1904-07 Royal Enfield Tricycle Forecar 'No 1' Carrier Vintage Bicycle Antique

********************************************************************************** WELCOME TO GROOVYDUBBER'S AUTUMN COLLECTION!100 VINTAGE VEHICLES ARE NOW BEING AUCTIONED.  Here on ebay from October 2014PLEASE LOOK AT MY OTHER LISTINGS OR CHECK THE WEBSITE FOR THE FULL CATALOGUEIf you have any questions about this (or any other vehicle in these BuyVintage Online Auctions). nbsp;you can contact Colin in our Customer Service Department between 9am and 7pm daily: By Phone - (UK 44) 07866-126469 By email - Buyvintage@mac. com The Auction Catalogue is the website . where you will find: 1. Comprehensive photos and details of the vehicles in these auctions 2. Payment and Delivery details I like to speak to every purchaser personally after each auction - so please remember to email your phone numbers after you win.  Good luck! :) ************************************************************************

By the turn of the twentieth century. the cycle industry had started creating all sorts of strange contraptions based around bicycles and tricycles. in order to accommodate engines. Everybody knew that motorised quadricycles ('horseless carriages') and 'motor bicycles' would be the new medium of transport in the new century: bicycles had paved the way. but the initial boom years of the bicycle had started to wane.

There was an increasing demand to carry passengers. without them having to pedal as with a tandem. The first two successful designs that sprang up were those of passenger trailers that could be towed by a bicycle. and tricycles with two front wheels and a wicker seat between them. This latter concept was the most economical way to build a motorised passenger vehicle. as the rolling chassis was already in use as tradesmen's tricycles. Companies such as Alldays & Onions and Warricks of Reading adapted their chassis to any purpose. as many business who required local delivery trikes had different requirements. So within a few years - though for a short time only - the 'forecar' or 'forecarriage' or 'tricar' or 'tandem' became a regular feature of what would soon be called an 'automobile. ' The vehicle seen here is one of these early passenger tricycles. ie a forecar without an engine.

The Eagle 'Tandem' seen in the advert below was a winner at Bexhill race circuit. recently opened in May. 1902 . Great Britain's first automobile race. The race ran along Bexhill-on-Sea's 'Bicycle Boulevard' which had been built in 1896. (The race ran annually until 1907. when it moved to the new Brooklands circuit).

By 1903. as can be seen in the advert above. the fore car had started to develop automobile features such as independent steering and steering wheel.

Within another year the early forecar would be obsolete. superseded by what was described in the 1899 magazine 'The Autocar' as a 'horseless carriage' . but was already now being called an automobile.

1904-1907 ROYAL ENFIELD

TRICYCLE FORECAR

Based on Royal Enfield's 'Large Carrier Tricycle No 1' Chassis

26" Wheels

26 x 1 3/4 Tyres

Eadie Coaster Brake

Brooms 'B90' Saddle with Toolbag

Full Lighting Set. Inflator Pump. Ding-dong Bell. Lucas 'No 82' Rear Carrier

VERY RARE ORIGINAL OUTFIT

FROM A LEADING EARLY MANUFACTURER

UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY

WORLDWIDE DELIVERY 

As you can see from the photos. a lot of care has gone into the factory construction of this passenger-carrying forecar. Although the rolling chassis of the Royal Enfield 'Large Carrier Tricycle No 1' was usually fitted to commercial carriers. it was also advertised as being available for any application. The Royal Enfield catalogue announces:

'We are prepared to undertake the construction of any type of carrier other than standard. and to gratuitously prepare drawings and estimates to customers' specifications. '

The elaborate. elegant curved springs and shaped wicker seat support suggest that the front end of this forecar was designed for this specific purpose. and that this was not a one-off bespoke build. Nevertheless. I have not come across another example. so presumably they were not manufactured in great quantity. most likely only to a customer's order.

A standard fitting to most companies' carrier tricycles is the 'powerful back rim brake actuated by lever in front of saddle. ' But. in accordance with its special design. the forecar also has an Eadie Coaster Brake. Before being purchased by BSA. the Eadie company was a Royal Enfield concern. so the fitment of an Eadie Coaster Brake is a logical addition. The mudguards are described as 'Motor car pattern. extra wide and very strong. ' This forecar is fitted with three oil lamps. one to the rear and two to the front.

The outfit's condition is first class. There's no woodworm in the wicker chair. so this may have been replaced at some time in its life. The only repair I needed to carry out was the small bolt supporting the handbrake. obviously a stress-point; this was replaced. I've road-tested the forecar. and can report that a passenger can ride in comfort (while the driver proves his mettle - were cyclists made of sterner stuff 110 years ago?)

This superb machine is ready to see service as the centrepiece of a museum display. or for transporting a lucky female companion on a veteran bicycle run.  

It would also be ideal for use in advertising. TV or film productions.  

