Ralli car

Design

The Ralli car is a light two-wheeled vehicle drawn by a single horse or pony and having a crosswise seat for two people facing forward, and usually another seat facing rearward. Its key feature is that the sides curve up and outwards over the wheels to make splashboards, using a steam bending process. The shafts continue to the rear of the body, either inside or outside the bodywork, and the body is hung on springs. It has storage under the seat, and was common in Britain as a family run-around vehicle.

Variations

Though the Ralli car was typically constructed with two side springs, variations included using cee-springs, semi-elliptic springs, and Dennett springs.

A Ralli-dogcart was a sporting variation with back-to-back seating. Another back-to-back version is the Morovi car. A Craven cart is a pony-sized version of the Ralli car with back-to-back seating, a tailboard that let down in the back for the rear passengers' feet, and some caning on the sides.

The Welsh Ralli car has slatted sides.

The four-wheeled Ralli car was configured like four-wheeled dogcart with the flared body of a Ralli car.

Historical context

The vehicle was introduced in 1885 by C. S. Windover, and was named after the first purchaser, the Ralli family who lived in Ashtead Park. Berkebile notes that the vehicle was "brought prominently into public notice by a patent law suit". In Britain, the word car was used to indicate a better type of vehicle than a mere cart. The Ralli car was nicknamed a 'clothes basket', as were other vehicles with wickerwork.

References

References

1. Berkebile, Donald H.. (1978). "Carriage Terminology: An Historical Dictionary". Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press.
2. "North Devon in 100 Objects: 22. The Elliott Ralli Car". Museum of Barnstaple & North Devon.
3. Oxford English Dictionary: "the name of a certain Mr. Ralli, 'Greek merchant', the first purchaser of the vehicle, probably Stephen Augustus Ralli (1829–1902), heir to the merchant house [[Ralli Brothers]], originally established by his Greek uncle"
4. Smith, D.J.M.. (1988). "A Dictionary of Horse Drawn Vehicles". J. A. Allen & Co. Ltd..
5. Carriages of Britain. "Ralli Car".
6. Walrond, Sallie. (1979). "The Encyclopaedia of Driving". Country Life Books.