Now it gets much, much weirder. No torture was too much for the delivery person asked to pedal some of these devices around. Or so it seems. I suppose they were okay on the flat once some momentum was built up but hills must have been a case of get off and push. Or, if the slope went the other way, get off and try to hold the thing back!
The eagle-eyed will spot the laminated cart springs. The paintwork is rather odd and seems to consist of three different commercial messages, each overlapping each other.
This one was acting as an entire stall in a garden flea market but was already sold when we arrived. (I bought a Dyno beach cruiser with chromed girder forks and a fake petrol tank instead) The bottom and sides of the carrier are of solid, wooden planks. I cannot even imagine the total weight. Believe it, or not, I know the whereabouts of two others within less than 30 miles radius! Rare as hen's teeth? Not these chaps!
Told you! Difficult to capture this slightly lighter-weight version in the deep gloom of a rural garage. At least one punctured tyre and the chain hanging off give it a rather forlorn air. Could riders of these contraptions have been the ancestors of White Van Man? Can't you just imagine the inhabitants of some rural village complaining bitterly as some young stud careered downhill through their peace and tranquillity?
How about a more modern version? An HPWVM? Human powered White Van Man. Disk brakes and updated advertising logos, anybody? Bang in the middle of a busy, city centre pavement you couldn't ask for better advertising space! Note the secure lock.
Wagons roll! The modern Danish family transport for the busy housewife! More disk brakes and nippy front tyres for lower rolling resistance at the expense of some discomfort. Note the absence of cart springs.
Here's an interesting ancestor of the modern Christiania trikes. The big lever, looking like an adjustable, and rather lethal top tube, is actually a drag brake for the rear hub, drum brake. Presumably for long descents and emergency stops. I wonder whether brake fade was ever a concern when fully loaded? I imagine the red paint is for danger. 
Can you imagine the size of basket which would fit into the maw of this beast? Truly the basking shark of delivery tricycles.
If you thought the massive red trike was bad enough to pedal around (even when empty) just look at the size of the attached trailer! Again I was too late to make an offer on this one. Just as well or I'd need a bike shed the size of a barn!
Another covered wagon. A typical, modern, hinged box carrier trike. This time with outboard wheels. Much like the ice cream vendors once used at coastal resorts and popular parks but this one is probably an awful lot lighter. Steering is by pressing on the raised bar to bend the whole machine into a curve.
Yet another version of the modern carrier trike. This one is a Nihola with sophisticated Ackerman steering, drum brakes and "proper" handlebars.
The super sports car of pedal people carriers? Look at the detail in the large plastic mouldings, the curved, oversized frame and the complex steering. Folding handrail, folding hood and anti-tip foldaway wheels on the front. If you have to ask the price of a TrioBike you probably can't afford it!
This one breaks every rule in the book but still seems to sell because I have seen a few like this. Would you believe a tadpole with front wheel drive and rear wheel steering? (complete with hydraulic steering dampers!) The first time I saw one in a rural village I just had to drive ahead, stop and flag down the helpful, young, lady rider. She was extremely patient as I took some photographs. Having interrupted her day I had better share At least one image of her fascinating trike:
It is difficult to imagine what went through the mind of the designer of this trike as he struggled to make it work. Downside, apart from the complexity, is the high top tube. Most examples of such trikes have a deliberately lowered, step-through crossbar.
A modern version of the Rickshaw with slender sporting wheels. Fatter tyres would probably be more comfortable for the passengers on those cobbles! I have seen modern rickshaws with fat, mountain bike tyres which seems far more appropriate. (for the passengers)*
