A wagon train is a group of wagons traveling together. Before the extensive use of military vehicles , baggage trains followed an army with supplies and ammunition.
70-941: The Humboldt Wagon Road , or the Humboldt Road , was a freight wagon road in northern California . Constructed in the 1860s, it connected Chico , near the Sacramento River , with Susanville , near Honey Lake , east of the Sierra Nevada crest. From there, extensions continued to the Humboldt silver mines in Nevada and the Owyhee Mines near Silver City, Idaho . The road was surveyed and financed by prominent settler John Bidwell and carried passengers, mail, and freight between logging and ranching communities of northeastern California. It also contributed to
140-405: A Wells Fargo stagecoach arriving at or leaving an American frontier town. The yard of ale drinking glass is associated by legend with stagecoach drivers, though it was mainly used for drinking feats and special toasts . The stagecoach was a closed four-wheeled vehicle drawn by horses or hard-going mules . It was regularly used as a public conveyance on an established route usually to
210-410: A Stage Coach (If God permits), which starts every Thursday at Five in the morning. The novelty of this method of transport excited much controversy at the time. One pamphleteer denounced the stagecoach as a "great evil [...] mischievous to trade and destructive to the public health". Another writer, however, argued that: Besides the excellent arrangement of conveying men and letters on horseback, there
280-405: A captain. In reality, a captain had limited authority. His role was largely confined to getting everyone moving in the morning and selecting when and where to camp at night. Membership of wagon trains was generally fluid and wagons frequently joined or left trains depending on the needs and wishes of their owners. An accident or illness, for instance, might force someone to fall behind and wait for
350-651: A circuitous route down the Snake and Columbia Rivers, to the Pacific Ocean and down the coast to San Francisco . Almost due west of the Humboldt Mines lay the city of Chico, California , which had easy access to steamboat shipping on the Sacramento River. Chico's founder, California Representative John Bidwell , recognized that his city could function as a hub for freight traffic to and from
420-654: A coach could travel at full gallop across levels, combined with more staging posts at shorter intervals, cut the time required to travel across the country sometimes by half. A Cobb & Co (Australia) proprietor arrived in New Zealand on 4 October 1861, thus beginning Cobb & Co (New Zealand) stagecoach operation. Beginning in the 18th century, crude wagons began to be used to carry passengers between cities and towns, first within New England by 1744, then between New York and Philadelphia by 1756. Travel time
490-417: A day and a half, including a night stop at Bab al-Wad (Shaar HaGai), the trip in the opposite, downhill direction took 12 hours. The stagecoaches belonged to private owners, and the wagoners were mostly hired, although sometimes the wagoner was also the owner of the wagon. The license to operate the stagecoaches was granted by the government to private individuals in the cities and to the colony committees in
560-691: A few miles per hour. Shakespeare 's first plays were performed at coaching inns such as The George Inn, Southwark . By the end of the 17th century stagecoach routes ran up and down the three main roads in England. The London-York route was advertised in 1698: Whoever is desirous of going between London and York or York and London, Let them Repair to the Black Swan in Holboorn, or the Black Swan in Coney Street , York, where they will be conveyed in
630-533: A half after leaving Manchester." A similar service was begun from Liverpool three years later, using coaches with steel spring suspension. This coach took an unprecedented three days to reach London with an average speed of eight miles per hour (13 km/h) . Even more dramatic improvements were made by John Palmer at the British Post Office . The postal delivery service in Britain had existed in
700-462: A low price (about a shilling for every five miles [8 km]) but with such velocity and speed in one hour, as that the posts in some foreign countries make in a day. The speed of travel remained constant until the mid-18th century. Reforms of the turnpike trusts , new methods of road building and the improved construction of coaches led to a sustained rise in the comfort and speed of the average journey - from an average journey length of 2 days for
