A wagon ('waggon' in British and Commonwealth English) is a heavy four-wheeled horse drawn vehicle pulled by draught animals; it was formerly often called a wain, and if low and sideless may be called a dray, trolley or float. Wagons are used for transporting goods, agricultural materials or sometimes people.
Contents |
[edit] Images
-
A team of Australian Draught Horses with a record load of 150 bales of wool.
-
R Simpson Company mail order delivery wagons
-
A milk float on Ryeburne Street in Oldham
[edit] Delivery wagon
A delivery wagon is a wagon used to deliver merchandise such as milk, bread or vegetables to homes or residences as well as merchandise to commercial customers.
[edit] Pulling power
Wagons are pulled by animals such as horses, mules or oxen. They may be pulled by one animal or by several, often in pairs.
[edit] Similar vehicles
Wagons are distinguished from carts, which have two wheels, and from lighter four-wheeled vehicles for carrying people, such as carriages.
[edit] Wheel size
To enable the wagon to turn in as little space as possible, the front pair of wheels are often made smaller than the rear pair to allow them to turn close under the vehicle sides,[1] and to allow them to turn still further, the wagon body may be waisted. The front wheels of trolleys and floats are small enough to turn under the vehicle's body.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^
"Wagon". Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.
[edit] External links
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Wagon". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.