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Sledge
This very simple form of transport was very useful for moving heavy stones off the land, as the stone did not have to be lifted too high. It was also used for taking manure to the fields. Without sides, it was used for transporting turf across wet bogs.
Slide car
Slide cars were usually home made from rough timber. The dragging ends of the shafts were protected from wear by replaceable shoes of wood. A removable creel or kish of woven willow was used to carry turf or other loose material. The slide car performed better than a wheeled vehicle on the rough lanes of 1700s Ireland. They were also easier to manage on steep hillsides. In Tyrone in 1802 the cost of a slide car was 4 shillings while the cost of a wheeled car was 4 pounds 4 shillings.
Block wheeled car
There is an example of a block wheeled car in the 'Transport and Migration' section of the Emigrants exhibition at the Ulster American Folk Park.
Block cart They were a step up the evolutionary ladder from the slipe. The wheels were made from three pieces of wood dowelled together. The wheel was hooped with iron. The tyre consisted of two parts and was nailed onto the wheel although later they were sometimes sweated onto the wheel as in spoked wheels. The square axle shaft was passed through the centre of the wheel and wedged in with wood. The rounded ends of the axle fitted into supports under the shaft. The wheels were thus under and inside the body of the cart, and the whole unit of axle and two wheels revolved together. This was an inefficient system compared to a freely revolving wheel but on steep slopes one wheel acted as a brake on the other. The load was carried in a creel mounted on the cart or in a box body made as part of the cart. The platform of the cart could be covered by a straw mat to become a passenger vehicle, and passengers travelled with their legs dangling over the sides of the vehicle. This idea was further developed into the jaunting car. Unlike the later Scotch cart which was always painted, the wheeled car was rarely painted.
The wheeled car was a common means of transport around Dublin in the 1650s. Due to the poor state of the roads wheeled vehicles were less common through the rest of the country. The linen trade saw these carts become more common as the 1700s progressed. They were used to convey linen form Ulster to the linen markets of Dublin. They became a common feature through the Tyrone countryside by the 1780s before that date wheeled vehicles were reported as rare. To have one was a mark of social distinction. Right in to the middle 1800s it was considered respectable to go to the Meeting house in North Antrim in such vehicles.
The early 1800s saw the introduction of the Scotch cart into the north east of Ireland. Until then spoked wheels had been reserved for the carriages of the rich. Its construction demanded higher levels of craftsmanship. It cost 12 as opposed to 4 for the wheeled car, but was much easier for the horse to pull and it could carry twice the load.
The Scotch Cart
The Scotch cart was first seen in counties Antrim and Down around 1800. At the same time the Scottish plough, improved horse harness and drill culture filtered into Ulster from Scotland. The large spoked wheels, iron axle and shafts that ran parallel to the ground made it easier to pull. It was much more expensive than earlier carts costing 12 pounds and required skilled craftsmen to make it. The cart was made popular by linen traders taking cloth from Ulster to Dublin. It could carry 2 or 3 times the load of the block wheeled car. It was very adaptable and soon replaced the block wheeled car. Early carts had no sides. High sides were attached to the cart to transport turf. The body could be extended to carry light loads like hay. The carts were usually painted blue and orange. Later carts had the spectacle design of linked circles on their front.
Donkey cart
The donkey cart was a small version of the Scotch cart. Donkeys were only introduced to Ireland during the Napoleonic Wars around 1800. Many horses in Ireland were bought up to be used in the war, and were replaced by donkeys brought in from Spain. Donkeys were to be found all over Ireland for the next 150 years but they were most common and best suited to the drier parts of the South and West of the country.
Hay cart
The hay cart or ruck shifter came into Ireland in the late 1800s. The cart was reversed to the edge of a ruck of hay, a pin was pulled out that held the front of the platform to the shafts allowing the back to tip up. The heavy ropes were pulled out and hooked behind the ruck. The ruck was pulled up the trailer by the levers and gearing mechanism. Once on the cart the platform fell back down onto the shafts, the pin was replaced and the ruck could be taken to form part of a large haystack.
Pony trap
This was also known as a tub cart or a governess' cart. They were introduced at the end of the 1890s. The quality of the cart varied with the skills of the builder. Entrance was from the back by a low step. It was a very safe means of transport being totally enclosed.
Jaunting car
In Ulster this was commonly called a sidecar. It is one of very few typically Irish vehicles. Its form is like that of the wheeled car with the wheels under the body. It was commonly used as the taxi of its day. Bianconi used them as the basis of his transport network that served all Ireland in the mid 1800s. He also used a long car which was like the jaunting car but elongated with four wheels and could carry up to eight people on each side.
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