770-474: A major road improvement project was implemented, supported by county funds and citizen contributions. Though he no longer had an ownership interest in the Humboldt Wagon Road, Bidwell maintained involvement in the road's operations through the remainder of his life, and personally worked at construction projects along the road even into old age. The Humboldt Road remained an important highway into
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#1732779739074840-594: A monopoly on the supply of stagecoaches to the Royal Mail and a virtual monopoly on their upkeep and servicing for the following few decades. Steel springs had been used in suspensions for vehicles since 1695. Coachbuilder Obadiah Elliott obtained a patent covering the use of elliptic springs - which were not his invention. His patent lasted 14 years delaying development because Elliott allowed no others to license and use his patent. Elliott mounted each wheel with two durable elliptic steel leaf springs on each side and
910-530: A network of stagecoach routes existed. Stagecoaches, often known by the French name "Diligence" - a smaller model with room for six passengers and a bigger one for ten, drawn by two horses (in the city, on the plain or on a good road) or three (on intercity and elevated roads) - were the main means of public transportation in Ottoman Palestine between the middle of the 19th century and the beginning of
980-635: A popular solution. They built their first Concord stagecoach in 1827 employing long leather straps under their stagecoaches which gave a swinging motion. Describing a journey he took in 1861, in his 1872 book, Roughing It , Mark Twain wrote that the Concord stage was like "an imposing cradle on wheels". Around twenty years later, in 1880, John Plesent Gray recorded after travelling from Tucson to Tombstone on J.D. Kinnear's mail and express line: That day's stage ride will always live in my memory – but not for its beauty spots. Jammed like sardines on
1050-521: A public road in the Chico area, and the route over the summit near Jonesville is a forest route that is open in summer and autumn months. Stone retaining walls dating to the 1800s and even wagon wheel ruts can still be found in the hills east of Chico, but are threatened by vandalism and growing residential development in the area. Wagon road In the American West , settlers traveling across
1120-580: A regular schedule. Spent horses were replaced with fresh horses at stage stations , posts, or relays. In addition to the stage driver or coachman who guided the vehicle, a shotgun messenger armed with a coach gun might travel as a guard beside him. Thus, the origin of the phrase " riding shotgun ". Always a headed vehicle, fitted with roof seats or gammon boards, from the early 19th century. ... Driven from an elevated box seat, its footboard supported by brackets. At first unsprung or dead axle, but later hung on braces, elbow and finally Telegraph springs, as with
1190-658: A regular supply of munitions. In the 18th century, organized commissary and quartermaster departments were developed to centralize delivery of supplies. The delivery took the form of "baggage trains", large groups of wagons that traveled at the rear of the main army. Westward-bound collective treks are reflected in numerous books, films, and television programs about the journeys. Examples include: Emerson Hough 's 1922 novel and James Cruze 's silent film based on it, The Covered Wagon (1923); Raoul Walsh 's film The Big Trail (1930); Robert North Bradbury 's film Westward Ho (1935); John Ford 's Wagon Master (1950) and
1260-418: A relaxation, it seems as if we could never have survived the trip. The horses were changed three times on the 80-mile (130 km) trip, normally completed in 17 hours. The stagecoach lines in the U.S. were operated by private companies. Their most profitable contracts were with U.S. Mail and were hotly contested. Pony Express , which began operations in 1860, is often called first fast mail service from
1330-841: A span of over 2,000 mi (3,200 km). Other paths included the Santa Fe Trail , the Chisholm Trail , the California Trail (which split southwestward from the Oregon Trail), the Mormon Trail , and the Old Spanish Trail . Although "wagon train" suggests a line of wagons, when terrain permitted, wagons would often fan out and travel abreast to minimize the amount of dust blown onto other wagons. Travel by wagon train occurred primarily between
1400-479: A train. Contrary to popular belief, wagons were seldom circled defensively. Today, covered wagon trains are used to give an authentic experience for those desiring to explore the West as it was in the days of the pioneers and other groups traveling before modern vehicles were invented. The advent of gunpowder warfare meant that an army could no longer rely solely on foraging in the surrounding countryside, and required
