Museum Services

Here are examples of our museum services. We can take any photograph or existing model of a horse drawn vehicle and then reproduce an authentic new vehicle. Each piece begins with careful research and documentation of original vehicle design techniques (i.e. wood species, hand-forged hardware, mortise & tenon joinery - chamfering of body members.) We can even make your new vehicle look aged with our unique antiquing skills. Some of our replications are found in museums, living history farms, and private collections. A historic replication gives the advantage of a rare historic vehicle that is fully functional as opposed to a frail antique.

Historic San Diego Stagecoach

This is a great example of our replication services. All we had to work with was a photograph and our historic resources. The outcome was a beautiful example of a unique passenger coach used in the San Diego region during the 19th century.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gold Rush Covered Wagon

This wagon was built for the Sutters Fort Museum. This style of wagon was used on the migration trail to Oregon-California. The Oregon-California Trails Association awarded us for our expertise in craftsmanship. This wagon has carved wood axles, iron clouts, wood work is hand-shaved, and iron is hand-forged. This style of wagon has lynch pin axles instead of the thimble skein axles being used 10 years later, until the turn of the century.

       

Concord Stagecoach

The Western style stagecoaches - built by the Abbot-Downing Co. of Concord, NH - were used by Wells Fargo to transport gold, mail, and passengers throughout the rugged Western Territory. The nine -passenger body was more heavily ironed than the Eastern model, with leather roll-down curtains, leather front boot, and fully enclosed leather rear boot. We replicate our coaches by referencing original coaches from Abbot- Downing such as # 599 which can be seen at the Wells Fargo Museum in Los Angeles, CA.

Detailed Photos

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deadwood Mud Wagon

This is a replica of one of the original Deadwood mud wagons built by Abbot-Downing. This is a twenty-one passenger wagon, it has four bench seats on the inside and three on the outside. It was the work horse of the Deadwood region and played a vital role in the settlement and transportation of that era of history in the West.. Detailed Photos

 

 

 

 

 

 

Budweiser Hitch Wagon

We were commissioned to custom-build this wagon to replicate the big eight horse Studebaker wagons used by Budweiser in St. Louis. This is one of the largest exhibit wagons with a 13 ft. long ribbed body bed and 3" springs. It also has traditional sarven wheels with big hubs and spin off threaded hub caps.

 

 

 

 

 

Touring Stagecoach

Our custom-built Touring Stagecoach, which holds 24 passengers - 12 inside and 12 on the roof, is excellent for any type of commercial operation. Besides being referred to as the Touring Coach it's other name is the Hotel Coach. We based our design of an original Abbot-Downing #186 which is in Stony Brook Museum in Long Island, NY.  Detailed Photos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Old Sturbridge Village Stagecoach

The yellow stagecoach was replicated from New Hampshire's Greenfield-Francestown Coach. This coach was used for many years to carry passengers between Francestown and Greenfield, New Hampshire, as well as over other lines in New Hampshire. It has always been in the town and is now jointly owned by The Francestown Improvement and Historical Society. We constructed this replication for Old Sturbridge Village which is one of the country's largest living history museums and we built this coach so they could provide stagecoach rides to their guests. For more information or if you would like to visit Old Sturbridge Village their website is http://www.osv.org/

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“We feel tremendous pride in owning a one-of-a-kind F.C. Austin Sprinkler Wagon that hasbeen restored to its original condition of more than a century ago. It is without question, that there is no wagon maker other than Hansen Wheel & Wagon Shop that could have done the work to the exacting standards that we demanded on this historic piece. Your expertise, patience, and willingness to do the job right have set you above the rest. We will not hesitate to recommend you to other museum professionals who may be in need of your first rate services.”  (Photo courtesy of Cynthia Holling-Morris)

Andy Morris

Manager, Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site