Travelling at approximately 5mph (8km/h) with four or six horse teams changing at swing stations every 12 miles (19km), Wells Fargo stagecoaches had, by the turn of the century, played a large part in opening up North America's legendary frontier country. By 1918 - when they were replaced by motorized transport - Wells fargo Company stagecoaches had been carrying mail and travellers across the length and breadth of the nation for over fifty years. The stagecoaches used by the Wells Fargo Company were built by the Abbot-Downey Company of Concord, New Hampshire and seated nine passengers. Affectionately called 'a cradle on wheels' by author Mark Twain, the coaches were typically elaborately decorated. Nevertheless, travellers often complained of the cramped conditions inside.

Wells Fargo Stagecoaches played a vital role in the opening up of America's West. For nearly 70 years, they carried the mail and travellers across a new and rapidly expanding nation.

The original stagecoaches used by Wells Fargo were built in Concord, New Hampshire and seated nine passengers in somewhat cramped circumstance.

(1993)

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