018
Forum Notifications?
Just in case you have not been receiving any notifications from our group forum, there are a stack of new posts in a variety of topics.
This forum is not the same as the old one, & some of you may have failed to click on the subscribe to topic! Anyway, like I said, there is a heap of new threads & information there if you are interested.
Keith.
Monday, 2 April 2018
Slide Carrs & Drag Carts.
From some accounts the slide carr or drag cart was one of the earliest known forms of transport. These were certainly in use in Europe, Ireland, Scotland & Wales from roughly the 16th century to the early 20th century. These carts or carrs could be drawn by horse, dog or by people.
I have reached that stage where I am not as sure on my feet anymore, & carrying a pack of any weight just adds to my difficulty if I should trip! So I decided to make myself a drag cart. My Mother was Welsh, so it seems only fitting that I should make a woodland version of the Welsh drag cart.
Drags &
Slide Cars
The slide car was a wooden framework that was dragged at an angle
with one end on the ground and was pulled by a horse between the shafts: it was
normally used for transporting hay.
Jenkins, J Geraint, Agricultural Transport in Wales, (1962), pp.
13-19
1732, Ireland
and comparison with Wales
There are no Carts or Waggons here [in Ireland], they have Carrs,
which are a kind of Sledges, set on two solid wooden Wheels straked with Iron,
& drawn by a single horse; they carry great Burthens, some 600
Weight. They differ from the Welsh Carriages only in This, as They have no
Wheels. These carriages are undoubtedly the Best for preserving the Road.
Loveday, John,
(1711-1789), Diary of a tour in 1732 through parts of England, Wales, Ireland
and Scotland, made by John Loveday of Caversham … Printed from a manuscript in
the possession of his great-grandson J. E. T. Loveday, with an introduction and
an itinerary, (Edinburgh: 1890), 31st May,1732
1768
Glamorganshire
Most of their draughts are performed by one horse in such a sledge as
this [drawing of a drag cart lettered a to d] aa the shafts like those of a
waggon or cart which slide on the ground on the ends bb. C is a semicircular
hoop from shaft to shaft, to keep in the sacks or bundles of hay or wood etc.,
which is laid on the cross bars dd. The machine is light and much preferable to
carrying the weight on the back.
Young, Arthur,
(F.R.S., Secretary to the Board of Agriculture), A Six Weeks Tour through the
Southern Counties of England and Wales, 1stedition, London, 1768, pp. 110-111
1767 between
Edwinsford and Hay
[They use a] car which I believe is the oldest and simplest
construction of a carriage, that is in use anywhere. It is composed of two
shafts, in length, about 11 feet, upon which are nailed 5 or 6 cross bars, in
length 3½, which serve to support the weight which is to be carried, which is
hindered from slipping off behind, either by three half hoops interlaced and
fastened into holes in the last bar, or by two prongs of wood fastening in the
shafts, with cross pieces between them ; the ends of the shafts are sloped off
; and trailing upon the ground serve instead of wheels : the harness consists
of a saddle, with a niche across the middle, into which a wythe twisted and
fastened into the fore part of the shafts, hitches : the horse has also a
collar of straw, and another of wood over it, into which are fastened two rings
of iron, long enough to receive the end of the shaft , which being put through
the ring, is hindered from returning by a small peg of wood, which fastens into
a hole made for that purpose. [Drawing (loose) and two little sketches of the
car included in the text.]
Banks, Joseph,
Journal of a Tour in Wales, 1767-1768. “The copy of a Journal of an Excursion
to Wales, &c., by S.S. Banks began August 13th, 1767, ended January 29th,
1768”, NLW MS 147C (transcribed by his sister S. S. Banks from the original now
in the University Library, Cambridge MS Add 6294 (2), p. 51
1775 near
Newport, Monmouthshire
Hitherto there is very little appearance of either different manners
or language. Very few of the people speaking Welsh. We saw a few slide carrs
such as are used in Ireland but these are not uncommon in Gloucestershire.
