BOlf^ THE COACHES WERE NAMED 311 



Hoad, incom2:)aral)ly the most travellod of all, that 

 in the spring of 1819 it was thought necessary by 

 a prominent firm of coach-proprietors to introduce 

 a " safety " coach. This was the " Sovereign," an 

 entirely new departure in coach-building. It was 

 at once larger and lighter than an ordinary coach. 

 "It weighs," said the Brighton Herald, "only 

 ISOOi lb.; which is 100 lb. lighter than the 

 average of coaches built to carry luggage, and 

 80j lb. less than some gentlemen's landaus. The 

 different coaclimen who have driven it say that on 

 level ground it runs much lighter than others, and 

 every mechanic knows that small wheels have 

 the advantage at a hill." Evidently then, the 

 " Sovereign " was built Avitli smaller wheels than 

 Avere usual. It was, in addition, five inches 

 broader in the gauge of the axletrees, while, 

 according to the official description, the weight of 

 the l)ody was "placed five feet lower, so that when 

 the wheels on one side are thrown off, the axle 

 drags on the ground, and will allow the remaining 

 wheels to be lifted twelve inches or more before 

 the coach loses its balance. If a wheel had been 

 thrown off any other coach while going at the rate 

 of nine miles an hour with two outside passengers, 

 it must have gone over ; but should it take place 

 with the safe coach, it will not incline on one side 

 so as to make passengers uncomfortable." 



The appearance of this affair was extraordinary. 

 It carried no outsides on the roof ; they were 

 placed in a fore-carriage like the body of a landau, 

 constructed between the box and the body of the 