1470-492: A tremendous blizzard in February 1887, all caused significant property loss in the mountain communities along the road. In heavy snow, wagon freight had to be transferred to sleighs, drawn by horses fitted with wooden snowshoes. In April 1883, the Chico and Humboldt Wagon Road Company’s operating lease expired. Responsibility for the road was then handed over to the county and it soon became a free public highway. In 1897–1898,
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#17327797390741540-400: Is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are drawn by six horses. Commonly used before steam-powered rail transport was available, a stagecoach made long scheduled trips using stage stations or posts where
1610-416: Is of late such an admirable commodiousness, both for men and women, to travel from London to the principal towns in the country, that the like hath not been known in the world, and that is by stage-coaches, wherein any one may be transported to any place, sheltered from foul weather and foul ways; free from endamaging of one's health and one's body by the hard jogging or over-violent motion; and this not only at
1680-643: The Cambridge -London route in 1750 to a length of under 7 hours in 1820. Robert Hooke helped in the construction of some of the first spring-suspended coaches in the 1660s and spoked wheels with iron rim brakes were introduced, improving the characteristics of the coach. In 1754, a Manchester -based company began a new service called the "Flying Coach". It was advertised with the following announcement - "However incredible it may appear, this coach will actually (barring accidents) arrive in London in four days and
1750-754: The Great Basin at Fredonyer Pass , and into Susanville. At Susanville, the road connected with an existing road extending eastward into Nevada, from which it was possible to head northward to the Idaho Territory along the Idaho Stage Company's road to Ruby City . The road got its name from the mining district in Humboldt County, Nevada , a source of much of its early traffic. Between 1865 and 1867, it passed through portions of Butte, Tehama , Plumas, and Lassen counties. In
1820-471: The Mail Coach . ... Most stage coaches were named and painted in special liveries . The American mud wagon was an earlier, smaller, and cruder vehicle, being mostly open-sided with minimal protection from weather, causing passengers to risk being mud-splashed. A canvas-topped stage wagon was used for freight and passengers, and it had a lower center of gravity, making it harder to overturn. Until
1890-725: The Missouri River to the Pacific Coast, but the Overland Mail Company began a twice-weekly mail service from Missouri to San Francisco in September 1858. Transcontinental stage-coaching ended with the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869. The railway network in South Africa was extended from Mafeking through Bechuanaland and reached Bulawayo in 1897. Prior to its arrival,
1960-578: The 1840s–1880s, diminishing after completion of the first transcontinental railroad . Some remnants of wagon ruts along the well-traveled trails are still visible today. Originally, westward movement began in small groups, but well-funded travelers with 100 or more wagons could employ professional wagon masters (or trail masters) and hostlers . Overland emigrants discovered smaller groups of 20 to 40 wagons were more manageable than larger ones, especially without professional wagon masters. Many operated under democratic principles, creating bylaws and electing
2030-512: The 18th century with the turnpike system and better engineering of public roads. ... Forced from its main trunk routes by railway competition from the late 1830's, although some lingered in remoter areas until the 1850's. In North America a few Concord Coaches survived until the first half of the 20th century. The first crude depiction of a coach was in an English manuscript from the 13th century. The first recorded stagecoach route in Britain started in 1610 and ran from Edinburgh to Leith . This
2100-518: The 20th century. The first stagecoaches were brought to Palestine by the German religious group known as the " Templers " who operated a public transportation service between their colonies in the country as early as 1867. Stagecoach development in Palestine was greatly facilitated by the 1869 visit of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I . For this distinguished guest, the road between Jaffa and Jerusalem
2170-512: The English Mail Coach. Although normally well-sprung and enclosed, seating eight or more passengers, some types had a semi-open seat, for three or more passengers, shared with the driver. This latter was known as the banquette. Although most vehicles were coachman driven, others were in the care of postillions . The number of horses varied according to difficulties of the route. Three, or a unicorn team were not unfamiliar, especially on