Grose, Francis,
[Journey to South Wales, 1775], British Library, Add. MS. 17398, f. 67
It is enclosed
on the land side by a steep and high mountain, to be ascended only by narrow
paths traversing its sides, by which the inhabitants convey their fuel of turf
on slide cars composed of two poles, fastened by rungs in the hinder
part, of which is placed a wicker creel, about a yard square; having no wheels,
it does not press on the ponies which draw it downwards, and it is so light as
to be easily drawn up when empty.
The type of traffic on the turnpike roads was also a major factor in
their condition. In 1729, at the beginning of the turnpike era, the vehicles
which were normally used for the transport of goods could be categorised into
three types, the slide cart, the truckle cart and the wheel car. The Irish
slide cart was a wheel-less vehicle, it had two long straight posts which were
drawn or dragged by the drawing horse. At the bottom of each post, the wearing
end, was a replaceable shoe. Containers were attached to the posts into which
the load which was to be transported was placed. These vehicles were most
suitable for use on the land or in mountainous areas as the posts caused a lot
of damage to the road surfaces.
The modern Irish name for this wheelless cart is the same
as the old Gaelic name, Carr Sliunain. Dr. Sullivan J states
that there is no reason to suppose that the Irish Carr is a
loan-word from the Latin Carrus, the stem Car being prob-
ably common to the Latin, the Germanic, and the Celtic
languages.
the Kintail Highlanders, if they used wheeled carts
to do the work they require of their wheelless carts. Indeed,
they could not so use them, except by putting the drag on hard
and fast — being first at the trouble of getting wheels, and then at
the trouble of preventing them from turning."
The same argument can be applied to Ireland. In a very
hilly country half the time one is going up-hill and the
other half down-hill; when going up-hill there is no load,
and consequently the slide-car, being so very light, is prac-
tically of no weight for a horse. Coming down-hill with a
load a rigid vehicle has to be employed in any case, and so
the slide-car is equally efficient, the chief drawback being
that it can carry so little, but this is not of much account in
small holdings. The slide-car has, further, the great recom-
mendation of being made easily and cheaply without requir-
ing the services of a skilled carpenter or wheelwright. It is
also as easily, repaired, and all the materials are ready to
hand.
It is also interesting to note that these very primitive
carts can be constructed entirely of wood and thongs, or
ropes, and there is no necessity for any metal to be em-
ployed.
THE STUDY OF MAN
The slide car was a wooden framework that was dragged at an angle
with one end on the ground and was pulled by a horse between the shafts. It was
used for transporting hay.
Jenkins, J Geraint, (1962), Agricultural Transport in Wales, 13-19
A G Prys-Jones, The Story of Carmarthenshire, Volume 2, From the C16
to 1832 (Llandybie, 1972), illustration 17
Thomas Martyn 'machines without wheels, and drawn by one horse'.
Martyn, T., A Tour of South Wales, [1801], NLW MS 1340C, p. 67
A meadow ... produced a little crop of grass that the inhabitants
were busied getting in. This labour was performed by men, women and children,
all actively employed; some of whom carried it home on their shoulders, others
in hand barrows whilst a third party filled and drove the sleds made use of in
Wales, which drag upon the ground without wheels, and are drawn by a little
pony.
Warner, Second Walk, p. 171
SCOTLAND
In those roadless days certain primitive vehicles also had been
developed, how far back one cannot tell. Sledges were made of two sapling
trunks. The thinner ends were fastened to the horse on each side like shafts,
while the thicker ends dragged along the ground and slats or boards were
fastened between them upon which the load rested. They were so suitable for use
on steep slopes that in Kintail and the Gairloch districts they had only just
gone out of use about thirty years ago (late 1800s) when I was enquiring about
them. In earlier times they were also made with a sort of frame for carrying
peats, but as roads penetrated the country these sledges went out of use. When
Hugh Miller took the newly made road to the west to work in Gairloch in 1823 he
noticed two abandoned Highland carts lying beside it. In Theatrum Scotiae by
John Slezer (1694) there are illustrations of sled-carts (Arbroath) and there
is also an illustration of a sled in Burt’s Letters from the North of Scotland
as related by Edmund Burt.
