Winter Travel by Caboose

Heated caboose on sleigh runners labelled "Saskatoon Beer", 1900-1909. Source:

Western Development Museum Curatorial Centre, Saskatoon, SK

Did the above image grab your attention? It sure caught mine. I was researching images of winter transportation, such as school bus sleighs in heavy snow zones, when I happened upon what I first thought was an early party bus. Considering it is heated by a stove and shows two women and a man in well-dressed clothing, it seemed to be the right setting. However, further research seems to indicate that the heated caboose in this 1900-1909 photograph was actually used to transport beer from Saskatoon Brewing Company to Saskatchewan's thirsty bars, and not the people who would drink it.


The word caboose intrigued me as I'd only heard it referred to as the back end of a train, but when I searched for winter caboose I found an exhibit for 100 Years of Transportation in Lanigan and District at virtualmuseum.ca. Thanks to the Lanigan & District Heritage Centre for granting permission to show them here. 

Home-made Winter Caboose, ca 1940. Courtesy of the Lanigan & District Heritage Centre, Lanigan, SK

The common denominator of a caboose is the presence of a small stove. In the accompanying text, Marion Barclay writes, "...They were quite comfortable and warm. You plodded along and you never got there very fast. It was a little better than walking."

I discovered that a caboose was often invented and built by a farmer for any winter travel whether it was for school use, church, shopping, or visiting.

Closed-In Rig, circa. 1930. Courtesy of the Lanigan & District Heritage Centre, Lanigan, SK

One prairie province over to the left, Alberta was using the same type of caboose for winter travel. Sometimes they would take an old car or buggy topper and put it on a wooden sleigh bottom - anything to stop the wind and keep the heat inside.

Go-devil sleigh, Dorothy area, Alberta, ca. 1930s. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives, Calgary, AB

Heading back into Saskatchewan, we see how a Catholic priest completed his parish circuit during the prairie winter. 

Father Thomas J. Ash near Meacham, Saskatchewan, n.d. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives, Calgary, AB

You can see the smoke stack in some of the photographs, such as this one from the Sask History Online site with the Western Development Museum (WDM) which shows two women waving from the inside. A note written across the top says, "One like this tipped over with mom inside." 

"One like this tipped over with mom inside", 1930-1939. Courtesy of the Western Development Museum Curatorial Centre, Saskatoon, SK

Also with the WDM we have this image of a caboose showing a man and children with lunch pails. It doesn't say if they were going to school, work, or whatever, but it looks like they would be gone for the day.

The rig we used for winter travel ‘47. Courtesy of the Western Development Museum Curatorial Centre, Saskatoon, SK

Travelling east to the prairie province of Manitoba we find what they called an "Early Bombadier [sic] type bus" used to ferry miners to the Flin Flon mines. I'm fairly sure they meant a Bombardier, although as an anglophone, I remember calling it a "bombadeer" in my younger days as well.

Early bombadier type bus, Manitoba. Ca. 1930s. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives, Calgary, AB

In the 1950s, the Lanigan School Unit purchased a Bombardier for getting students to and from school, and by that time the winter caboose had started to look like the modern version we know today.

Lanigan School Unit No. 40, 1950-1960. Courtesy of the Lanigan & District Heritage Centre, Lanigan, SK

As you've noticed, all of the above images are from the Canadian prairies, but not for want of looking. When I crossed the Manitoba border into Minnesota, however, I found this one in the fonds of the Beltrami Island reforestation project...

This cabin was mounted on sleigh last winter to transport four children to and from school. July 1936. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

The writeup for the Beltrami Island one says, "This cabin was mounted on sleigh last winter to transport four children to and from school. A stove was kept inside to protect them from the severe cold. The children only missed one day of school the entire winter. Used to leave the house at 6:30 a.m. so as to get to school by 8:30 a.m."

There should be more of these types of images in photo albums and museums all across the snow belt of America and I'd love to show them here as well. If you know of any pre 1950 images like the ones above please let me know, either here in the comments or through the Contact page of my website.

Do you have a preference for winter travel when all of the above images are taken into consideration?

