Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings ...

'' is an American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

television series that was produced by

Revue Studios Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a predec ...

. The series was inspired by the 1950

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

film ''

Wagon Master ''Wagon Master'' is a 1950 American Western film produced and directed by John Ford and starring Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr., Joanne Dru, and Ward Bond. The screenplay concerns a Mormon pioneer wagon train to the San Juan River in Utah. The ...

''. It ran for eight seasons, with the first episode airing in the United States on and the final episode on . Its first five seasons were broadcast on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

network and the remaining three on ABC. Originally an hour-long program filmed in

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

, ''Wagon Train'' expanded to 90-minute

color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

episodes in its seventh season, but returned to hour-long black and white for its eighth year. During its run, 284 episodes were broadcast, of which 252 were an hour in length and 32 were 90 minutes. ''Wagon Train'' was an immensely popular program during its original run. In the autumn of 1959, two years after its inception, it ranked as one of seven Westerns in the Nielsen top 10 in the United States. In the 1961–62 season, it surpassed ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central chara ...

'' in popularity and ranked as the most popular program on American television. ''Wagon Train'' revolved around the characters traveling to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

from St. Joseph, Missouri, by a caravan of

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. In its first three seasons and part of the fourth, the regular cast consisted of

Ward Bond Wardell Edwin Bond (April 9, 1903 – November 5, 1960) was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 200 films and starred in the NBC television series ''Wagon Train'' from 1957 to 1960. Among his best-remembered roles are Be ...

as Major Seth Adams, the trailmaster, Robert Horton as Flint McCullough, the scout, Terry Wilson as Bill Hawks, the ramrod, and Frank McGrath as Charlie Wooster, the cook. Ward Bond died of a heart attack on November 5, 1960, with the last seven episodes in which he appeared broadcast posthumously. An assistant scout, Duke Shannon, played by Scott Miller, was introduced two months later, in January 1961, and after another two months, a new trailmaster, Christopher Hale, played by

John McIntire John Herrick McIntire (June 27, 1907 – January 30, 1991) was an American character actor who appeared in 65 theatrical films and many television series. McIntire is well known for having replaced Ward Bond, upon Bond's sudden death in Novem ...

, took over the running of the wagon train in March 1961, replacing Major Adams. At the end of the fifth season, in June 1962, Robert Horton left the series to pursue a career in

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

. In June 1963, the final episode of the sixth season introduced Michael Burns as teenager Barnaby West, who became a recurring character in the seventh season, which also introduced Robert Fuller as the new scout, Cooper Smith, joining Duke Shannon and ultimately becoming the wagon train's sole scout when Scott Miller left the series in April 1964, with the last episode of the 90-minute seventh season. McIntire, Fuller, Wilson, McGrath, and Burns carried the show through its eighth and final year.

Season overview

Episodes

Titles, credits, and air dates are taken from ''Wagon Train — The Television Series'' by James Rosin

Season 1 (1957–58)

Season 2 (1958–59)

Season 3 (1959–60)

Season 4 (1960–61)

Season 5 (1961–62)

Final season to air on NBC. Several season 5 episodes are in color.

Season 6 (1962–63)

First season to air on ABC.

Season 7 (1963–64)

All episodes in color and run for 90 minutes.

Season 8 (1964–65)

The final season reverts to black-and-white and runs for 60 minutes.

References

;Footnotes ;Bibliography ''Primary:'' * ''Supplementary:'' * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wagon Train Lists of American Western (genre) television series episodes