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February 6, 2012

visiting Death Valley

Posted by Jennifer under carriages / carriage types, history | Tags: postaday |
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Back in December, CAA members Linda Freeman and Thom Mezick visited the Borax Museum at Death Valley National Park, and then sent us these photos.

... heading to Death Valley (photo courtesy of Linda Freeman & Thom Mezick)

The information provided in the photo captions was borrowed from the park’s brochures and display placards.

the Borax Museum at Furnace Creek Ranch, Death Valley National Park (photo courtesy of Linda Freeman & Thom Mezick)

in case you can't read the fine print on this sign, it says "20 Mule Team Wagon Train - 1885 - used in hauling borax from Death Valely to Mojave, 165 miles - 10 days. The borax weighed 24 tons, the entire weight totaled 36.5 tons." (photo courtesy of Linda Freeman & Thom Mezick)

the rear wheels on the borax wagons were 7 feet high and the front wheels were 5 feet high; each wheel had a steel tire, 8 inches wide and an inch thick; the hubs were 18 inches in diameter and 22 inches long; the spokes were of split oak; and the axle-trees were solid steel bars (photo courtesy of Linda Freeman & Thom Mezick)

the wagon beds were 16 feet long and 6 feet deep and could carry 10 tons of borax; when fully loaded, the wagons and water tank weighed 36.5 tons (photo courtesy of Linda Freeman & Thom Mezick)

: this logging cart was used in the Spring Mountains to drag logs from the site to the loading dock, where they were loaded onto trucks and taken to the sawmill (photo courtesy of Linda Freeman & Thom Mezick)

this logging truck carried wood to the sawmill, where the logs were cut into mine timbers (photo courtesy of Linda Freeman & Thom Mezick)

this Concord stagecoach carried passengers across the Amargosa Valley, east of Death Valley (photo courtesy of Linda Freeman & Thom Mezick)

this stagecoach was on one of three stage lines that served the silver boom town of Panamint City (photo courtesy of Linda Freeman & Thom Mezick)

this Panamint Valley stagecoach ran twice a week between Skidoo and Rhyolite in 1907 (photo courtesy of Linda Freeman & Thom Mezick)

this running gear carried the water tank for the twenty-mule team (photo courtesy of Linda Freeman & Thom Mezick)

Thanks, Linda and Thom, for including us in your visit to the Borax Museum!

February 3, 2012

a little bit about livery

Posted by Jennifer under carriages / carriage types, history | Tags: postaday |
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I recently found an interesting blog, in a roundabout way, through Twitter. It’s all about the life, times, and books of Jane Austen, whose works I adore.

The blog in question, Austenonly, recently featured a series of posts on livery and, among other things, how the colors were derived from each family’s coat of arms.

For a look at this fascinating subject — and some information on the subject as it relates to Jane Austen’s own family and her books — follow the links for part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, and part 5 of the series.

For an interesting discussion of a Landaulette mentioned in Austen’s novel Persuasion, click here.

January 17, 2012

a CAA member’s restoration work

Posted by Jennifer under carriages / carriage types, people | Tags: postaday |
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Are you a member of the Carriage Association of America? If you are, and if you’ve given us your email address, you’ll know that we send out a popular e-newsletter each week. And, if you read the weekly e-news, you’ll know that we like to include newsy tidbits from CAA members.

In response to our standing request for news from association members, Dale Orr (Indiana) sent me an email that had far too many photos for the newsletter. So I thought I’d post them here.

Here’s what Dale had to say, and the photos he sent:

“I am a cabinet maker and a horseman with a keen interest in building and restoring vehicles. One of my recent projects was a Runabout that was originally built by the Atwood Buggy Co., in my hometown of Albion, Indiana, in the 1890s. There was very little left of this buggy, but I had a catalog image and enough left of the box to duplicate the body, and I restored the gear. I drove it once in our hometown parade then donated it to our local history museum.”

“The second piece is an Albany Cutter originally built by the Page Brothers Buggy Co., in Marshall, Michigan. I believe it to have been built sometime around 1876 to 1890. All the striping and art work was very faint, but we were able to trace it onto acetate before restoration began. This sleigh was in very poor condition, and I had to build a new dash and completely disassemble all the wood and metal parts and start over. I reused all the original bolts and screws.”

Thanks for sharing these photos with us, Dale.

January 8, 2012

horses for the post office

Posted by Jennifer under carriages / carriage types, history, horses & driving | Tags: postaday |
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A member sent this photo, from 1894, showing a British postman with his horse and mail cart.

The photo’s caption reads as follows:

“The last London-based mail coach, between London and Norwich, ceased running in April 1846. However, the use of horses by the Post Office continued for another hundred years. The photograph shows a postman, horse, and cart used on a rural delivery route in 1894. From the 1840s, railways carried the mail across the country. But local delivery needed an efficient road service, still driven by the efforts of horses. The Post Office preferred not to run its own service; instead, the individual routes were contracted out. Successful applicants provided horses, vans (to Post Office specifications), and driver, who were provided with a Post Office uniform.”

Bob (who sent us the photo) also reports that, according to Post office specifications, the horses should be “… from 15 to 16 hands, … clean-limbed trotters, rising five …”

December 28, 2011

and more fire engines!

Posted by Jennifer under carriages / carriage types, history | Tags: postaday2011 |
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I don’t know when or where these photos were taken, but they make a nice collection of portraits — of firemen, horses, fire-fighting equipment, and even a couple of dogs.