The Hatching Cat of Gotham

In 1842, Boston inventor Joseph Francis invented the corrugated metallic life car. The first life car was placed on the coast of New Jersey, near Long Branch, in the autumn of 1849. It was first called into use in January 1850, when the British emigrant vessel Ayrshire was wrecked on Squan Beach near Manasquan in a violent winter storm. Of the 201 persons on board, 200 were saved by the life car. Unfortunately, few stations had access to these boats because Congress had not provided enough funding to provide for the horses that were needed to haul the two-ton vessels.