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2240-534: The Humboldt Road from Lomo to Lake Almanor via the Big Summit became a county road once again. Highway 32 between Chico and Lomo was widened and straightened in stages between 1955 and 1970, moving the highway off the original Humboldt Road alignment onto a much safer routing. Parts of the original Humboldt Wagon Road are still accessible to motor vehicles. The pre-1955 routing of the Humboldt Road remains
2310-559: The Humboldt Road, with mountain communities such as Butte Meadows, Jonesville, and (later) Lake Almanor building facilities for vacationers seeking to escape the severe summer heat of the Central Valley . Although the Humboldt Road avoided the highest elevations of the Sierra Nevada, it was still subject to heavy winter snowfalls that could block traffic for weeks at a time. The severe winters of 1873–1874 and 1875–1876, and
2380-570: The Humboldt Road. Early attempts at stagecoach travel proved slow and dangerous, but in 1866 the newly-formed Chico and Idaho Stage and Fast Freight Company established rapid service, and by late 1866, stagecoaches could make the 400-mile (644 km) trip from Chico to Ruby City in under four days, if weather was favorable—albeit at the steep fare of $ 60 per passenger (equivalent to $ 1,308 in 2023). The establishment of way stations for coach lines encouraged settlement in once-remote portions of California. This increased settlement put growing pressure on
2450-514: The authorities. This could be overloading of passengers in excess of the licence or minor matters such as luggage too high on the roof. They did this in return for a portion of any fines imposed, sometimes as much as half. The tax paid on passenger seats was a major expense for coach operators. Harris gives an example of the tax payable on the London to Newcastle coach route (278 miles). Annual tax amounted to £2,529 for 15 passengers per coach (4 inside and 11 outside). Annual tolls were £2,537. The hire of
2520-626: The automobile era. However, a segment of the road was destroyed when Lake Almanor was created in 1914, along with the original Prattville townsite and countless Maidu cultural sites. When the California state highway system was adopted in 1934, the portion of the Humboldt Road from Chico to Lake Almanor became part of State Highway 32 (Legislative Route No. 47), and the segment from Lake Almanor to Susanville became part of State Highway 36 (Legislative Routes No. 29, 83, and 86). The current routing of Highway 32 via Deer Creek Canyon opened in 1935, and
2590-471: The basket, and generally presents a pile, half as high again as the coach, which is secured by ropes and chains, tightened by a large iron windlass, which also constitutes another appendage of this moving mass. The body of the carriage rests upon large thongs of leather, fastened to heavy blocks of wood, instead of springs, and the whole is drawn by seven horses. The English visitor noted the small, sturdy Norman horses "running away with our cumbrous machine, at
2660-445: The body of the carriage was fixed directly to the springs attached to the axles . After the expiry of his patent most British horse carriages were equipped with elliptic springs; wooden springs in the case of light one-horse vehicles to avoid taxation, and steel springs in larger vehicles. Steady improvements in road construction were also made at this time, most importantly the widespread implementation of Macadam roads up and down
2730-440: The country. The speed of coaches in this period rose from around 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h) (including stops for provisioning) to 8 miles per hour (13 km/h) and greatly increased the level of mobility in the country, both for people and for mail . Each route had an average of four coaches operating on it at one time - two for both directions and a further two spares in case of a breakdown en route. Joseph Ballard described
2800-991: The countryside the 1860s did see the start of a coaching revival spurred on by the popularity of Four-in-hand driving as a sporting pursuit (the Four-In-Hand Driving Club was founded in 1856 and the Coaching Club in 1871). New stagecoaches often known as Park Drags began to be built to order. Some owners would parade their vehicles and magnificently dressed passengers in fashionable locations. Other owners would take more enthusiastic suitably-dressed passengers and indulge in competitive driving. Very similar in design to stagecoaches their vehicles were lighter and sportier. These owners were (often very expert) amateur gentlemen-coachmen, occasionally gentlewomen. A professional coachman might accompany them to avert disaster. Professionals called these vehicles 'butterflies'. They only appeared in summer. Cobb & Co
