Coach (Ger. Kutsche, Fr. coche, Hun. Ifocsi [formerly kotsi], probably derived from Kocs [Kots], the name of a village S. of the Danube, in which coaches were made in the 16th century), a covered four-wheeled carriage, and, as usually applied, limited to those employed as public conveyances for passengers. The vehicles designated by this name, slightly altered in the different European languages from the original Hungarian kocsi, have been so variously constructed, that the name may properly be treated as applicable to all covered carriages, including those used upon railroads. During the middle ages the only riding practised was on horseback; and when near the close of the 15th century carriages began again to appear, they were esteemed proper only for women and invalids. The emperor Frederick III., it is stated, came to attend the council at Frankfort in 1474 in a close carriage, and the next year visited the same city in a very magnificent covered carriage. In the 16th century the German princes appear to have vied with each other in the number and splendor of their equipages.

At the tournament in Ruppin in 1509, the electress of Brandenburg appeared in a carriage gilt all over; there were 12 other coaches there ornamented with crimson, and one of the duchess of Mecklenburg hung with red satin. The use of coaches, though prohibited to the feudal nobility and vassals by the orders and admonitions of the great lords, became popular throughout the states, and gradually extended to all the countries of Europe. The want of carriage roads, and the narrowness of the streets of many of the cities, were no doubt serious impediments to their introduction. Even as late as the 16th century people of the highest rank in France rode only on horseback, sometimes sitting behind their equerry on the same horse. Yet it would appear from an ordinance of Philip the Fair in 1294, forbidding citizens' wives to use carriages (cars), that they must have been known at that early time. About the year 1550 there were only three coaches in Paris. In 1610 Henry IV. was assassinated in his coach. The first notice of coaches "being suspended by straps is of that in which Louis XIV. made his public entrance about the middle of the 17th century.

Carriages called whirlicotes were in limited use in England in the time of Richard II. His mother was conveyed in one on the flight of the royal family in the rebellion near the end of the 14th century. The introduction of coaches into England has been credited to Sir Thomas Chamberlayne, who was ambassador to the courts of Charles V., Philip II. of Spain, and the king of Sweden, and who, according to some, also introduced watches. But there is doubt on both points. Others say that Fitz-Allan, earl of Arundel, introduced coaches in 1555. Stow says that they were introduced in 1564 by a Dutchman, who became coachman to Queen Elizabeth. He adds: "After a while, divers great ladies, with as great jea-lousie of the queene's displeasure, made them coaches, and rid in them up and downe the countries, to the great admiration of all the beholders; but then by little and little they grew usual among the nobilitie, and others of sort, and within twentie years became a great trade of coach making." In 1619 the duke of Buckingham used one with six horses, and the earl of Northumberland, to ridicule this pomp, appeared in one with eight horses.

The period in which coaches became familiar can therefore be referred but little further back than the time of the settlement of New England; and for a century afterward the use of private carriages in the country was limited to the aristocracy and wealthy classes. In London coaches began to be kept for hire in 1625. In 1673 there were 20 hackney coaches in Edinburgh, but the narrowness of the streets or state of the roads must have rendered them comparatively useless, for in 1752 there were only 14, and in 1778 only 9, while the number of sedans increased. The conveyances through the interior were the cumbersome stage wagons, used for carrying goods, in the tail of which, as it was called, was reserved a covered space for six or eight passengers, who sat upon the straw on the floor. In the reign of Charles II. stage-coach travelling was so poorly conducted, that two days were spent in going from London to Oxford, 58 miles; and in 1703, when Prince George of Denmark went from Windsor to Petworth, about 40 miles, to meet Charles of Austria, pretender to the throne of Spain, the journey occupied 14 hours, 6 of which were spent on the last 9 miles.

The fact is spoken of by the historian as the more surprising, inasmuch as, except when overturned or stuck fast in the mire, his royal highness made no stop during the journey. In the middle of the 18th century the journey from London to Birmingham, 116 miles, occupied nearly three days by the stage coach; and the first regular public conveyance of the kind between London and Edinburgh was established in 1785, when " a two-end glass coach machine, hung on steel springs, exceeding light and easy," was advertised to go through in 10 days in summer and 12 in winter, the passengers lying over the included Sabbath at one of the villages on the route. The modern mail coaches, running over splendid turnpike roads, making 10 miles an hour, and changing horses at every stage, were the finest in the world; but they have been superseded by the network of railways covering the country. At Amsterdam the use of wheel coaches was prohibited in 1663, on account of the injury they did to the expensive pavement; and the bodies were consequently placed on runners, as they are used in cold countries upon the snow. - Numerous forms of covered carriages have been introduced during the present century; too many indeed to be enumerated in this article.

