Mayo memories: Wheels of pram went down hill

By Tom Gillespie

IN my youth in the 1950s and ‘60s we had to be inventive. We did not have the wherewithal to purchase the toys, limited as they were, of the day.

So whatever was available, you had to make do with and use as best you could.

Most households had prams - today they are called buggies or pushchairs.

Prams, or perambulators, had been used since their introduction in the Victorian era. The prams carried infants, often sitting up.

The term carrycot became more common in Ireland and the UK after the introduction of lighter units with detachable baby carriers in the 1970s.

As they developed through the years suspensions were added, making the ride smoother for both the baby and the person pushing it.

Back then the prams were discarded once the youngest infant in the household was able to walk on their own.

Then the redundant pram became a prized possession for us youngsters. What we wanted was the two sets of wheels which we used to make a makeshift bogey - something akin to today's go-karts.

What was required then was a long plank to which we attached the large back wheels at the rear.

The front wheels were nailed to a separate but smaller piece of wood. Before doing this we got a red-hot poker and burned a hole in the centre of the smaller piece of timber as well as at the front of the main plank.

Once the front wheels were in place a large bolt and nut were used to attach the front wheels to the main plank, leaving enough leeway that the front wheels could be turned to the left or right.

A piece of rope was then tied to the right and left axle of the front wheel so it could be steered by the ‘driver’.

There was one major disadvantage however - no brakes!

The bogey was then ready to be tested on the nearest hill. Thankfully in those days there was very little traffic on the roads so it was a lot safer than it would be today.

A bogey derby was a regular feature during carnivals in Castlebar. I recall them being held on Blackfort Hill on the Newport Road.

Lookouts were placed at the top of the hill, at the Marian Row and Chapel Street junctions, to warn any traffic of the approaching bogeys.

The makeshift ‘vehicles’ were lined up at the top of Blackfort with a co-pilot standing behind to push the bogey off.

On the shout of ‘go’ the co-pilot pushed as hard as they could before jumping on behind the ‘driver’.

The racing bogeys sped down the hill, past Moran’s bakery, the Hat Factory, Brett’s shop and if they were good enough they would end up at Brian Hoban’s shop at the Chapel Street junction.

However, the less well-constructed bogeys barely made it to the Hat Factory, often losing wheels and passengers on the way.

William Kent developed an early stroller in 1733 for the Duke of Devonshire as a means of transport that would carry his children. Kent obliged by constructing a shell shaped basket on wheels that the children could sit in. This was richly decorated and meant to be pulled by a goat or small pony.

Benjamin Potter Crandall sold baby carriages in the US in the 1830s which have been described as the first baby carriages manufactured in the US.

By 1840, the baby carriage became extremely popular. Queen Victoria bought three carriages from Hitchings Baby Store.

The carriages of those days were built of wood or wicker and were held together by expensive brass joints. These sometimes became heavily ornamented works of art. Models were also named after royalty, Princess and Duchess being popular names, as well as Balmoral and Windsor.

In June 1889, William H. Richardson patented his idea of the first reversible stroller. The bassinet was designed so it could face out or in towards the parent.

He also made structural changes to the carriage. Until then the axis did not allow each wheel to move separately, Richardson’s design allowed this, which increased manoeuvrability of the carriages.

As the 1920s began, prams were now available to all families and were becoming safer, with larger wheels, brakes, deeper prams, and lower, sturdier frames.

In 1965, Owen Maclaren, an aeronautical engineer, worked on complaints his daughter made about travelling from England to America with her heavy pram. Using his knowledge of aeroplanes, Maclaren designed a stroller with an aluminium frame and created the first true umbrella stroller. He then went on to found Maclaren, which manufactured and sold his new design.

The design took off and soon ‘strollers’ were easier to transport and used everywhere.

In the 1970s, however, the trend was more towards a more basic version, not fully sprung, and with a detachable body known as a ‘carrycot’.

Now, prams are very rarely used, being large and expensive when compared with modern-day buggies.

A blacksmith uncle of mine, Denny Fahey, from Newantrim Street, Castlebar, was a genius with his hands and he designed an iron-framed bogey for me which propelled itself.

This was achieved by pulling two handles, back and forth, to accelerate the bogey. It was easy to control and it stopped when you ceased pumping the levers.

Such modes of transport would be considered a ‘no-no’ with health and safety today. But none of us suffered any great injuries that I can remember.