Did Studebaker Make Stagecoaches?

[rbruner]

The Wells Fargo stagecoach was at the Southeastern Wildlife Expo in Charleston this weekend. What a work of art. Anyone know if Studebaker made stagecoaches for the gold rush?

[JoeHall]

About 20 years ago, somewhere around Thermal, California I stopped at an older gas station/restaurant. A stagecoach sat nearby, which I looked over pretty good, inside and out. It appeared unrestored but in good condition. It had a metal step pedal, used in order to step up and into the passenger compartment. The pedal was about 6" X 4", and had "Studebaker" scripted diagonally across it. I am pretty sure it belonged there, and was OEM.

[StudeMichael]

These guys would know:

http://hansenwheel.blogspot.com/

[whacker]

Studebaker may well have built stage coaches, but if they did it wouldn't have been for the California gold rush. "Wheelbarrow Johnnie" Studebaker was busy making wheelbarrows for the miners in 1849, and made a fortune ($10,000) at it. At the time the Studebaker business was just a little blacksmith shop back in South Bend. When John M. Studebaker returned to South Bend from California, he financed the expansion into a wagon company. They wouldn't have been able to build stage coaches until the western expansion after the War Between the States.

[HAWK64]

Of all the horse drawn Studebaker vehicle catalogues I have looked at over the years I have not seen advertising for Stage Coaches as we envisage them. I guess its possible Studebaker may have did a couple of one off orders if financially practical. The catalogues mainly revolved around passenger style & commercial plus harness.

[clonelark]

Don't know if Studebaker built a StageCoach, but i drive one almost every day playing Red Dead Redemption on my XBOX 360. Cool game i can play cowboys and robbers with.

[Studebaker Wheel]

From the c1896 Studebaker Trade Catalog.

More on Samuel Allerton if you are interested: http://www.onlinebiographies.info/il...llerton-sw.htm

[Studebaker Wheel]

The color version from the 1893 Chicago (Columbian Exposition) Studebaker Worlds Fair catalog. For more on the Four-in-Hand see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-in...%28carriage%29

[rockne10]

Looks like eleven on top and probably another six inside. Those poor horses!
Didn't studeclunker post a nice live photo of a four-in-hand?

[jclary]

Thanks for coming through Richard. Now, that looks like a party wagon for the ages!

[studeclunker]

Well, this is my fourth try to post this reply. Maybe this time it will actually work. I'm getting tired of rebuilding it.

Yes, Studebaker did build both the Concord (egg-shaped Wells Fargo type) and Mud Wagons. Abbot and Downing wasn't able to keep up with the demand and they were produced by Studebaker under license from A & D. They also built the English style Road and Mail coaches. Most of the European style vehicles were for export and not widely advertised in the United States.

Studebaker specialized in the more prosaic type of vehicles like the American perch-type (buggy frame) and Wagons. In fact, I think it was in 1876 that Studebaker won a silver medal at the Paris World Exposition for their wagons (Brewster won the Gold for his excellent carriages). The lighter carriages were more popular in the United States as horses the size of mine were, and still are, percieved to be more expensive to feed than the lighter breeds. Thus, a lighter vehicle was necessary for those smaller horses.

Studebaker Carriages, Buggies, and wagons were exported around the world and there are examples extant. In fact, many third-world nations still have Studebaker wagons in daily use. Here's a few examples of Studebakers:


In this first picture are wire wheels that Studebaker had the patent for. They were sold to any number of vehicle manufacturers and shipped overseas as well.

Looks like eleven on top and probably another six inside. Those poor horses!
Didn't studeclunker post a nice live photo of a four-in-hand?

I believe you were referring to this?

[JBOYLE]

A slight diversion...I was wondering if the stagecoaches we see on 1950s TV and movie westerns are real period pieces or later recreations.
If they're original, I'd wonder how they survived the years, weather, use, etc.

[studeclunker]

A slight diversion...I was wondering if the stagecoaches we see on 1950s TV and movie westerns are real period pieces or later recreations.
If they're original, I'd wonder how they survived the years, weather, use, etc.

It's called maintenance and good quality construction. The vast majority of carriages, wagons, and coaches you see in the old movies and T.V. were leased from Rawhide Ranch in Santa Clarita. The vast majority of these vehicles were antiques. Much of the footage was shot in either Paramont's, Universal's, or MGM's back lots all surrounding the same area.

If you would like to ride on a real, actual, Butterfield Coach, go to Knott's Berry farm. The Butterfield Stage Co. donated all their coaches to the 'Farm in the forties. Walter Knott's legacy was to preserve for us the buildings, an authentic train, and the Stage Coaches of the old west. It's truely a shame that Six Flags (and Walter's son's) has forgotten the heritage that Knott's Berry Farm represents.

By the by, Wikipedia is incorrect in their assessment of the use of 'Stage Lines' by modern motor carriers. While it's true that most of them are only imitating an old tradition, Butterfield and the majority of the other Stage lines went to motor coaches in the twenties. Most of those venerable Stage lines are now absorbed into the well known Greyhound Lines Inc.