Coach is a four-wheeled vehicle drawn by animals. Coaches served as the main means of public travel before the development of railroads. They were usually pulled by horses, and carried passengers, mail, and express freight on a schedule. The word coach comes from Kocs, a town in Hungary where an early coachlike vehicle was built in the 1450’s. Emperor Frederick III of Germany built one of the first true coaches in 1474.
Coaches developed from ancient two-wheeled wagons and carts. Their use spread throughout Europe in the 1500’s. But travel by horseback was more comfortable, because of the poor roads and riding qualities of coaches. For years, coaches were used mainly for state occasions. The first public coach line in England began about 1640. During the 1800’s, coaches were popular for traveling between cities in the northeastern United States.
