Thames 48-hp Motor Stage Coach

This Thames Motor Stage Coach looks a lot like a carriage, but in this case that is exactly the intention.

A bus that strongly resembles a carriage, which in this case is exactly the intention. The five liter six cylinder engine is even mounted far forward to imitate the idea of a carriage as closely as possible. The combination of small front wheels and large rear wheels is meant to convey that same idea. It is the only surviving example from a fleet of carriage like vehicles powered by petrol engines, built on behalf of Motor Coaches Limited. At the time, the vehicles are used to take people to and from the horse races at Ascot and Epsom, all within a radius of 160 kilometers around London. Inside, nine people can be seated, and sixteen on the roof. The bus was made by The Thames Ironworks, Shipbuilding & Engineering Company Ltd., founded in 1857. In the mid nineteenth century it is one of the most important British shipyards. In 1902 the company starts producing steam lorries as a sideline, and in 1906 it also begins making other motor vehicles. The bodywork of this stage coach is by coachbuilder Thrupp & Maberly, which would later also build bodies for luxury automobiles such as Rolls Royce and Mercedes Benz.