niS FIRST CAR. iSi 



The beginning that Bianconi made was a very 

 small one, it was only one ordinary jaunting-car 

 drawn by a single horse, capable of accommodating 

 six persons ; it ran between Cahir and Clonmel, a 

 distance of about twelve miles, and commenced on 

 the 5th of July, 1815 ; until then, passengers were 

 forced to ride on coaches, and the fares were so 

 high that the poorer class could not possibly afford 

 to pay them. The fare on the car betwixt Clonmel 

 and Cahir was eighteenpence. At first scarcely 

 any one would go by the car ; people preferred to 

 walk, rather than spend their money. The car some- 

 times ran for weeks without a passenger, Bianconi, 

 finding this to be the case, started an opposition car. 

 No one knew of it but himself, not even the driver 

 of the opposition car, since the affair was managed 

 with such secrecy ; but, no sooner was the opposition 

 car started, than the people began to patronise both 

 cars. There were races between the car-drivers, then 

 there was the excitement of the contest which just 

 suited the Irish lads, and attracted the attention of 

 the public ; the people took sides, and, before very 

 long, both cars came in crowded. After a time the 

 opposition car broke down, and still Bianconi's original 

 car was as full as ever. 



During the same year, 181 5, he started another 

 car between Clonmel, Cashel, and Thurles, so that 

 all the principal towns of Tipperary were connected 

 together by car traffic. Men of business, com- 

 mercial travellers, and farmers, and even peasants 

 were delighted with this new state of things ; before 

 the cars were started it took a man a whole day 

 to walk from Thurles to Clonmel, whereas now he 

 could travel backwards and forwards in one day, and 



