![Rollstuhl Farfler 1655](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Rollstuhl_Farfler_1655.jpg)
Invalid carriages were usually single seater road vehicles, buggies, or self-propelled vehicles for disabled people. They pre-dated modern electric
mobility scooter
A mobility scooter is an electric vehicle and mobility aid mostly auxiliary to a power wheelchair but configured like a motorscooter. When motorized they are commonly referred to as a power-operated vehicle/scooter, or electric scooter. Non-mot ...
s and, from the 1920s, were generally powered by small gasoline/petrol engines, although some were battery powered. They were usually designed without foot-operated controls.
The term "invalid carriage" persists in the United Kingdom in the regulation of mobility devices for disabled people, but excludes most of the more powerful, motorised types.
History
Origins
Stephan Farffler
Stephan Farffler (1633 – October 24, 1689), sometimes spelled Stephan Farfler, was a German watchmaker of the seventeenth century whose invention of a manumotive carriage in 1655 is widely considered to have been the first self-propelled wheelc ...
was a
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
watchmaker
A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their par ...
of the seventeenth century whose invention of a manumotive carriage in 1655 is widely considered to have been the first self-propelled
wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...
. He is believed to have been either a
paraplegic
Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek ()
"half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...
or an
amputee
Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indiv ...
. As such, the chair was consistent with the later designs for self-propelled invalid carriages. The three-wheeled device is also believed to have been a precursor to the modern-day
tricycle
A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) three-wheeled vehicle.
Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for passenger transport) and freight trikes, ...
and
bicycle
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
Bic ...
.
In England, the forerunner of the invalid carriage was the
bath chair
A bath chair—or Bath chair—was a rolling chaise or light carriage for one person with a folding hood, which could be open or closed. Used especially by disabled persons, it was mounted on three or four wheels and drawn or pushed by hand. It ...
. It was invented by James Heath, of Bath (hence the name), in the early 18th century. Animal drawn versions of the bath chair became known as invalid carriages. An 1880 Monk and Co. invalid carriage is on display at the
M Shed
M Shed is a museum in Bristol, England, located on Prince's Wharf beside the Floating Harbour in a dockside transit shed formerly occupied by Bristol Industrial Museum. The museum's name is derived from the way that the port identified each of i ...
in Bristol.
The firm of John Carter (an invalid and surgical furniture manufacturer in London, dating from 1870 to the late 1950s) advertised bath chairs, spinal carriages and self-propelling chairs, in its 1890s' list of "invalid comforts". Later it would market its products to wounded soldiers.
Between the wars
File:The Rotary invalid tricycle. Wellcome L0010210.jpg, 1920s Rotary invalids tricycle
File:Argson De Luxe invalid carriage (XPD 805).jpg, 1926-1954 Argson De Luxe
File:The Harding Electrically propelled invalid chair. Wellcome L0010211.jpg, 1930s Harding's electric powered
File:Motorised invalid car, The Pultney Two Seater'. Wellcome L0011508.jpg, Harding's Pultney
Stanley Engineering Co. Ltd. of Egham, Surrey, began making self-propelled invalid carriages under the 'Argson' name in the 1920s. The Argson Runnymede was designed in South Africa manufactured in England from 1936 to 1954. They were either battery-powered or had a Villiers petrol engine. A petrol powered Runnymede drove across the Alps in 1947. Stanley Engineering was bought by C. B. Harper Ltd. in 1954.
R. A. Harding Company of Bath was founded in 1921. They initially produced hand-propelled tricycles. In 1926 Harding's introduced a variety of powered invalid carriages. The De Luxe models A and B were powered by a 122cc Villiers engine, and the Pultney was powered by either a 200cc or 300cc JAP. There were also 24-volt or 36-volt electric machines. In 1945, the company was renamed R. A. Harding (Bath) Ltd., and the Pultney was discontinued. In December 1948 the De Luxe models were upgraded with larger rear wheels, a new petrol tank, and a fan-cooled Villiers 147cc unit. Hardings introduced a full-bodied model in 1956, called the Consort. Only 12 of these were made. The company closed down in 1988, having made hand-powered models until 1973 and motor-driven ones until 1966.
From the 1930s to the late 1940s, Nelco Industries made a three-wheeled battery powered vehicle. Steering was enabled by means of a tiller connected to the front wheel; the tiller also provided speed control. Forward or reverse was enabled by a separate control. The 24 volt electric motor could act as a generator to recharge the battery when going downhill. The motor was 24 volt.