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Anita Mae Draper's historical romances are written under the western skies of the Saskatchewan prairie where her love of research and genealogy yield fascinating truths that layer her stories with rich historical details.  Anita's short story, Here We Come A-Wassailing, was a finalist for the Word Guild's 2015 Word Awards. Her novellas are included in Austen in Austin Volume 1, The American Heiress Brides Collection, and The Secret Admirer Romance Collection. Readers can check out Anita's Pinterest boards for a visual idea of her stories to enrich their reading experience.  Discover more at:

Website - www.anitamaedraper.com

Pinterest - www.pinterest.com/anitamaedraper/

Early photos of Children's Sleighs

Since I covered the sleigh as winter transportation in my post Sleighs, Cutters & Carioles, in this post I wanted to show how the youngsters who lived in snow-covered areas were spending their winters. Like the sleighs and cutters, quality images are usually found online at auction and museum websites, but contain a copyright which prohibits reuse on a blog such as this one. However, I believe I've found enough images to show what was in use in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In 1888, George Barker (1844-1894), created this stereograph of children playing in the snow beside a sled and a snowman. This is a very artistic snow sculpture as shown by the raised arm, shoulder, and two legs. 

The Snow Man - Happy Days, c1888, George Barker, photographer, Niagara Falls, New York. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

Sleighs were more elaborate than sleds with sides and a seat like the adult versions. The pull sleigh was pulled by a person or animal, most often a dog, pony, ore even a goat such as this one pulling a Quebec cariole.

Master Corriveau in goat sleigh, Montreal, QC, 1880. Source: http://collections.musee-mccord.qc.ca/en/collection/artifacts/II-55024.1

Although this next image is undated, wikimedia commons has tagged it as a Victorian trade card. Manufactured by North Western Sleigh Co, it shows one of the swell-body type sleighs of my last post.

No. 23 Children's Cutter by North Western Sleigh Co. (Wholesale Manufacturers). Source: commons.wikimedia

The push type of sleigh didn't require an animal and was mainly for children and invalids. They were made of wicker or wood with iron or bent wood runners and was a larger version of the doll sleighs seen in this next image. Like the adult version, family finances and social circles dictated the look of the sleigh.

Midwinter Carnival, Children's Parade, Doll Sleds, Upper Saranac Lake, N.Y. c1909. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

Many farm children and prairie settlers made do with all-wood push sleighs, which were used for work as well as play. 

Moodie children playing in the snow, Kelowna, British Columbia. Ca. 1911-1912.

Source: Glenbow Archives, Calgary, Alberta

Sleds were sleighs without sides, although the term is often interchangeable. For instance, a wooden sleigh with low sides and wooden runners could be referred to as a sleigh, sled, or even a sledge depending on the type of runners and use. A sledge, for example, was like a barge. It was a platform on timbers running low to the ground, a working vehicle most often used for hauling things, including people when the need arose. 

Children being pulled on sled, Spencer Ranch, Milk River, Alberta. 1913, Source: Glenbow Archives, Calgary, Alberta

A sled could have high iron runners that enabled it to glide along the snow, yet less expensive models used wooden runners, or even wood covered with a metal strip. From this next photo, it appears this type of sled was used on grass during summer training of a young lad's dog as well.

Boy with dog hooked up to sled, Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. Ca. 1915. Source: Glenbow Archives, Calgary, Alberta

Today we call it sledding, but historically, sledding down a hill has been known as coasting - a rather sedate word for the fast pace of iron runners which shoot down a hill at high speeds. 

Snow, Children Sledding, Washington, D.C, c1915-1923, glass negative, Harris & Ewing, photographer. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

Wooden runners may not have been as fast, but their enjoyment can be seen on the faces of these boys.

Two boys on a wooden sled in winter, Edmonton, Alberta. 1913, Source: Glenbow Archives, Calgary, Alberta

Sledding was enjoyed wherever a snow-covered slope was found. In Rochester, an open-air school built a wooden chute (slide) so the children could enjoy this winter activity. 

Sledding, Rochester, Out of Door School, Coasting on the Toboggan. c1908-1915. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C

This photo of sledding on a wooden chute fascinates me. Mostly because I'm not aware of the term, 'open-air school', and also because of their school uniforms. Does anyone have any information that could enlighten us?

My most memorable experience of sledding is of an abandoned ski hill where the coasting was super-fast, but the remnants of summer weeds slapped our faces as we whizzed past. I'm sure I ate a few seeds on my way down.

What about you? 

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Anita Mae Draper's historical romances are written under the western skies of the Saskatchewan prairie where her love of research and genealogy yield fascinating truths that layer her stories with rich historical details.  Anita's short story, Here We Come A-Wassailing, was a finalist for the Word Guild's 2015 Word Awards. Her novellas are included in Austen in Austin Volume 1, The American Heiress Brides Collection, and The Secret Admirer Romance Collection. Readers can check out Anita's Pinterest boards for a visual idea of her stories to enrich their reading experience.  Discover more at:

Website - www.anitamaedraper.com

Pinterest - www.pinterest.com/anitamaedraper/

Sleighs, Cutters & Carioles

Up until the last half of twentieth century using a sleigh was a necessity in areas that received more than a couple inches of snow. Although they were only required for a few months of the year, sleighs were manufactured to fulfill a variety of needs, sizes, and pockets in much the same manner as buggies, coaches and carriages. Usually a manufacturer would build both. In fact, some sleighs were simple buggy or coach bodies added to fancy runners instead of wheels. 

