Photophart’s history lessons: Old horse-drawn wagon

This might have been the pickup truck of its day.

Wagon wheel
Wagon wheel

Horse-drawn wagons like this were once as common as cars. Moving a piano required one of these. Oh, and a horse,  the bigger the better. Here in the mid-west you see quite a few of these relics in people’s yards. Folks use them as lawn ornaments. This was my first opportunity to examine one up close. Fascinating, the way these things were put together. This thing is made of oak and iron. A lot of it. Built to last, and so it has.

I am drawn to the complexity of the construction: lots of metal parts appearing to be purpose-built just for wagons. Metal is used only where the oak beams are joined, adding strength to an already strong construction material. I suspect the ride was a bit rough as there are no springs or shock absorbers and the tires are iron rings ( wonder what kind of mileage those got?).

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There are more of these images here in the blog’s mini-gallery: The Old Wagon
Cool! But I think I’ll keep my Ford.

PP

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