Post World War 2
In 1946,
Larmar Engineering made small single-seated cars that were specially designed for physically disabled people. The vehicles were only 80 cm wide and each had a body made of plywood and aluminum, a side door, seat, windshield and a soft top. A single-cylinder, two-stroke, 8 horse power engine from BSA, with 249 cc displacement, was mounted in the rear and it drove one of the rear wheels via a chain. From 1950, a two-cylinder, four-stroke, 10 hp engine, with 350 cc displacement, was available.
United Kingdom Ministry of Health contracts (1948–1978)
File:AC Invacar model 57 (NPB 860D).jpg, AC model 57
File:Gordon 1956 schräg 8.JPG, 1956 Vernon Industries Gordon
File:Invacar 1973 (4).JPG, 1973 Invacar
File:Thundersley Invacar in the Coventry Transport Museum collection.jpg, Thundersley
File:Tippen Delta.JPG, Tippen Delta
In 1948,
Bert Greeves
Bert Greeves MBE (born Oscar Bertram Greeves, 5 June 1906 – 15 July 1993) was a British engineer who founded Invacar Ltd in 1942 and Greeves motor cycles in 1953. Twice married with one daughter, he was appointed MBE in 1972.
Early lif ...
adapted a motorcycle, with the help of his paralysed cousin Derry Preston-Cobb, as transport for Preston-Cobb. Noticing the number of former servicemen injured in the Second World War, they spotted a commercial opportunity and approached the UK government for support, leading to the creation of Invacar Ltd.
[
] Invacar was not the only company to be contracted by the Ministry of Health to produce three-wheeled vehicles for disabled drivers. Others included Harding, Dingwall & Son,
AC Cars
AC Cars, originally incorporated as Auto Carriers Ltd., is a British specialist automobile manufacturer and one of the oldest independent car makers founded in Britain. As a result of bad financial conditions over the years, the company was re ...
, Barrett, Tippen & Son, Thundersley, Vernon Industries, and
Coventry Climax
Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, racing, and other specialty engine manufacturer.
History
Pre WW1
The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocat ...
.
[
These early vehicles were each powered by an air-cooled Villiers 147 cc engine, but when production of that engine ceased in the early 1970s it was replaced by a much more powerful 4-stroke 500 cc or 600 cc Steyr-Puch engine, giving a reported top speed of . They were low-cost, low-maintenance vehicles, designed specifically for people with physical disabilities. Production of them stopped in 1976, and the last ones were withdrawn from the road in 2003. Some still exist, however, and approximately 25 Invacars survive, that could become roadworthy once again. There are at least five Invacars in private ownership which are "road-legal", as well as several other unroadworthy examples which are awaiting their demise, including one in the Coventry Transport Museum collection, two in the Lakeland museum in Cumbria, and one road-going example "TWC" features on the HubNut YouTube channel. Another 1976 example, one of the last made, can be found on display at the ]National Motor Museum, Beaulieu
The National Motor Museum (originally the Montagu Motor Museum) is a museum in the village of Beaulieu, set in the heart of the New Forest, in the English county of Hampshire.
History
The museum was founded in 1952 by Edward Douglas-Scott- ...
in Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
, England.
In Britain, in the 1960s and 1970s, invalid carriages were provided as subsidised, low-cost vehicles to improve the mobility of people with disabilities. Vehicles leased by the National Health Service
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
had three wheels, were very lightweight, and therefore their suitability on roads among other traffic was often considered dubious on safety grounds. Invalid carriages are banned from motorway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
s. All remaining NHS leassed Invacar type invalid carriages were ultimately withdrawn in a safety recall in 2003.
Motorised invalid carriages, as described above, do not fall under the legal definition of "invalid carriage" under current (since 1988) regulations, unless they are limited to speeds of 8 mph or less (see below
Below may refer to:
*Earth
*Ground (disambiguation)
*Soil
*Floor
*Bottom (disambiguation)
Bottom may refer to:
Anatomy and sex
* Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or ...
).
Se
www.invalidcarriageregister.org
Other countries
File:Fend Flitzer 101 1948-1951 schräg 3.JPG, Fend Flitzer 101
File:Meyra Modell E 37 1956.JPG, 1956 Meyra Model E37
File:Simson Duo (01) 2007-02-12.jpg, Simson DUO
File:2018-08-26. Авто-мото экзотика 29.jpg, SMZ S3A
File:SMZ S3A-M (1969) 1X7A8078.jpg, SMZ S3A-M
File:Мотоколяска СМЗ-С3Д у Хаджохской теснины.jpg, SMZ S3D
File:Velorex-OS-KAR 54.jpg, Velorex Oskar 54
Fritz Fend
Fritz Fend (April 14, 1920 in Rosenheim – November 22, 2000) was an aeronautical engineer. He was noted for designing Messerschmitt's Kabinenroller (cabinscooter) KR175 and KR200 microcars, for co-founding FMR, the company that took over prod ...