Grant, I.F., Highland Folk Ways, (1961)
The range, evolution, and historical sequence of farm transport on the
Island from the seventeenth to the twentieth century is discussed in this
paper, in the context of the development of the road system and capacity of
horse power. Human power resources included the use of the creel; thereafter
the sledge and various forms of early cart, specifically the slide carr and the
Irish carr, Island variations on the Celtic diaspora of such vehicles. The
influence of the spread of the ‘Scotch cart’ is considered, and the evolution
of the hay bogey and especially the ‘stiff cart’, a distinct type of cart (or
at least a distinct nomenclature) associated with the Isle of Man.
At the time of this survey: 1971-1981, it was still possible to see
in everyday use in Tuscany a most remarkable variety of archaic forms of rural
transport, especially in districts where peasants have been tenacious enough to
resist emigration. These vehicles range from the simplest plough-carrying
slide-car
I have often counted seven or eight slide-cars and carts in a single
farmyard; a situation certainly uncommon anywhere else in Europe today.
The above-said section of the Apennines, from Colle di Cadibona to
Montefeltro, constitutes the land of the Italian slide-car.
Where opinions may vary, there seems to be general agreement on some
aspects of the problem: all researchers seem to agree that 'A' framed
slide-cars, or 'travois' types of vehicles, must have played an important role
in the evolution and development of carts and waggons in ancient Eurasia
(Piggott, 1968).
In the Italian dictionary the slide-car is generally called with the
Tuscan word TREGGIA
In almost all Indo-European languages, however, we find the same
roots: Tuscan =TREGGIA or TRAINO; French = TRAINEAU; Portuguese = TRENO;
Spanish = TRINEO; English = DRAY or DRAG; Norse = TREKKE; Danish =TRAEKKE;
Dutch = DREGGEN; but in German SCHLITTEN.
Slide-cars are
made of two beams, which can only be pulled at a tilt by animals or persons
from one end. When the two poles are joined together at one end to
form a “A” shape, and attached to the yoke two animals are used. The other type
has instead parallel beams kept apart by means crossbars and drag along the
ground at one end, pulled either by an animal
or person from the other end. The first 6 I refer to as the “A” framed
slide-car, second I refer to as the “H” framed slide-car.
Whereas slide-cars are easily maneuvered in hill country, the sledge
with its rigid structure is a ponderous vehicle with a very large turning-circle,
and is better suitable on plains or open areas (Piggott, 1968).
When one horse, or only one cow, is harnessed on account of the
narrowness of some mountain tracks, the sledge becomes a slide-car. This
version of the vehicle is almost identical to the slide-cars of Wales and
Ireland (Thompson, 1958 – Jenkins, 1962). (Picture 44) This particular
slide-car, unique in Italy, is made of two poles kept parallel by means of
crossbars and, it has a built-up structure, which carries the load. Furthermore,
the two poles are specially chosen from naturally or artificially bent trees
which are adapted in such a way as to making the platform as little tilted as
possible, as one would best appreciate by looking at the drawing.
Rural transport
in Tuscany and the Northern Apennines A contribution to the ethnography of
vehicles.
Monday, 10 July 2017
Saturday, 21 May 2016
Historical Trekking-Period Quotes.
Victuals well dressed by Pamela Patrick-White.
WILLIAM BYRD'S DIVIDING LINE HISTORIES
Mid 18th century.
"Till this Night I had always lain in my Night Gown, but
upon Tryal, I found it much warmer to strip to my shirt, & lie in naked Bed
with my gown over me. The Woodsmen put all off, if they have no more than one
Blanket, to lye in, & agree that 'tis much more comfortable than to lye
with their Cloaths on, the' the Weather be never so cold".
I find the above quote very interesting, one because without their clothes they would be at a disadvantage should they have to suddenly leave. Secondly because I myself sleep fully clothed & have never found it a problem. Could this removing of clothes be because their clothes were damp from perspiration?
"A True Woodsman, if he have no more than a Single
Blanket, constantly pulls all off, and, lying on one part of it, draws the
other over him, believing it much more refreshing to ly so, than in his
cloaths; and if he find himself not warm enough. Shifts his Lodging to Leeward of
the Fire, in which Situation the smoak will drive over him, and efifectually correct
the cold Dews that wou'd otherwise descend upon his Person, perhaps to his
great damage".
