28 



FORE-CARRIAGE 



CH. Ill 



coachman ought to know all the dodges that at some 

 time migrht be of use to him. 



The front axle of a vehicle with a perch, or with 

 a body which is wide and low, can turn through a 

 small angle only, before the front wheel touches the 

 perch or the body, and many attempts have been 



made to reme- 

 dy this defect. 

 One method is 

 to put the 

 perch-bolt back 

 of the line of 

 the axle-arms, 

 p IG IO in which case 



(as is shown in 

 Fig. 10, where the wheel is represented as touching 

 the body), a larger angle of the pole with the centre 

 line can be obtained. This is dangerous, however, 

 if carried to excess, because when on the lock, the 

 front wheels are to one side of the centre line and 

 the stabilitv of the coach is much diminished. 



In broughams the perch-bolt is frequently put 

 somewhat forward of the line of the axle-arms, 

 which brings the inside wheel forward in making a 

 turn and permits it to go under the boot without touch- 

 ing the body, still keeping the carriage-part short. 



A variety of plans for jointed axle-arms have 

 been proposed: by Ackermax in 1 8 1 8 ; by Rock in 

 1850; by Herdic in 1880; and later by Jeantaud, 

 of Paris. Nearly all modern horseless carriages 