2870-497: The course of his business, and noted that it seemed far more efficient than the system of mail delivery then in operation. His travel from Bath to London took a single day to the mail's three days. It occurred to him that this stagecoach service could be developed into a national mail delivery service, so in 1782 he suggested to the Post Office in London that they take up the idea. He met resistance from officials who believed that
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2940-423: The creation of new routes. Within the month the service had been extended from London to Norwich , Nottingham , Liverpool and Manchester , and by the end of 1785 services to the following major towns and cities of England and Wales had also been linked: Leeds , Dover , Portsmouth , Poole , Exeter , Gloucester , Worcester , Holyhead and Carlisle . A service to Edinburgh was added the next year, and Palmer
3010-501: The early 1840s most London-based coaches had been withdrawn from service. Some stagecoaches remained in use for commercial or recreational purposes. They came to be known as road coaches and were used by their enterprising (or nostalgic) owners to provide scheduled passenger services where rail had not yet reached and also on certain routes at certain times of the year for the pleasure of an (often amateur) coachman and his daring passengers. While stagecoaches vanished as rail penetrated
3080-479: The early 1860s, deposits of silver were discovered in the Humboldt Range of Nevada and in southwest Idaho. The transit of workers and supplies between these mining districts and California was difficult, due to isolation and the lack of wagon roads and railroads: To reach California, freight either had to be hauled over the dangerous and often snowed-in passes of the high Sierra Nevada, or shipped northward by
3150-686: The early Zionist colonies. The license holders paid a special tax for this right and could employ subcontractors and hired wagons. The stagecoaches linked Jerusalem with Jaffa, Hebron and Nablus, the Zionist colonies with Jaffa, Haifa with Acre and Nazareth. They were also used for urban and suburban transportation in the Haifa region. The colony of Rehovot is known to have promulgated detailed regulations for stagecoach operation, soon after its foundation in 1890, which were greatly extended in 1911. Fares were fixed, ranging between 1.10 Grush for traveling to
3220-522: The existing system could not be improved, but eventually the Chancellor of the Exchequer , William Pitt , allowed him to carry out an experimental run between Bristol and London. Under the old system the journey had taken up to 38 hours. The stagecoach, funded by Palmer, left Bristol at 4 pm on 2 August 1784 and arrived in London just 16 hours later. Impressed by the trial run, Pitt authorised
3290-567: The flatter roads of the north west. In Germany, Austria and some parts of Switzerland the Diligence was known as the Post Coach or Malle Post. —D. J. M. Smith in A Dictionary of Horse Drawn Vehicles The diligence from Le Havre to Paris was described by a fastidious English visitor of 1803 with a thoroughness that distinguished it from its English contemporary, the stage coach . A more uncouth clumsy machine can scarcely be imagined. In
3360-425: The four coach vehicles needed was £1,274. The 250 horses needed for this service also needed to be paid for. Operators could reduce their tax burden by one seventh by operating a six-day-a-week service instead of a seven-day service. The development of railways in the 1830s spelled the end for stagecoaches and mail coaches . The first rail delivery between Liverpool and Manchester took place on 11 November 1830. By
3430-575: The front is a cabriolet fixed to the body of the coach, for the accommodation of three passengers, who are protected from the rain above, by the projecting roof of the coach, and in front by two heavy curtains of leather, well oiled, and smelling somewhat offensively, fastened to the roof. The inside, which is capacious, and lofty, and will hold six people in great comfort is lined with leather padded, and surrounded with little pockets, in which travellers deposit their bread, snuff, night caps, and pocket handkerchiefs, which generally enjoy each others company, in
3500-462: The hard seats of an old time leather spring coach – a Concord – leaving Pantano , creeping much of the way, letting the horses walk, through miles of alkali dust that the wheels rolled up in thick clouds of which we received the full benefit ... It is always a mystery to the passenger how many can be wedged into and on top of a stagecoach. If it had not been for the long stretches when the horses had to walk, enabling most of us to get out and "foot it" as