"The worst of it was, we were forced to Encamp in a barren
place, where there was hardly a blade of Grass to be seen. Even the wild Rosemary
failed us here, which gave us but too just apprehensions that we should not
only be oblig'd to trudge all the way home on foot, but also to lug our Baggage
at our Backs into the Bargain".
"Thus we learnt by our own Experience, that Horses are
very improper animals to use in a long Ramble into the Woods, and the better they
have been used to be fed, they are still the worse. Such will fall away a great
deal faster, and fail much sooner, than those which are wont to be at their own
keeping. Besides, Horses that have been accustom'd to a Plane and Champaign
Country will fovmder presently, when they come to clamber up Hills, and batter
their Hoofs against continal Rocks".
"We need Welsh Runts, and Highland Galloways to climb our Mountains
withal; they are us'd to Precipices, and will bite as close as Banstead Down Sheep.
But I should much rather recommend Mules, if we had them, for these long and
painful Expeditions; tho' till they can be bred, certainly Asses are the
fittest Beasts of Burthen for the Mountains. They are sure-footed, patient
under the heaviest Fatigue, and will subsist upon Moss, or Browsing on Shrubs
all the Winter. One of them will carry the Necessary Luggage of four Men,
without any Difficulty, and upon a Pinch will take a Quarter of Bear or Venison
upon their Backs into the Bargain. Thus, when the Men are light and disengaged
from everything but their Guns, they may go the whole Journey on foot with
pleasure. And
tho' my Dear Countrymen have so great a Passion for
riding, that they will often walk two miles to catch a Horse, in Order to ride
One, yet, if they'll please to take my Word for 't, when they go into the Woods
upon Discovery, I would advise them by all Means to march a-foot, for they will
then be deliver'd from the great Care and Concern for their Horses, which
takes up too large a portion of their time. Over Night we
are now at the trouble of hobbling them out, and often of leading them a mile
or two to a convenient place for Forrage, and
then in the morning we are some Hours in finding them
again, because they are apt to stray a great way from the place where they were
turn'd out. Now and then, too, they are lost for a whole day together, and are frequently
so weak and jaded, that the Company must ly still Several days, near some
Meadow, or High-land Pond, to recruit them. All these delays retard their
Progress intolerably; whereas, if they had only a few Asses, they wou'd abide
close to the Camp, and find Sufficient food everywhere, and in all Seasons of
the Year. Men wou'd then be able to travel Safely over Hills and Dales, nor
wou'd the Steepest Mountains obstruct their Progress. They might also search
more narrowly for Mines and other Production of Nature, without being confin'd
to level grounds, in Compliment to the jades they ride on. And one may
foretell, without the Spirit of Divination, that so long as Woodsmen continue
to range on Horse-back, we shall be Strangers to our own Country, and a few or
no valuable Discoveries will ever be made".
"The FRENCH COURIERS de Bois, who have run from one End of
the Continent to the other, have performed it all on foot, or else in all probability
must have continued as ignorant as we are. Our Country has now been inhabited
more than 130 years by the English, and still we hardly know any thing of the
Appallachian Mountains, that are no where above 250 miles from the sea.
Wliereas the French, who are later comers, have rang'd from Quebec Southward as
far as the Mouth of Mississippi, in the bay of Mexico, and to the West almost as
far as California, which is either way above 2000 miles".
"Custom had now made travelling on foot so familiar, that
we were able to walk ten Miles with Pleasure. This we cou'd do in our Boots,
notwithstanding our way lay over rough Woods and uneven Grounds. Our learning
to walk in heavy Boots was the same advantage to us that learning to Dance High
Dances in Wooden Shoes is to the French, it made us most exceedingly Nimble
without them".
"The Indians, who have no way of travelling but on the
Hoof, make nothing of going 25 miles a day, and carrying their little
Necessaries at their backs, and Sometimes a Stout Pack of Skins into the Bargain.
