Talk:Tarantass

Wheels

Wheels were wooden, not pneumatic. I checked two sources:

• Page 45 of a google books source, which is an English translation: "On my way through the little town of B** from where it was only ten versts to Stepanchikovo, the rim of the front wheel of my tarantass broke and I was obliged to stop at a blacksmith's near the town gate."

• Page 2 of a google translation of the original Russian text is rendered as "Driving through the small town of B., from which only ten miles to Stepanchikov remained, I was forced to stay at the forge, near the outpost itself, on the occasion of a bursting tire on the front wheel of my tarantas. To fix it somehow, for ten miles, it was possible pretty soon, and therefore I decided, without going anywhere, to wait at the forge, while the blacksmiths would do the job."

Wooden wheels are encircled with iron, called a rim or tire or tyre, and require a blacksmith or wheelwright to heat and expand the metal to place over the wooden wheel. Images can be seen at Wheelwright. Even early inflated tires wouldn't require a blacksmith or forge to repair or replace one. This book was written in 1859! As a studier of carriages, I have never heard of pneumatic tires on early carriages, and they would never have been used on poor roads such as I've heard about in Russia in several historical books about travelling with horse-drawn vehicles. An automated translation from Russian using the words "burst" and "tire" should not be construed as being a blowout of a modern automobile tire.   ▶ I am Grorp ◀ 03:10, 14 December 2024 (UTC)

References