In the early 1800's, the most common North American winter vehicle was the piano box sleigh. Sensible, practical, it was made for hauling a family with kids, farm or business goods and usually pulled by a single horse or a team of horses.

Moose hitched to sleigh, Athabasca Landing, Alberta.  1909. Glenbow Archives, Calgary, Alberta

First designed in the early 1820's by James Goold of The Albany Coach Works, the Albany sleigh presented an ornate, rounded body in direct contrast to the piano box sleigh. With higher runners it could glide smoothly across deeper snow. Built with a single seat for two people, it became a romantic cutter, able to race against the fastest sleighs of the time. 

1868 Albany cutter manufactured by The Albany Coach Works. Courtesy of coachbuilt.com

The single seat Albany cutters and two-seater sleighs were the most expensive sleighs of their time due to their custom finish to whatever paint and fabric you ordered. Because of this customization however, Albany sleighs never reached mass market. Instead, Portand sleighs became the most popular sleigh of the snowy season.

According to The Farm Implement News Volume 15, Peter Kimball of Bryant's Pond, ME buiilt the first Portland sleigh one year after Mr. Goold built his Albany sleigh in 1817. But Kimball stuck to straight lines instead of Goold's curved ones and the simplicity appealed to the Puritan nature of the New England population.  

This newspaper ad from The New York Herald of December 12, 1869 shows what was trending during that winter:

The New York herald. (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, December 12, 1869. Image provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC

So fifty years after their introduction, the sleek Albany cutter was old-fashioned and the Portland and Boston made Sleighs were light, elegant and modern. They may have the rolled dash, but their bottoms were still flat which makes me call them boxy. Further research led me to the 1889 Hitchcock Manufacturing Co Catalogue which showed two versions of a Swell-Body Cutter - one with a foldaway top.

A similar ad for a Swell Body Cutter in an 1894 edition of The Farm Implement News confirmed the Swell Body cutter was on the market and not just the offering of one manufacturer.

It's interesting to note that the 1911 Sears, Roebuck and Co. Fall Catalogue carries the Portland cutter with a slightly rounded bottom and high runners, as well as a double-seater platform Business or Pleasure Sleigh that looks like the old Piano box style.

This two-seater held a minimum of 4 people and used independent runners for easier maneuverability as well as safer travel. Called a bobsleigh, it didn't tip as easy with the dual runners as it did with those using long, single runners on each side. 

Although the Albany and Portland styles were manufactured in Canada during the same time as their American counterparts, a different type of sleigh, called a cariole, was often seen north of the friendly border. Gliding low to the ground instead of with 12-18" high runners, the cariole looked similar to the old world ones in countries like Russia where snowfall equaled that of Canada. You can see the style difference between the cariole and other sleighs of the time on this poster from the January 1899 issue of Harper's New Monthly Magazine.

Poster for Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Jan 1899

Larger carioles provided a seat for the driver, but the design still retained the low solid appearance which appears frequently in Canadian paintings.

Winter Beauties of Humber Valley Hold Lure, The Globe, Toronto, 7 January 1925, Courtesy of Toronto Public Library

The Canada Science and Technology Museum has several sleighs on display including a Victoria sleigh built for 3-5 passengers. According to the write-up, this is one of the sleighs developed from an existing carriage design - the cabriolet - and adapted to bent wood runners. 

Victoria Sleigh with Cabriolet body. Courtesy of Canada Science and Technology Museum

This video shows different types of sleighs in action and explains many more available at Skyline Farms, Maine. Sleighs and Sleighbells by Rural Heritage

Sleighs can be found at many large museums in snowfall areas, but check out the small museums too. They may only have one type, but it will give you an idea of what was available and in use in that area. 

So, did you see a sleigh you liked? Have you ever been on a sleigh ride? Where? When? Why? What was the weather like? What time of the day?

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Anita Mae Draper's historical romances are written under the western skies of the Saskatchewan prairie where her love of research and genealogy yield fascinating truths that layer her stories with rich historical details.  Anita's short story, Here We Come A-Wassailing, was a finalist for the Word Guild's 2015 Word Awards. Her novellas are included in Austen in Austin Volume 1, The American Heiress Brides Collection, and The Secret Admirer Romance Collection. Readers can check out Anita's Pinterest boards for a visual idea of her stories to enrich their reading experience.  Discover more at:

Website - www.anitamaedraper.com

Pinterest - www.pinterest.com/anitamaedraper/