A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled

vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), wat ...

pulled by

draught animal A working animal is an animal, usually domestication, domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to human uses of animals, perform tasks instead of being animal slaughter, slaughtered to harvest animal products. Some are used for their ph ...

s or on occasion by humans, used for

transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...

ing

goods In economics, goods are items that satisfy human wants and provide utility, for example, to a consumer making a purchase of a satisfying product. A common distinction is made between goods which are transferable, and services, which are not tra ...

, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from

cart A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed ...

s (which have two wheels) and from lighter four-wheeled vehicles primarily for carrying people, such as carriages. Animals such as

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million ...

mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two ...

s, or oxen usually pull wagons. One animal or several, often in pairs or teams may pull wagons. However, there are examples of human-propelled wagons, such as mining corfs. A wagon was formerly called a wain and one who builds or repairs wagons is a wainwright. More specifically, a wain is a type of horse- or oxen-drawn, load-carrying vehicle, used for agricultural purposes rather than transporting people. A wagon or cart, usually four-wheeled; for example, a haywain, normally has four wheels, but the term has now acquired slightly poetical connotations, so is not always used with technical correctness. However, a two-wheeled "haywain" would be a hay cart, as opposed to a carriage. ''Wain'' is also an archaic term for a chariot. ''Wain'' can also be a verb, to carry or deliver, and has other meanings. Contemporary or modern animal-drawn wagons may be of

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typica ...

instead of

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

and have regular

wheel A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be ...

s with

rubber tire A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over which t ...

s instead of traditional wagon wheels. A person who drives wagons is called a "wagoner", a "

teamster A teamster is the American term for a truck driver or a person who drives teams of draft animals. Further, the term often refers to a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a labor union in the United States and Canada. Origin ...

", a "

bullocky A bullocky is an Australian English term for the driver of a bullock team. The American term is bullwhacker. Bullock drivers were also known as teamsters or carriers. History Bullock teams were in use in Sydney, New South Wales in 1795 wh ...

" (Australia), a "

muleteer An ''arriero'', muleteer, or more informally a muleskinner ( es, arriero; pt, tropeiro; ca, traginer) is a person who transports goods using pack animals, especially mules. Distribution and function In South America, muleskinners transport ...

", or simply a "driver".

Terminology and design

The exact name and terminology used are often dependent on the design or shape of the wagon. If low and sideless it may be called a dray, trolley or

float Float may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Albums * ''Float'' (Aesop Rock album), 2000 * ''Float'' (Flogging Molly album), 2008 * ''Float'' (Styles P album), 2013 Songs * "Float" (Tim and the Glory Boys song), 2022 * "Float", by Bush ...

. When traveling over long distances and periods, wagons may be covered with cloth to protect their contents from the elements; these are "

covered wagon The covered wagon or prairie wagon, historically also referred to as an ambulance or prairie schooner, was a vehicle usually made out of wood and canvas that was used for transportation, prominently in 19th-century America. With roots in the he ...

s". If it has a permanent top enclosing it, it may be called a "

van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across ...

Front axle assembly

A front axle assembly, in its simplest form, is an assembly of a short beam with a

pivot Pivot may refer to: *Pivot, the point of rotation in a lever system *More generally, the center point of any rotational system *Pivot joint, a kind of joint between bones in the body * Pivot turn, a dance move Companies * Incitec Pivot, an Aust ...

plate, two

wagon wheels Wagon Wheels are a sweet snack food sold in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, other Commonwealth countries like New Zealand and India, and Ireland. They consist of two biscuits that form a sandwich with a marshmallow filling with jam, and ...

and spindles as well as a drawbar attached to this. A pin attaches the device to a

chariot A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&nb ...

, a wagon or a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coa ...

, making the

turning radius The turning diameter of a vehicle is the minimum diameter (or "width") of available space required for that vehicle to make a circular turn (i.e. U-turn). The term thus refers to a theoretical minimal circle in which for example an aeroplane, a ...

smaller.

Types of wagons

Wagons have served numerous purposes, with numerous corresponding designs. As with motorized vehicles, some are designed to serve as many functions as possible, while others are highly specialized. This section will discuss a broad overview of the general classes of wagons; for details on specific types of wagons, see the individual links.

Beach wagon

Beach wagons are collapsible folding wagons for general multi-purpose usage on outdoor sand beaches.