3570-462: The late 18th century, stagecoaches traveled at an average speed of about 5 miles per hour (8 km/h), with the average daily mileage traversed approximately 60 to 70 miles (97 to 113 km). With road improvements and the development of steel springs, speeds increased. By 1836 the scheduled coach left London at 19:30, travelled through the night (without lights) and arrived in Liverpool at 16:50
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#17327797390743640-461: The mines, if a road could be built directly eastward to Nevada. Already wealthy from successful ventures in gold mining and logging, Bidwell aligned with other California financiers and put forth some $ 40,000 to construct the road, and in 1863 received a franchise to operate the highway as a toll road; the group incorporated the following year as the Chico and Humboldt Wagon Road Company . Construction on
3710-466: The native Maidu and Yana , whose numbers were plummeting due to disease and direct persecution by white settlers. After the first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, the Humboldt Wagon Road lost its importance as a long-distance route. It remained important as a regional highway, particularly to service the many sawmills and turpentine operations in the pine forests of Butte and Plumas Counties. A summer tourism industry also sprang up along
3780-448: The next day, a distance of about 220 miles (350 km), doubling the overall average speed to about 10 miles per hour (16 km/h), including stops to change horses. [Stage coaches operated] between stages or stopping places, both in the ancient world and modern Europe/America. Revived in England during the late 16th or early 17th centuries, although a nationwide system was not organised until 1658. Considerable improvements came during
3850-574: The next train, or an emigrant might "whip up" to overtake a forward train after a quarrel. Some might break away to settle in Colorado Territory or other territories along the way. At night, wagon trains were often formed into a circle or square for shelter from wind or weather, and to corral the emigrants' animals in the center to prevent them from running away or being stolen by Native Americans . While Native Americans might attempt to raid horses under cover of darkness, they rarely attacked
3920-586: The plains and mountain passes in covered wagons banded together for mutual assistance. Although wagon trains are associated with the Old West , the Trekboers of South Africa also traveled in caravans of covered wagons. Wagon trains followed several trails in the American West , nearly all originating at Independence, Missouri . Perhaps the most famous wagon train trail was the Oregon Trail which had
3990-537: The rate of six or seven miles an hour". At this speed stagecoaches could compete with canal boats , but they were rendered obsolete in Europe wherever the rail network expanded in the 19th century. Where the rail network did not reach, the diligence was not fully superseded until the arrival of the autobus . In France, between 1765 and 1780, the turgotines , big mail coaches named for their originator, Louis XVI's economist minister Turgot , and improved roads, where
4060-741: The ridge separating the Big and Little Chico Creek drainages. It ascended the mountains, passing through the communities of Forest Ranch , Lomo , Butte Meadows , and Jonesville , then crested the "Big Summit” at 6,600 feet (2,012 m) elevation near the Butte - Plumas County line. It then merged with the Humbug Stagecoach Road from Oroville and descended to Prattville , at the Big Meadows (now Lake Almanor ). From there it proceeded eastward over rolling, forested terrain, crossing into
4130-492: The road used white, Maidu, and Chinese laborers, who generally earned around $ 1 per day of work. Construction was complete by late 1864. The first tollbooth was about 14 miles (23 km) east of Chico, near modern Forest Ranch, and charged $ 1 for a single horseman, $ 2 for a one-horse buggy, and $ 1 for each additional horse; the toll was later decreased to $ 0.75 for a two-horse wagon. The mining boom proved short-lived, but passenger traffic via stagecoach quickly became popular on
4200-406: The same delicate depository. From the roof depends a large net work which is generally crouded with hats, swords, and band boxes, the whole is convenient, and when all parties are seated and arranged, the accommodations are by no means unpleasant. Upon the roof, on the outside, is the imperial, which is generally filled with six or seven persons more, and a heap of luggage, which latter also occupies