Hackney coaches drawn by two horses have generally given place in London to the one-horse cab or cabriolet, which came into use in 1823; but in the cities of the United States the former are altogether preferred. The long coach called an omnibus, with the entrance behind and seats along the sides facing each other, originated in Paris in 1827, and in 1831 it began to come into use in London. In large cities it is found the most economical form of carriage, except those running on rails, for conveying the largest number of passengers through the streets. In Paris the public omnibuses are numerous and commodious, though their progress is slow as compared with those of London. One company has a municipal monopoly and owns all the lines. The omnibuses on the several lines are of different colors, and the lines are lettered from A to Z, and from AB to AC. In 1872 there were in London about 1,500 omnibuses, employing nearly 7,000 persons. The number was formerly much larger in proportion, for in 1844 one company employed 1,400 omnibuses; but a large part of the city and suburban travel is now carried on tramways and underground railways.

In New York city one was made in 1830, and run upon Broadway. In 1858 the number of these coaches employed upon various lines was 429. This was a considerable reduction from the number of former years, owing to the construction of horse railroads; and by 1873 the number was reduced to about 200. Before the introduction of railroads, post coaches were largely employed upon the public roads; and the demand for them in all sections of the country caused large establishments for their manufacture to grow up where the skill, capital, and materials required could be best secured. Active competition led to continual improvement, and the carriages became models of perfect construction, combining strength with lightness and gracefulness of form, together with comfort to the passengers, in a manner unequalled in any part of the world. They are made for carrying nine passengers upon three seats inside, two with the driver upon the "box" in front, and three upon a seat behind this on the front edge of the top.

The manufacture of stage coaches in New York, New Jersey, and New England has much decreased within a few years, hut large numbers are still made, especially at Concord, X. II., for hotels, transfers, and for export to the far west and to Mexico and Central and South America, The French diligences are unwieldy vehicles, and only adapted for smooth roads. They are formed in three compartments, the front one called a coupe, having a seat for three persons facing forward; the middle apartment, the interieur, has scats for six, like a hackney coach; and behind this is the rotonde, with seats for six or eight passengers, who sit with their hacks to the sides of the carriage. On the front part of the top is the banquette, sometimes covered with a hood, with seats for four passengers. The driver rides one of the horses, of which five or six are commonly employed. - Few pieces of mechanical work require so great and varied skill as the construction of coaches. Their use demands lightness, and yet they must withstand the roughest service. They are to he subjected to continual strains and wrenchings, coming from every direction, exposed to all extremes of dryness and moisture, heat and cold, and used where repairs may be impracticable.

The best materials are therefore selected and shaped with mathematical exactness. The frame is the nicest piece of joiner's work, made with the toughest ash, that has grown in exposed situations, and been hardened by a seasoning of two years or more. Oak and hickory, equally well prepared, are adapted for much of the work; and to the excellence of the latter wood may be referred some of the superior points of American coaches. The planking is of strong elm, and the panels of the light but stiff Spanish cedar. Mahogany and rosewood are also sometimes used; and for the same and other purposes, pine, bass, and lancewood. The frame, axles, etc, are thoroughly ironed with pieces of the best refined metal, made and fitted especially, for this purpose, and often tested by severe strains. The springs require the best of steel. The leather employed is prepared for this particular use, and is of various kinds, from the heaviest harness leather to the fine enamelled and morocco for upholstery. Fine cloths, silks, damasks, plushes, etc, in great variety, are used for the lining; and an especial fabric called coach lace has long been a considerable article of manufacture in New England, for parts of the trimming and the holders.

The preparation of many of these and other articles for the express purpose are subjects of distinct trades. Of all parts of the coach, none call for greater skill in their construction than the wheels. The spokes are placed to receive the whole weight and shock of the carriage, always in the direction to compress longitudinally the fibres of the wood, while no more of this is left to add to the weight than is necessary. The greatest ease of draught requires large wheels, but also that the line of draught from the shoulder of the horse to the level of the centre of the forward axle should incline at an angle of 15° with the horizon. This limits the size of the forward wheels to from 40 to 44 in. in diameter, and requires that the horses should then work as closely as possible to the carriage. The hind wheels are from 50 to 56 in. in diameter, and the width of the track 4 ft. 8 or 4 ft. 10 in. The nave of the wheels is lined with a metallic box ingeniously contrived to exclude dust, secure the wheel from running off, and retain a supply of lubricating oil. For coaches designed for rough roads, leather straps are used to support the body, and these are secured to upright steel springs upon each axle.

The painting of the body is probably a more elaborate process than is practised upon any other work. Three or four coats of priming in common oil color are successively applied, and after this as many more of white lead and yellow ochre for a body. The surface is afterward rubbed smooth with pumice stone and water, when it is ready for the selected colors and ornamental designs. Over these are laid several coats of copal varnish.