Farm wagon

Farm wagons are built for general multi-purpose usage in an agricultural or rural setting. These include gathering

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...

crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponi ...

s and

, and delivering them to the

farmstead A homestead is an isolated dwelling, especially a farmhouse, and adjacent outbuildings, typically on a large agricultural holding such as a ranch or station. In North America the word "homestead" historically referred to land claimed by a settle ...

or market. Wagons can also be pulled with

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construc ...

s for easy transportation of those materials. A common form found throughout Europe is the , a large wagon the sides of which often consisted of

ladder A ladder is a vertical or inclined set of rungs or steps used for climbing or descending. There are two types: rigid ladders that are self-supporting or that may be leaned against a vertical surface such as a wall, and rollable ladders, such as ...

strap A strap, sometimes also called strop, is an elongated flap or ribbon, usually of leather or other flexible materials. Thin straps are used as part of clothing or baggage, or bedding such as a sleeping bag. See for example spaghetti strap, sho ...

ped in place to hold in hay or

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legume ...

, though these could be removed to serve other needs. A common type of farm wagon particular to North America is the

buckboard A buckboard is a four-wheeled wagon of simple construction meant to be drawn by a horse or other large animal. A distinctly American utility vehicle, the buckboard has no springs between the body and the axles. The suspension is provided by the f ...

Freight wagon

Freight wagons are wagons used for the overland hauling of freight and bulk commodities. Freight wagons were designed for hauling loads, not people, and were not built for comfort. A driver did not have a seat in front of the wagon like the image most people have of wagons. A driver walked along side the wagon or rode on top of one of the horses. There was no place in front for a person to sit. Many freight wagons, however, had a unique feature called a "lazyboard." This was a plank that could be pulled out and sat on, and then pushed back in if not needed. It was located on the left side of the wagon between the wheels and close to the brake. If a driver was too tired to walk, he could pull out the lazyboard, and take a rest. That is why it was called a "lazyboard." (Some sources spell "lazyboard" as two words. There is no standard spelling.) In America, lazyboards were located on the left side because carts were steered from the left side. The cart itself was on the right side of the road. Unless a driver wanted to walk in the ditch, he had to steer from the left side. In Europe, carts were steered from the right side. The cart itself was driven on the left side of the road, as vehicles are driven there today. A European freight wagon had its lazyboard on the right side. In both places the driver would walk in the center of the road. More than a hundred years ago, almost everyone knew what a "lazyboard" was. Today, almost nobody would know. In the United States and Canada, the Conestoga wagon was a predominant form of wagon used for hauling freight in the late 18th and 19th centuries, often used for hauling goods on the

Great Wagon Road Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

in the Appalachian Valley and across the Appalachian Mountains. Even larger freight wagons existed. For instance, the " twenty-mule team" wagons, used for hauling borax from

Death Valley Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the hottest place on Earth. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the point of lowest elevation in Nort ...

, could haul per pair. The wagons’ bodies were long and deep; the rear wheels were in diameter.

Delivery wagon

A delivery wagon is a wagon used to deliver merchandise such as milk, bread, or produce to houses or markets, as well as to

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

customers, often in urban settings. The concept of express wagons and of paneled delivery vans developed in the 19th century. By the end of the 19th century, delivery wagons were often finely painted, lettered and varnished, so as to serve as advertisement for the particular business through the quality of the wagon. Special forms of delivery wagon include an

ice wagon An iceman is someone who sells or delivers ice from a wagon, cart, or motor-truck. The profession was formerly much more common than it is today. From the late 19th century to mid-20th century, in cities and towns icemen would commonly make da ...

and a

milk wagon A milk float is a vehicle specifically designed for the delivery of fresh milk. Today, milk floats are usually battery electric vehicles (BEV), but they were formerly horse-drawn floats. They were once common in many European countries, ...

Nomadic wagons

Some wagons are intended to serve as

mobile home A mobile home (also known as a house trailer, park home, trailer, or trailer home) is a prefabricated structure, built in a factory on a permanently attached chassis before being transported to site (either by being towed or on a trailer). U ...

s or mobile

workshop Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...

s. These include the Vardo, a traditional wagon of the 19th-century British

Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...

Living van

Steam wagon

The steam wagon, a self-powered development of the horse-drawn wagon, was a surprisingly late innovation, entering service only in the late nineteenth century.

Irrigation tank wagon

In the city center of

Schwäbisch Gmünd Schwäbisch Gmünd (, until 1934: Gmünd; Swabian: ''Gmẽẽd'' or ''Gmend'') is a city in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. With a population of around 60,000, the city is the second largest in the Ostalb district ...