4270-403: The same form for about 150 years—from its introduction in 1635, mounted carriers had ridden between "posts" where the postmaster would remove the letters for the local area before handing the remaining letters and any additions to the next rider. The riders were frequent targets for robbers, and the system was inefficient. Palmer made much use of the "flying" stagecoach services between cities in
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#17327797390744340-465: The settlement of the region and the displacement of the native Maidu population. Portions of the Humboldt Road are now followed by California State Route 32 and California State Route 36 . The Humboldt Road began in Chico at a site called The Junction, at the present-day intersection of 9th and Main Streets. It followed Little Chico Creek eastward, then climbed into the Sierra Nevada foothills along
4410-581: The stagecoach service between Manchester and Liverpool in 1815 as having price competition between coaches, with timely service and clean accommodations at inns. Stagecoaches in Victorian Britain were heavily taxed on the number of passenger seats. If more passengers were carried than the licence allowed there were penalties to pay. The lawyer Stanley Harris (1816–1897) writes in his books Old Coaching Days and The Coaching Age that he knew of informers ready to report any breach of regulations to
4480-399: The stagecoach's horses would be replaced by fresh horses. The business of running stagecoaches or the act of journeying in them was known as staging. Some familiar images of the stagecoach are that of a Royal Mail coach passing through a turnpike gate, a Dickensian passenger coach covered in snow pulling up at a coaching inn , a highwayman demanding a coach to "stand and deliver" and
4550-509: The television series it inspired, Wagon Train (1957–1965); William A. Wellman 's film, Westward the Women (1951); A. B. Guthrie Jr. 's 1949 novel The Way West and Andrew V. McLaglen 's 1967 film based on it; and the " Wagons West " series of 24 novels written by Noel Gerson (under the pseudonym Dana Fuller Ross) between 1979 and 1989. Stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach , stage , road coach , diligence )
4620-650: Was established in Melbourne in 1853 and grew to service Australia's mainland eastern states and South Australia. The diligence , a solidly built stagecoach with four or more horses, was the French vehicle for public conveyance with minor varieties in Germany such as the Stellwagen and Eilwagen . Diligence. Late 18th century name for a French public coach working on long distance routes. So-named from its reputation for promptitude and good time-keeping, as with
4690-516: Was followed by a steady proliferation of other routes around the island. By the mid 17th century, a basic stagecoach infrastructure had been put in place. A string of coaching inns operated as stopping points for travellers on the route between London and Liverpool . The stagecoach would depart every Monday and Thursday and took roughly ten days to make the journey during the summer months. Stagecoaches also became widely adopted for travel in and around London by mid-century and generally travelled at
4760-444: Was greatly improved, making possible the passage of carriages. Stagecoaches were a great improvement over the earlier means of transport used in the country, such as riding horses, donkeys or camels, or light carts drawn by donkeys. When the stagecoach ran into a difficult ascent or mud, the passengers were required to get off and help push the carriage. The trip between Jaffa and Jerusalem by stagecoach lasted about 14 hours spread over
4830-715: Was reduced on this later run from three days to two in 1766 with an improved coach called the Flying Machine . The first mail coaches appeared in the later 18th century carrying passengers and the mails, replacing the earlier post riders on the main roads. Coachmen carried letters, packages, and money, often transacting business or delivering messages for their customers. By 1829 Boston was the hub of 77 stagecoach lines; by 1832 there were 106. Coaches with iron or steel springs were uncomfortable and had short useful lives. Two men in Concord , New Hampshire , developed what became
4900-516: Was rewarded by being made Surveyor and Comptroller General of the Post Office. By 1797 there were forty-two routes. The period from 1800 to 1830 saw great improvements in the design of coaches, most notably by John Besant in 1792 and 1795. His coach had a greatly improved turning capacity and braking system , and a novel feature that prevented the wheels from falling off while the coach was in motion. Besant, with his partner John Vidler, enjoyed
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