Saturday, November 08, 2008

Yellowstone Coach 1955 etc

Most folks know about the Stagecoach that used to dust up the trails in Frontierland. And a lot of them know about the Conestoga Wagons too. But the Yellowstone Coach is much more obscure... it doesn't seem to have run much beyond 1955 or '56, for reasons unknown. As you can see in this 1955 photo, it certainly was an attractive conveyance, and provided unobstructed views compared to inside the Stagecoach. It doesn't look like it would have the problem of tipping over, either.


Here's a picture of an actual Yellowstone Coach, circa 1955. It's a little larger than the Disneyland version (one extra row of seats inside), with the added bonus of that precarious bench up on top (yikes!) and the "rumble seat" at the upper rear.


And just for some added fun(at no additional cost to you!), the August 15, 1955 issue of LIFE magazine has this photo (I've zoomed in for a better look) showing a buckboard fording the river in Frontierland. Other than a postcard or two, I don't recall ever seeing this vehicle again. It had to be something of a hazard, with nothing to prevent guests from tumbling off. Sorry about the broken arm, kid! Apparently there were real-live people playing Indians. A good job if you liked to stand around and work on your tan.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Work on your tan! Pah! Maj is tell 'um heap big joke. Me like 'um!

Even an er... Indian ? boy at the lower left. Or maybe he's just scoutin' fer Davy. But ah, one way or the other, when Walt said they needed to dress up that thar weedpatch er Wilderness, they heed 'im Big Cheif Walt and make like stands of trees.

Absurd faux Hollywood Injun affectations from the peanut gallery here aside, those are some neato pics. That yeller wagon is so cute, I'd like to ride it. The mules are cute too (not really but if you tell 'em so it probably made the day go a lot better for the driver; he won't have to whip the rest of their tails off). I can only guess it just didn't have the Frontier feel as much as the dangnabbed stagecoaches did. How about that "landscaping"!

The pic of the real deal is cool, thanks!

Nancy said...

love that first picture; very pretty how the bright yellow of the wagon and the black mules contrast with colors of nature....

and i like how the injuns are getting in on those new inventions, electricity and the telephone!