, Germany, since 1992 the city's plants are irrigated using a horse-drawn wagon with a

water tank A water tank is a container for storing water. Water tanks are used to provide storage of water for use in many applications, drinking water, irrigation agriculture, fire suppression, agricultural farming, both for plants and livestock, chemic ...

Horse drawn wooden tank wagon

A horse-drawn wooden tank wagon is a wooden cylinder on four wagon wheels. It can carry water, liquid

manure Manure is organic matter that is used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Most manure consists of animal feces; other sources include compost and green manure. Manures contribute to the fertility of soil by adding organic matter and nutrie ...

or other liquids, but not in turn in the same wagon.

War wagon

Gravity wagon

Chuckwagon

Ox wagon

Pageant wagon

Gallery

File:Hay wagons - geograph.org.uk - 977600.jpg, Hay wagons in the UK File:Senator John Heinz History Center - IMG 7649.JPG, A Conestoga wagon, a type of freight wagon used extensively in the United States and Canada in the 18th and 19th centuries for long-distance hauling File:Baker's-van-r.jpg, A bakery delivery wagon in Queensland, Australia File:Gipsy caravan, Fishers Farm - geograph.org.uk - 238741.jpg, A Romani Vardo from England File:Circus parade wagon.jpg, The "Lion Tableau" circus parade wagon, built in 1904 File:Bewässerungsfuhrwerk Gmünd.jpeg, Horse wagon, with

, for irrigation, 2018. The illustration shows regular

s with

tire A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over which t ...

s, instead of traditional wagon wheels File:Traction engine at Coln St Aldwyns - geograph.org.uk - 629732.jpg,

Traction engine A traction engine is a steam engine, steam-powered tractor used to move heavy loads on roads, plough ground or to provide power at a chosen location. The name derives from the Latin ''tractus'', meaning 'drawn', since the prime function of any t ...

with living van File:Reconstruction of a Roman traveling carriage richly decorated with bronze fittings, Romisch-Germanisches Museum, Cologne (8115675659).jpg, Reconstruction of a Roman traveling wagon richly decorated with bronze fittings, Romisch-Germanisches Museum,

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...

File:Brockhampton Estate - horse-drawn fire pump.jpg, Horse-drawn

fire pump A fire pump usually refers to a pressure-increasing component of the water supply for fixed-place fire suppression systems such as fire sprinklers, standpipes, and foam systems. Fire pumps are also a critical component integrated into fire tr ...

given to Brockhampton Estate in 1818 File:Slant wagon.jpg, Gravity wagon File:Chuckwagon.jpg, A historical recreation of a

chuckwagon A chuckwagon is a type of field kitchen covered wagon historically used for the storage and transportation of food and cooking equipment on the prairies of the United States and Canada. Such wagons formed part of a wagon train of settlers or fed ...

at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Exposition in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous cit ...

File:Chuckwagon in Girvin, TX SCN1077.JPG, Chuckwagon still used to prepare food at gatherings in Pecos County,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

File:John Constable carro de feno.jpg, A detail of ''The Hay Wain'' by

John Constable John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedham Vale, the ...

, alt=An oil painting of a large steerable cart being drawn by two strong horses through a river File:Roger Fenton's waggon.jpg,

Roger Fenton Roger Fenton (28 March 1819 – 8 August 1869) was a British photographer, noted as one of the first war photographers. Fenton was born into a Lancashire merchant family. After graduating from London with an Arts degree, he became interested ...

's photographic

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a po ...

, 1855 File:Bullock Team Wool Wagon.jpg, Bullock (ox) wagon carrying wool in New Zealand, c. 1880 File:Brazilian Princes 1883.jpg, Brazilian princes (from left to right) Luís, Antônio, and

Pedro Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for '' Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meanin ...

in a goat-drawn wagon, 1883 File:Husitsky bojovy vuz replika.jpg, Modern reconstruction of a

Hussite The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Huss ...

war wagon

Wagon train

In migration and military settings, wagons were often found in large groups called

wagon train ''Wagon Train'' is an American western (genre), Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on American Broadcasting Company, ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, ...

s. In warfare, large groups of supply wagons were used to support traveling armies with food and munitions, forming "baggage trains". During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, these wagon trains would often be accompanied by the wagons of private merchants, known as

sutler A sutler or victualer is a civilian merchant who sells provisions to an army in the field, in camp, or in quarters. Sutlers sold wares from the back of a wagon or a temporary tent, traveling with an army or to remote military outposts. Sutler wago ...

