The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1934-07-27
BY JOHN r.

The Concord coach was used and
priced on every frontier. Its pop
ularity was not confined to the
Americas, it was standard in Aus
tralia and South Africa and was to
be found on every continent. The
makers of this vehicle had their shop
in Concord, New Hampshire. They
did not advertise; they had no sales
men. Every village had its Wheel
wright and blacksmith, who cOnsid-
cred themselves competent to build
any type of wagon, but the Concord
coach had no real competitor. Per-
haps Emerson was thinking of this
fact when he wrote of the man
who made a better mouse trap. At
all events, purchasers made a path to
Concord.
The first coaches built by the Con-
cord concern were copies of coaches in
use in England and abroad, but mod
ifications and improvements were not
long in coming. Before the railroad
had spanned the continent, the Con-
cord coach was standardized and was
as near perfection as American in
genuity and skillful workmanship
could make it. Their line was varied
from the great six horse overland coach
to the little two-horse "jerky."
This great line of famous vehicles
has vanished from the scene. It is as
completely extinct as the Dodo. Its
fossil remains are occasionally to be
seen in street parades, a tottering
symbol of the past.
If the power of white magic could
erase a half century of time, We might
find ourselves in one of the paint lofts
Of one of the Concord shops. Here
w would find, ready for delivery, the
various types, the models of 1884 diff
fering in no particular from those of
1874. Last years coach is not traded
in for something with a longer wheel
base. This Standardization results from
the fact that the product is not a new
creation, it is the fruit of evolution
continuously at work since that an
cient day, when man tried to soften
the terrific jolting of a %springless wag-
on. Long before steel springs were
considered, the device of the hammock
like thorough-brace was tried and we
have before us the last word on that
we'll considered subject.
Mark Twain in describing an incident
in his overland stage journey, when he
heard the messenger tell the driver
that a thoroughbrace was broken, con-
fesses he thought that it must be some
vital part of a horse. It is possible
that the reader is equally ignorant.
He is quite sure to be, unless he is on
the shady side of LIES divide.
Taking advantage of our visit to
Concord, let us examine this specimen
OF the Concord running gear, or as we
would say, the chassis. 1t belongs to
the standard, four-horse coach. It is
painted a rich yellow, without stripes
or decoration. The wheels are splendid
examples CT good design, material, and
workmanship, strong and sturdy, with
out clul- .siness. Only the best time
seasoned hardwoods are used. The
spokes are not hand-shaved, but they
are turned from split billets, which in
sures straight grain. The axles are of
iron, but they are capped and stiffen-
ed by a hardwood bolster, extending
from hub to hub. The front axle is
topped by a well designed fifth wheel
and bolster, with kingbolt. There is no
reach connecting front and rear axle.
Its function is served by four perch
es." These are hickory timbers about
three inches thick and four inches
wide, by nine feet in length. These