, a former technical officer with the Luftwaffe, also designed a three-wheel invalid carriage in 1948. The first version was unpowered, with the single wheel situated at the front. His powered version had a 38cc Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
two-stroke engine, with a chain-driven single rear wheel; the two wheels at the front were used for steering. This latter version was called the Fend Fritzer, and some 250 were made between 1948 and 1951, when production ceased.
Invalid carriages were also made in other countries, including Simson DUO in East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
, SMZ in the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, and Velorex in Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
.
The Duo was made initially by VEB Fahrzeugbau und Ausrüstungen Brandis (VEB FAB) from 1973 until 1978, whereupon manufacture was transferred to VEB Robur, more famous for making trucks in Zittau
Zittau ( hsb, Žitawa, dsb, Žytawa, pl, Żytawa, cs, Žitava, :de:Oberlausitzer Mundart, Upper Lusatian Dialect: ''Sitte''; from Slavic languages, Slavic "''rye''" (Upper Sorbian and Czech: ''žito'', Lower Sorbian: ''žyto'', Polish: ''żyto' ...
. Because many of the components are common with the Simson, the Duo is often classified as a Simson. Production ceased in 1989.
Since 1988
In the United Kingdom, "invalid carriage" is a legal term denoting a device built for the use of one person with a physical disability, which does not require a driving licence
A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public ...
and may be driven off-road by a disabled person, including on pavements. The law is slightly different in Northern Ireland.
Regulations divide them into three classes:
* Class 1 comprises non-mechanically propelled vehicles, including wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...
s and handcycle
A handcycle is a type of human-powered land vehicle powered by the arms rather than the legs, as on a bicycle. Most handcycles are tricycle in form, with two coasting rear wheels and one steerable powered front wheel. Despite usually having th ...
s. Users of such vehicles are treated for most purposes in law as pedestrians. They are not subject to any speed limits.
* Class 2 comprises mechanically propelled vehicles such as motorized wheelchair
A motorized wheelchair, powerchair, electric wheelchair or electric-powered wheelchair (EPW) is a wheelchair that is propelled by means of an electric motor (usually using differential steering) rather than manual power. Motorized wheelchairs a ...
s and mobility scooter
A mobility scooter is an electric vehicle and mobility aid mostly auxiliary to a power wheelchair but configured like a motorscooter. When motorized they are commonly referred to as a power-operated vehicle/scooter, or electric scooter. Non-mot ...
s, limited to 4 mph.
* Class 3 consists mostly of mobility scooters. They are limited to 8 mph, with a further limiter set to 4 mph which must be enabled when used on a pavement. They must be fitted with a speedometer and may not be used by children under 14.
All three classes may be used on footways and cycle paths. Class 2 and 3 may be used on dual carriageways with a flashing amber beacon, and otherwise must comply with most other regulations pertaining to use of vehicles on the carriageway (e.g. lights and reflectors), though they are specifically excluded from the definition of "motor vehicle". All are banned from motorways. None of them cover the types described in the section above, which are ordinary motor vehicles subject to all regulations applicable to such.
See also
*Bath chair
A bath chair—or Bath chair—was a rolling chaise or light carriage for one person with a folding hood, which could be open or closed. Used especially by disabled persons, it was mounted on three or four wheels and drawn or pushed by hand. It ...
* Cars for wheelchair users
*Handcycle
A handcycle is a type of human-powered land vehicle powered by the arms rather than the legs, as on a bicycle. Most handcycles are tricycle in form, with two coasting rear wheels and one steerable powered front wheel. Despite usually having th ...
* Invacar
*Motorized wheelchair
A motorized wheelchair, powerchair, electric wheelchair or electric-powered wheelchair (EPW) is a wheelchair that is propelled by means of an electric motor (usually using differential steering) rather than manual power. Motorized wheelchairs a ...
*Mobility scooter
A mobility scooter is an electric vehicle and mobility aid mostly auxiliary to a power wheelchair but configured like a motorscooter. When motorized they are commonly referred to as a power-operated vehicle/scooter, or electric scooter. Non-mot ...
Literature
* An Introduction to the British Invalid Carriage 1850 - 1978, Stuart Cyphus, Museum of Disability History,
References
{{reflist
Mobility devices
Vehicles by purpose