s, who sold goods to soldiers, as well as the wagons of photographers and news reporters. Special purpose-built support wagons existed for blacksmithing, telegraphy and even observation ballooning. In migration settings, such as the

emigrant trail In the history of the American frontier, overland trails were built by pioneers throughout the 19th century and especially between 1829 and 1870 as an alternative to sea and railroad transport. These immigrants began to settle much of North Ameri ...

s of the American West and the

Great Trek The Great Trek ( af, Die Groot Trek; nl, De Grote Trek) was a Northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyon ...

of South Africa, wagons would travel together for support, navigation and protection. A group of wagons may be used to create an improvised

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

called a

laager A wagon fort, wagon fortress, or corral, often referred to as circling the wagons, is a temporary fortification made of wagons arranged into a rectangle, circle, or other shape and possibly joined with each other to produce an improvised militar ...

, made by circling them to form an enclosure. In these settings, a

is a small wagon used for providing food and cooking, essentially a portable kitchen.

Wagons in art

John constable, il carro di fieno, 1821, 04

As a common, important element in history and life, wagons have been the subjects of artwork. Some examples are the paintings ''

The Hay Wain ''The Hay Wain'' – originally titled ''Landscape: Noon'' – is a painting by John Constable, completed in 1821, which depicts a rural scene on the River Stour between the English counties of Suffolk and Essex. It hangs in the National Galler ...

'' and ''

The Haywain Triptych The ''Haywain Triptych'' is a panel painting by Hieronymus Bosch, now in the Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain. A date of around 1516 has been established by means of dendrochronological research. The central panel, signed "Jheronimus Bosch", measu ...

'', and on the

Oregon Trail Memorial half dollar The Oregon Trail Memorial half dollar was a fifty-cent piece struck intermittently by the United States Bureau of the Mint between 1926 and 1939. The coin was designed by Laura Gardin Fraser and James Earle Fraser, and commemorates those who ...

Motorized wagons

During a transition to mechanized vehicles from animal-powered, the term wagon was sometimes used such as with the

Duryea Motor Wagon The Duryea Motor Wagon was among the first standardized automobiles and among the first powered by gasoline. Fifteen examples were built by the Duryea Motor Wagon Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts, between 1893 and 1896. Their enterprise follow ...

. In modern times the term

station wagon A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...

survives as a type of automobile. It describes a car with a passenger compartment that extends to the back of the vehicle, that has no trunk, that has one or more rear seats that can be folded making space for carrying cargo, as well as featuring an opening tailgate or liftgate. File:George B Selden driving automobile in 1905.jpg,

George B. Selden George Baldwin Selden (September 14, 1846 – January 17, 1922) was a patent lawyer and inventor who was granted a U.S. patent for an automobile in 1895.Flink, p. 51 ''Probably the most absurd action in the history of patent law was the grantin ...

driving an automobile in 1905 File:Lenoir Hippomobile.jpg, Lenoir Hippomobile File:Corbillard 3.JPG, Ancient

hearse A hearse is a large vehicle, originally a horse carriage but later with the introduction of motor vehicles, a car, used to carry the body of a deceased person in a coffin at a funeral, wake, or memorial service. They range from deliberately an ...

hippomobile (France) File:1911 International Wagon.JPG, 1911 International Harvester Auto Wagon (

High wheeler A high wheeler is a car which uses large diameter wheels that are similar to those used by horse-drawn vehicles. These cars were produced until about 1915, predominantly in the United States. Design High wheelers were derived from horse-drawn ...

) File:International Torpedo - Coupe Florio 2015 01.jpg, International Harvester Auto-Buggy File:Vintage International Harvester Auto Buggy (5043226321) (cropped).jpg, International Harvester Auto Wagon File:Patent, Duryea Road Vehicle, 1895.png,

Patent drawing A patent application or patent may contain drawings, also called patent drawings, illustrating the invention, some of its embodiments (which are particular implementations or methods of carrying out the invention), or the prior art. The drawings ...

for the

Duryea Duryea may refer to: * Duryea (surname) *Duryea Motor Wagon Company, first American automobile company *Duryea, Pennsylvania Duryea is a borough in the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, south of Scranton. The ...

Road Vehicle, 1895 File:Sears Model L.JPG, Sears Model L

References

External links

* * *{{Cite EB1911, wstitle=Wagon