And very often they laugh at the English, who can't Stir to Next Neighbour without
a Horse, and say that 2 Legs are too much for such lazy people, who cannot
visit their next neighbour without six. For their Parts, they were utter
Strangers to all our Beasts of Burthen or Carriage, before the Slothful
Europeans came amongst them. They had on no part of the American Continent, or
in any of the Islands, either Horses or Asses, Camels, Dromedaries or
Elephants, to ease the Legs of the Original Inhabitants, or to lighten their
Labour".
"Before
nine of the Clock this Morning, the Provisions, Bedding
and
other Necessaries, were made up into Packs for the Men to carry on their
Shoulders into the Dismal. They were victuall'd for 8 days at full Allowance,
Nobody doubting but that wou'd be abundantly Sufficient to carry them thro'
that Inhospitable Place; nor Indeed was it possible for the Poor Fellows to
Stagger under more. As it was, their Loads weigh'd from 60 to 70 Pounds, in
just Proportion to the Strength of those who were to bear them".
Thursday, 21 January 2016
A List Of Standard Equipment Carried In A Hudson Bay Trade Canoe.
My sincere thanks to Russell Simmons for sharing this link with me.
Keith.
Keith.
One of the two main types used by the Nor’Westers was the canot du maître or Montreal canoe, up to 40 feet (12 metres) in length, with a capacity of 4 tons (3.5 tonnes) and manned by ten paddlers. At the western end of Lake Superior, the goods were transferred to canots du nord, or north canoes, smaller vessels with half the carrying capacity but light enough for two men to lift across portages. Birch bark was strong enough to carry economical loads, yet sufficiently light to be spun away from rock outcrops with the flick of a steersman’s wrist.
Fashioned from the bark of the yellow birch the canot du maître weighed less than 300 pounds (136 kilograms) yet was capable of carrying 4 tons (3.5 tonnes) of crew and freight. Only an axe, a crooked knife, a square or Indian awl, plus some spruce roots and pitch (spruce gum) were required to build a canoe.
More information here: http://hbcheritage.ca/content/canoe/dash/full
Sunday, 8 November 2015
Monday, 26 January 2015
The Leviathan Coach in Australia.
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The Leviathan replica at Old Sydney Town, near Gosford, NSW, c.1987, with Fiona for scale. (My thanks to my friend Lee Worsham for this image)
More information on this coach here: http://www.frankmurray.com.au/the-leviathan-coach-1860
Monday, 2 June 2014
Monday, 12 May 2014
More on Travel in the 18th Century.
http://clermontstatehistoricsite.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/getting-around-travel-in-18th-century.html
Monday, 14 April 2014
The 1640s Picturebook. Coach and Sedan.
Note that the carter on the left is carrying a sword. Very important when considering what items this character would be likely to carry with him if he travelled to the New World.
Keith.
Keith.
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Sunday, 28 March 2010
The Travois.
The most famous use for the travois was for the transportation of the plains Indian's tipi and other belongings which was pulled by horse. Other uses not so well known was dog travois and the travois pulled by man, again for transporting belongings and for carrying game out of the woods.
I have no documentation for the travois being pulled by man or woman, but I have done so in the past, and I really can't imagine that 18th century man was any less inventive. I will however continue to research this subject, but as you can imagine it is not something likely to be written about and the travois use in the east is overshadowed by its use in the west.
Here is one I made recently. Note the curved ends that drag. This makes it easier to pull and it leaves less sign. It can also be pushed to manouvre.
I have purposely made it narrow, so it will fit on forest trails. The front is bowed out to make room for me to stand inside to pull. The original shape is kept because I think this design is what makes it so secure and sturdy.
I have no documentation for the travois being pulled by man or woman, but I have done so in the past, and I really can't imagine that 18th century man was any less inventive. I will however continue to research this subject, but as you can imagine it is not something likely to be written about and the travois use in the east is overshadowed by its use in the west.
Here is one I made recently. Note the curved ends that drag. This makes it easier to pull and it leaves less sign. It can also be pushed to manouvre.
I have purposely made it narrow, so it will fit on forest trails. The front is bowed out to make room for me to stand inside to pull. The original shape is kept because I think this design is what makes it so secure and sturdy.
I also made the cordage that holds the travois together.
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