Herdic

Herdic

A herdic is a type of horse-drawn carriage, used as an omnibus, invented by Peter Herdic of Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in 1881.

A predecessor of the taxicab, the herdic was a small two wheeled carriage that had side seats and an entrance at the back. The major improvements over previous types of carriage were in the springs, the way the body was mounted on the springs, and the manner in which the axles, springs, body and shaft were connected. Herdics were designed as passenger vehicles, and, in particular, for use in public transportation. Their low entry made it easy for passengers to enter and exit the cars. The first herdic cabs carried up to eight passengers.

The earliest herdics were painted bright yellow and quickly acquired the canary nickname. Each cab was small enough to move freely through the city streets of Williamsport and leave its passengers at the curb instead of the middle of the street was other modes of public transportation were forced to do.

Peter Herdic had moderate success with his cab and it was soon adopted in the cities of Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Washington, D.C., and numerous other cities. The herdic cab was in service in Washington as late as 1918


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  • Herdic — Her dic, n. [Named from Peter Herdic, the inventor.] A kind of low hung cab …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • herdic — ☆ herdic [hʉr′dik ] n. [after P. Herdic (1824 88), U.S. inventor] a low hung public carriage of the late 19th cent., with a back entrance and seats along the sides …   English World dictionary

  • herdic — ˈhərdik noun ( s) Etymology: after Peter Herdic died 1888 American inventor : a small horse drawn omnibus of late 19th century America having side seats and an entrance at the back a herdic load of boys from some dance in town C.M.Flandrau …   Useful english dictionary

  • herdic — /herr dik/, n. a low hung carriage with two or four wheels, having the entrance at the back and the seats at the sides. [1880 85, Amer.; named after P. Herdic, 19th century American, the inventor] * * * …   Universalium

  • Herdic Phaeton Company — The Herdic Phaeton Company was a late 19th Century horse drawn stagecoach company in Washington, D.C. It started operations in December 1879, taking over for a horse drawn chariot company that had operated unsuccessfully for three years. The… …   Wikipedia

  • herdic — low hung carriage with back entrance Carriages and Chariots …   Phrontistery dictionary

  • herdic — adj. two or four wheeled carriage with the entrance in the back and the seats on the sides …   English contemporary dictionary

  • herdic — her·dic …   English syllables

  • Peter Herdic — Infobox Person name = Peter Herdic image size = 175px caption = birth date = December 14, 1824 birth place = Fort Plain, New York death date = February 2, 1888 death place = Huntingdon, Pennsylvania occupation = philanthropist, lumber baron,… …   Wikipedia

  • History of Williamsport, Pennsylvania — Williamsport was incorporated as a borough on March 1, 1806, and as a city on January 15, 1866. The city is the original home of Little League Baseball, founded in 1939 as a three team league. In the late 1800s, when Williamsport was known as The …   Wikipedia

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