The forecar is a class of vehicle in production for only a short period of time. an era when various configurations of passenger-carrying contraptions were tried out on an unsuspecting public. This was the time. at the beginning of the 20th century. when motorised (and electric) machines first joined bicycles and horse-drawn vehicles on the roads. Of course. the forecar was  superseded after a very short time by the automobile. Its obsolescence has given it. 110 years later. an almost mythical status. Very few exist. nearly all of the survivors being motorised versions. whose value is obviously far in excess of the asking price for this Royal Enfield outfit. If you're not inclined to spend £30. 00 or more for a motorised forecar. this is a wonderful opportunity to acquire a superb example of this forgotten genre at a fraction of the cost.

I've been delivering all sorts of vintage vehicles worldwide since the early 1980s. and have customers on every continent. This fabulous original forecar is ready to grace the collection of the first canny fellow enthusiast to press that buy-it-now button. Is that you? Good luck!

Compare the catalogue illustration of Royal Enfield's Selfridge Commercial Carrier with the Forecar; they share the same chassis. The top of the seat tube. where the seat post inserts. is a distinctive Royal Enfield feature. as is the chainwheel.

 c1911 ROYAL ENFIELD CATALOGUE

FORECARRIAGE. TANDEM & TRI-CAR CATALOGUE ILLUSTRATIONS

The Ormonde Forecarriage (above and below) was a popular machine.

Royal Enfield introduced a motorised commercial carrier at the 1935 Olympia Show

I try my best to provide a friendly professional service. with good condition vehicles. /p>

and cheap delivery around the country

. and worldwide delivery too.

I like to make the experience of buying a vintage vehicle as enjoyable as possible

Original literature is available to download for free from the website

If you need any further information. please email or phone me as below

JOHN WARRICK OF READING

Although Royal Enfield. Alldays & Onions. Triumph and Elswick established contracts to supply various companies and government utilities with commercial carrier tricycles. John Warrick of Reading was one of the earliest builders. and eventually dominated the market. The Warrick catalogue. below. provides a clear picture of the front end of the bare chassis.

John Warrick had premises at The Butts in Reading as a gunsmith and. in 1877. he took on an agency for ?ˆ?The Monarch Carrier. a tradesman?ˆ™s box tricycle made by T. W. Pitt at Caversham Rd. Reading. The new business was so successful that he subsequently gave up the manufacture of guns. moved to Pitt's Caversham Rd depot. and was turning out trade cycles at a fantastic rate. A first-class engineer. he introduced many new features which became patented.  He soon cornered the market in the supply of tradesman?ˆ™s tricycles and bicycles. which he rented to companies on short-term or long-term contracts.

One of the ways he became a market leader in this field was by supplying his rolling chassis with any style of front end required by the customer. Warricks were also trade suppliers. so other companies could buy a chassis and add their own badges. The machine featured here did not therefore need to be totally built from scratch. but would have been supplied as a 'cycle carrier' rolling chassis with a bespoke front end for a passenger.

The advert below illustrates a later model with expanding front brake drums. rather than the earlier handbrake on the rear wheel.

TO READ MORE ABOUT

JOHN WARRICK OF READING

PLEASE CLICK HERE

Bexhill-on-Sea races info thanks to - http://www. discoverbexhill. com/bexhillmotorracing. php

Illustrations of fore cars thanks to Pete - http://occhiolungo. wordpress. com/2012/03/12/forecars/

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PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE BIDDING

OWNER: BuyVintage Online Auctions

LOCATION: Brighton. E. Sussex. United Kingdom

DELIVERY is not included in this auction.

Mainland Great Britain - delivery is £100

(MAYBE LESS DEPENDING ON DESTINATION - Please email for delivery quote)

By man and van - sometimes takes 3 weeks or so 

If you want it faster. please arrange your own collection

WORLDWIDE DELIVERY by Fedex. Road Transport. or Sea Freight

NORTH AMERICA = £400

REST OF WORLD = £450

AMERICANS PLEASE NOTE: WE USE GB £ STERLING NOT DOLLARS!

PAYMENT: Paypal. cheque. bank transfer

AFTER PURCHASE: Please email me your phone numbers; I prefer to speak to all purchasers personally.

FEEDBACK: I do everything I can to make your purchase a pleasurable experience.

VEHICLE CONDITION: Vintage vehicles are wonderful beasts ?ˆ“ but each has an individual personality and they sometimes have bad days just like you and me. You will need basic mechanical skills (or a local mechanic) to use one on a regular basis.

These are rare vehicles whose values are not necessarily based on running order.

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THE ABOVE. PLEASE DO NOT BID.

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If you have any questions about this (or any other vehicle in these BuyVintage Online Auctions). ou can contact Colin in the Customer Service Department between 9am and 7pm daily:

By Phone ?ˆ“ (UK 0044) 07866-126469

By email ?ˆ“ Buyvintage@mac. com

The Auction Catalogue is the website -

http://www. BuyVintage. co. uk

Also published at eBay.com