Stagecoach travel in the Old West

[scribblesiece]

Upon arrival at one's destination in a stagecoach, would the driver get down and open the door to let the passengers out? Or would that be the one "riding shotgun" - yes, I know that term was not contemporary. Who would get the luggage off the back: again, driver, shotgun, or the individual passengers

Comments

[inamac]

I can't speak for the Old West, but in England the staff at the stagecoach terminus would be responsible for opening the door for the passengers, and collecting their luggage to transfer it to their next destination (either the staging inn, or another vehicle taking them on to their own home/host's house). The coach driver would be concerned for his horses, the 'postillion' for the safety of the passengers (so it may be him opening the door, seeing them out (and waiting for his 'tip').

[scribblesiece]

Ooh, I hadn't thought about the existence of a station or terminus. Just kind of pulling up on main street of whatever podunk town the stop is.

[inamac]

Well. the point about stagecoaches is that they do the journey in 'stages' and change horses at regular stops - so there will always be staff from the staging post available to change the horses (and passengers).

I suppose that if one of the passengers has arranged (and paid) for an unscheduled stop between stages they'd be expected to take care of their own luggage (or pay some passing local to do so).

[randomstasis]

oh,just fyi, here's a fairly well preserved stage station in Colorado

virginiadalecommunityclub.org

they wouldn't normally get luggage down for a short meal stop, but sometimes they did stay overnight at the station, even if it wasn't in town, and not an actual terminus.

And, btw- what would you tip a troll- an ear, or something?

[sailorhathor]

Would you consider the way they used to do it on "Little House on the Prairie" to be a reference? :D

[scribblesiece]

Sure, tv shows and films work fine for me. I never was a huge fan before so I don't have much to draw on there; it surprised the heck out of me when this story demanded to be set in the old west.

It's kind of fantastical, too. Aforementioned person ("person") riding shotgun is in fact a Troll, for instance.

[sailorhathor]

Oh goodie, I get to babble about LHotP. XD

[duckodeath]

Hmm, I was just thinking about the "Little House" books today and wondering if I could get an archival quality set with acid-free paper to replace my high-acid paper falling apart set.

In actual reference to the issue at hand, unless I'm completely forgetting something, Laura never wrote about stagecoaches in the books that make up the "Little House" series. The family either rode in their wagon or took the train. Those are the only forms of long distance vehicular transportation discussed in the books other than sleds during the winter months.

[reapermum]

What do you mean, riding shotgun was not contemporary? What do you think the man with the shotgun next to the driver was doing?

[scribblesiece]

The _term_ was not contemporary. The earliest references to "riding shotgun" came along much later.

[reapermum]

I wonder what they called it then. It's the only term I remember from watching the Westerns on TV in the 50s.

[nuranar]

Just "guard"? Or "the messenger," or "the shotgun messenger" all come to mind. I'm not sure from where, though. Interesting...

[nuranar]

Based on extensive reading (of fiction), I don't get much of an idea that there was a set protocol for these things, especially west or outside of the cities. I get the impression the passengers would just pile out (and off - they could also ride on the top and/or on the seat) when reaching a stop. A fine lady or a businessman or politician might wait, but by that time the other inside passengers would probably already have the door open.

As for luggage, I think that would be more the driver's responsibility. But not all the passengers would stand on ceremony. The more "citified" a person, the more likely he or she would wait for the driver to hand down the luggage.

One of Louis L'Amour's books (The Cherokee Trail) was about a woman who took over running a stage station. He certainly did a lot of research, so I do recommend you look it over. I don't remember him covering in detail these particular aspects - especially since it was just a stage for horses and food, so luggage wouldn't have been handled - but I wasn't looking for them

[randomstasis]

Usually, the guy riding up top, or on the driver's bench would climb up and toss the bags down. That would probably be shotgun, but might also be a passenger who didn't want to ride inside. The driver would probably be holding the horses, but if need be, he'd do it.
Loading- driver would throw the bags up to the shotgun to stow.
If you have access to a good library that might have his short story collections, Owen Wister (The Virginian) wrote a fun short story about a stagecoach driver (and his speed addiction that terrified passengers:) that described this scene.