Carriage Types and Definitions:
Ambulance: a 2- or 4-wheeled vehicle used to carry sick or injured persons, equipped with a litter or bed, and characterized by easy suspension. The term was also applied to a type of passenger wagon in the western United States.
Barouche: a 4- or 6-passenger kind of coach, with the running gear of a coach and a body much like that of a landau, except that the folding top covered only the rear seat.
Berlin: a type of 4-wheeled carriage developed in Berlin, Germany, about 1660, with the front and rear portions connected by two perches instead of one and the body resting on leather thoroughbraces running from front to back. The berlin gained in popularity in Europe during the 18th century, and the term eventually came to mean a light coach.
Bike Wagon: a light runabout developed late in the carriage era, having one or several of the following features: wire wheels, rubber tires (cushion type or pneumatic), ball-bearing axles, and tubular steel running gear.
Break: a heavy vehicle that was nothing more than a running gear with a high driver's seat in front. It was used for breaking horses into harness. The term eventually was applied to a kind of heavy phaeton, generally seating four, with a rumble for footmen in the rear.
Brougham: a 2-passenger carriage resembling a coupé, developed in England in the 1830s. It had a paneled boot, or box, for the driver in front and its low suspension provided easy access. It was designed as a gentleman's carriage but was also commonly used as a hack for public hire.
Buckboard: a simple American carriage type, originally with no springs but with a seat or seats placed on risers mounted on one or more flexible springlike boards bolted directly to the axles. Afterward, some types were equipped with springs.
Buggy: a term originally used in England for a chaise or phaeton intended for only one person. Eventually it was applied to the most popular of American carriages, the light 4-wheeled vehicle for one or two passengers, which was generally equipped with a folding top.
Cab: when the cabriolet was introduced from Italy into France, it came into common use as a public hack, and the name was often shortened to cab. Eventually "cab" meant any carriage for hire, whether 2- or 4-wheeled.
Cabriolet: originally a 2-wheeled vehicle, developed in Italy, with a body resembling a nautilus shell. Later it had four wheels, with a folding top over the rear seat and a boot, or box, for the driver in front. In America it was often called a "panel-boot victoria."
Calash (or Calèche): originally either of two types of carriages: (1) a Canadian vehicle resembling a chaise, with a driver's seat on top or in front of the dash; and (2) a 4-wheeled vehicle resembling a barouche. The term came to mean simply a folding carriage top.
Cart: a simple 2-wheeled vehicle used to carry moderately heavy loads. The term was applied also to certain types of passenger carriages.
Chair: a 2-wheeled vehicle of the chaise type, very light, frequently for one passenger, and without a top.
Chaise: a light, 2-wheeled carriage, generally carrying two passengers, frequently so constructed that the elasticity of the supporting shafts provided the resilience of springs. Most were equipped with calash tops.
Chariot: a vehicle equipped and suspended like a coach, but with a shorter body and only one inside seat, generally for two passengers.
Coupé: a carriage resembling a brougham, with the driver's seat framed to the front of the body. It differed from a brougham in having a hinged seat inside and a rounded or octagon front.
Curricle: a 2-wheeled carriage, heavier and more elaborate than a chaise or gig, and drawn by two horses.
Democrat wagon: a name sometimes applied to a spring wagon.
Depot Wagon: a variety of rockaway, sometimes made with a folding end gate which served as a luggage rack.
Dogcart: a sporting vehicle, usually 2-wheeled, with two transverse seats placed back to back. It was used for hunting, and dogs could be carried in a rear compartment under the seats.
Dougherty Wagon: a variety of passenger wagon, hung on steel springs rather than on braces. It originated in St. Louis, Mo., and was much used in the American West, particularly by the U.S. Army.
Drag: a heavy coach with roof seats and rumble seat, popularly used as a sporting vehicle and to carry people on picnics and outings. It was generally drawn by four horses.
Gig: a carriage resembling a chaise, but more elaborately suspended; the body was often hung by braces from C-springs.
Germantown: a carriage with two or three seats, resembling a rockaway, that was developed about 1816 in Germantown, Pa.
Hack: shortened name for hackney coach.
Hackney coach: a carriage available for public hire. The term did not indicate a style of carriage so much as its availability for hire.
Hansom Cab: a 2-wheeled closed carriage often used as a public carrier. The driver's seat was high on the rear of the body and entrance for two passengers was gained through the front.
Landau: a heavy vehicle resembling a coach, but with two calash tops that locked together in the center and could be let down in pleasant weather.
Mud Wagon: a popular term for passenger wagons, because they were so often mud-splattered.
Omnibus: a public carrier seating at least 12 passengers. The seats were longitudinal, the door was in the rear, and the driver's seat was frequently on the roof.
Passenger Wagon: a type of stage, generally resting on thoroughbraces. It was less expensive to build than a regular stage coach because of its simplified wagonlike construction.
Phaeton: any of a large number of carriages of various types. A phaeton was a 4-wheeled carriage with a folding top. It had no coachman's seat and was often driven by the owner.
Rockaway: a general American type that developed after 1830. Rockaways were of various designs but each had a standing top that covered it completely, including the driver's seat.
Runabout: generally a buggy without a top.
Spring Wagon: a versatile light wagon with two or three removable seats, popular in rural areas for carrying passengers or produce. A spring wagon might be open or equipped with a canopy top. Its springs were usually of the platform type.
Stage: a coach or wagon providing public transportation. The word derives from the stages into which a long journey might be divided by stops at resting places, or stations, along the way.
Sulky: a very light, 1-passenger, 2-wheeled skeleton vehicle, designed for trotting races. Early in the 19th century the term was applied also to the type of vehicle called a chair.
Surrey: a comparatively low-cost family carriage, generally with a square body and two transverse seats. It might be without a top, or it might have either a canopy or a folding top.
Victoria: a stately carriage resembling a cabriolet, but in place of the latter's paneled boot it had a skeleton iron boot above a curving leather dash.
Wagonette: a light wagon resembling an open omnibus, with longitudinal seats and a back door. Small wagonettes might be used as pleasure carriages and larger ones -in pleasant weather- as omnibuses.
