Concord coaches are horse-drawn coaches, often used as stagecoaches, which employ a style of suspension and construction particularly suited to North America's early 19th century roads. As on earlier coaches, leather thoroughbraces suspend passengers who are in constant motion while the coach is moving. The swaying is accepted by passengers for the shock absorbing action of the leather straps and for the way the special motion eases the coach over very rough patches of roadway. Coachbuilder J Stephen Abbot and wheelwright Lewis Downing of Concord, New Hampshire developed a thoroughbrace coach very similar to the Troy and Albany coaches made slightly earlier by upstate New York makers such as Eaton, Gilbert and Company. The Concords were high-end, expensive vehicles; the cost was justified by long service life. The Concord coach outlasted all of its predecessors, whose makers made their way into city carriages, rail cars, or simply passed out of existence. Railroads began replacing stagecoaches in the middle of the 19th century, but Concord coaches remained in commercial use into the 20th century and continue to be used in parades and for publicity purposes by Wells Fargo Bank.
Dimensions
Concord coaches varied widely in capacity, from small four-person vehicles through the iconic nine-passenger heavy western mail coaches and beyond, so dimensions vary. A larger coach might weigh and could stand over tall.
Design features
Construction
Timber: white oak, ash and basswood braced with iron bands. Iron fittings. Leather and canvas.
Undercarriage
The undercarriage supports the leather thoroughbraces carrying the body. The two axles are tied together by a firm undercarriage braced by three straight perches and given a relatively slim transom. Each end of each transom holds an upright metal standard from which hang the leather thoroughbraces.
Brakes
The back wheels have brake blocks acting on the iron tires. The driver controls them with a foot lever to his right at the side of his footboard.
Body
The body needed to make no contribution to the rigidity of the undercarriage and so was more lightly constructed than was the custom for European vehicles. This lightness also eased progress on the very rough roads. The iconic design had three bench seats accommodating up to nine people, though models to seat four, six, twelve and sixteen passengers were available. The benches at the front and back of the body had limited headroom. Passengers on the center bench were given no backrest but leaned back on a broad leather strap fastened to each side of the coach. More passengers could travel in the open air on the body's roof. Tourist coaches often had raised fixed seats. There was an external luggage carrier at the back of the body and another boot for valuables below the driver's seat at the front. The rear carrier was usually an open platform on the lighter hotel coaches, and an enclosed boot on the western mail coaches.
The foremost horses were known as the lead horses or leaders, often small, always quickwitted at selecting the exact track. The wheel horses or wheelers were the back pair nearest the coach's wheels. The number of horses varied with size of the coach and service. A small light four-seater on a good eastern turnpike might have only two horses, heavy western mail coaches might have six. Some operators used mules as well as, or instead of, horses.
Operation
It is not possible to guide a Concord coach with European-style precision. The Concord body continuously shifts. The driver or coachman has to sit slightly askew and brace himself with the aid of a steeply angled footboard. He cannot keep his reins in a steady contact with the horses' mouths. He has to bend his arms and elbows to constantly compensate, and his body always leans slightly forward. He holds his left reins in his left hand and his right reins — separated by his middle finger — in his right hand and not all in one hand like a European could. It is easy to slacken an individual rein but much more difficult to shorten it. His right hand also has to control his whip used on the wheel horses. If obliged to make his right hand free, then he must lay all the right hand reins in his left hand unseparated. The horses were harnessed very loosely by European standards because without proper roads the horses had to be allowed to avoid their particular obstacles. The Concord pole, though mounted to allow far more play, moved less. The result was the coach's direction was straighter than with a European coach, it did not respond to every irregularity in the road.
Abbot-Downing wagon
Concord coaches were expensive. Abbot-Downing also supplied a much simpler, lighter, and less expensive vehicle which they named Overland wagon and later Western passenger wagon. These are the vehicles which opened up the stage routes of the U.S. West.
