Wednesday 2 December 2020

Sign of the Times

I came upon this less frequently observed road sign. At first glance, I thought horse and carriage. On closer inspection, it was not even Wild West wagon train, but more mundane horse and cart. The gated entrance is to a muddy track at the foot of a hillside and probably impassable for part of the year, hence the need for this instruction.

It reminded me of how, with the coming of the railways, those who were used to being carried around in their own horse-drawn carriages could now be ferried around on flat-bed wagons without having to leave their own comfortably upholstered seats [or mix with the hoi-polloi] for the entirety of their journey. The first long wheel-based passenger railway carriages maintained the traditional coach design - effectively a row of horse-drawn carriage bodies joined together but now permanently attached to the wagon.


The reclusive 5th Duke of Portland made use of his specially constructed system of tunnels at Welbeck for the first part of his journey to Worksop station, where his carriage was put on a train to take him to London for business reasons and where he also had a house. With his blinds drawn, he was able to cut himself off from the outside world at every stage, which is, apparently, just how he liked it.

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