Carmen

[Joan of Archives]

I sort of know what one of these is but should there be lots in the 1770's in London? I thought cars weren't invented back then? Lol!

:confused::d

[Merry]

I thought this thread was going to be about opera :rolleyes:

[Joan of Archives]

*Dances around with a bunch of bananas on her head* :d:d

[Merry]

Yes, there should be lots in the 1770s but proportional to the population, so there would be more in the 1800s.

[Joan of Archives]

Yes, there should be lots in the 1770s but proportional to the population, so there would be more in the 1800s.

So erm as there were no cars in the 1770's what exactly did they do then? :confused:

[Merry]

They drove delivery wagons! Transported goods rather than people. Sort of 'white-van-man' equivalents. Erm.....I have read that sometimes they were the sorts of people who evaded the law in various ways :eek: perhaps percentage-wise more frequently than drivers of other sorts of transport.

I have a great photo - hang on.....

[Merry]

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m13/merry_monty_montgomery/WhitechapelHighStcarmen1899.jpg

Loaded carmens wagons 1899. (sorry it's a bit fuzzy)

[Joan of Archives]

That's brilliant thanks Merry! I wonder if that's where the word "car" came from later then? Perhaps they couldn't spell cart? :d

[kiterunner]

Don't forget the car started out being called a "motor car" to distinguish it from other types of car.

[samesizedfeet]

I thought it was opera too..........

I have a few generations of carmen on one line. It was obviously a very skilled occupation passed from father to son :p

[Joan of Archives]

Thanks Kite & Zoe (I think :p)

[Merry]

Don't forget the car started out being called a "motor car" to distinguish it from other types of car.

My mum still says 'motor car'! And 'wireless'.....and 'stopping' rather than 'filling' at the dentist!

[Nell]

Railway trains are often composed of cars. I have always assumed it was an abbreviation for carriage.

[Gert in Oz]

My grandfather was a Carman, he drove the Tramway trolley type buses, this was very early 1900s.

oops, just reread the original question.

Sylvia

[Joan of Archives]

My grandfather was a Carman, he drove the Tramway trolley type buses, this was very early 1900s.

oops, just reread the original question.

Sylvia

Lol Sylvia!! That's what baffled me, the thought that there weren't any cars in the 1770s lol!! It's very odd, but I can understand Nell's explanation...although there were no trains then either lol! :d

[Uncle John]

My grandfather was a Carman, he drove the Tramway trolley type buses, this was very early 1900s.

I would refer to that occupation as a tram driver. At that time the trams could have been horse-drawn or electric (or even steam) depending where he was. Trolleybuses (a bus with road-type wheels, an electric motor and trolleys) first ran in 1911.