Wagons and Carriages!

We visited the Fryeburg Fair yesterday, the largest agricultural fair in northern New England.  Amid the beautiful horses, farm animals, carnival rides, fried food, and other fun "fair fare," Fryeburg sports a magnificent collection of antique horse-drawn vehicles in their Carriage Museum. 

Here are some of the highlights - I hope they inspire some of you model carriage-makers out there!

 

Bakery Wagon from Washington Bakery.  Note the drawers inside and the phone number on the side panel:

Washington Bakery Wagon

 

English Stagecoach.  Along with the rows of seats up top, note the rifle scabbard!  These guys were serious about security on their route.

English Stagecoach

 

a Merryweather horse-drawn fire engine.  Lots of neat shapes and materials here!

Horse-drawn Fire Engine

 

Gypsy Wagon #1:  The detail in their paintwork and ornate carvings are truly magnificent!  Two photos:

Gypsy Wagon 1

Gypsy wagon 1 entrance

 

H.P. Hood & Sons Dairy van.  The short wheel base on this one looks a little scary.  Blocks of ice would have kept the milk and cream cold during deliveries.

Dairy Van

 

Gypsy wagon in burgundy and gold.  Note the spindles along the bottom.  Closeup photo of that area follows.

Gypsy wagon 2

Where do you keep your chickens when you move around a lot?  Here's your answer!  Even this little exterior compartment is ornately decorated, as is the undercarriage.

Gypsy wagon with hen pen

 

The world's most beautiful mobile homes... Check out the gold filigree around the door.  The steps are carved in an arch (see first photo) and are made to fold up when traveling.

Gypsy wagon 2 entrance

 

The original water tanker engine, this would be a fun one to reproduce in miniature, with it's high driver's seat and hose.  While it looks like a fireman's helper, it's main purpose was sprinkling the dirt streets of big cities with water to keep down the dust.  With horse- and oxen-drawn vehicles clogging the roads (and covering them with "road apples), this would have been part of a road crew's regular maintenance equipment.

Studebaker sprinkler wagon

 

The original of this neat wagon was made as an advertising piece for "The Hub" magazine in 1890.  This reproduction was built in England.  Information card follows.

Golbe advertising wagon

Rear view photo showing the entrance to the globe:

Globe advertising wagon rear photo

Globe advertising wagon info card

 

Hannaford Bros. produce wagon.  This farmer's wagon was purchased as an advertising piece for use in parades, where it was often drawn by a grey Percheron.  Wouldn't this be great in a model show, complete with baskets of mini veggies??

Hannaford vegetable wagon

 

Acme Street Sweeper by Studebaker.  The same folks who produced the Studebaker sprinkler above made this street sweeper, which came to this Maine museum from South Bend, Indiana.  See info card below.

Acme Street Sweeper by Studebaker

Acme Street Sweeper info card

 

Gypsy wagon in green and gold.  Another gorgeous example of the carriage-maker's craft. One of the info cards says that the Romany people (called gypsies by Eurpeans) did not build their own wagons, but purchased them from respected local craftsmen.  Closeups follow.

Gypsy wagon 3

Gypsy wagon undercarriage

Look at the beautiful suspension system under the wagon!  Even these are painted with intricate designs!  Note the brakes on the rear wheels.

Gypsy wagon brakes

I hope you've enjoyed this little ride into the past and maybe gotten some inspiration for your next driving or diorama class!  We encourage you to visit your local museums or fair's historical displays to check out the construction details on horse-drawn vehicles.  Many of the skills used in building these wagons are all but lost today, and are truly impressive to see up close.

Recreating historical vehicles in miniature can be a lot of fun.  Here's a horse-drawn snow roller my dad built years ago for me to show with a hitch of Roy drafters.

  Snow roller

For more photos of miniature wagons and hitches, read our blog post entitled the Russell Family Model Horse Museum.

Wherever the hobby takes you, I hope it's fun!

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2 comments

HAVE YOU checkout the Concord Coach Historical society A Lot Of Horse Drawn Rigs Were Made By Abort & Dowiling Concord Coach Works In Concord N.h , The Factorys Is Gone, now They Also Built A Auto truck Called the Concord Truck , THE
BUILT a Lot Of Different Tipe Of Horse Drawn VICKLES in their Time I’m A Wooden toy Maker

Joseph A Bush Sr

O wow! I’d love to try my hand at model carriage making my father has a whole woodworking studio in his workshop my favorite part is detailing & painting

Anonymous

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