<<the guy up front had nothing to do with the heat>>

The guy in the back probably dropped out when the guy in the front hit the gas. That is, to give the internal combustion engine gas is equivalent to throwing coal in the firebox of a steam engine. Of course, it's just a guess. There is, incidentally, a wonderful sequence with chauffeur and driver together in the same cabin at the opening of Renoir's "La Bette Humaine."

As to lamplighters, Dr. Bill, the old (converted) gas lamps with attached iron wrungs still stand on the pedestrian crossing of the Brooklyn Bridge.