transporting horse drawn vans in nineteenth century
 

Hi
do any members of this forum have any information on how or whether horse drawn 'vans' were transported regularly by rail in the 1860's. The reason for my query is that I am researching a 'theatrical performance duo' that were working in the 1860's and I am trying to work out just how they would have travelled from venue to venue. The query revolves round the horse drawn van as, later, they sold this van. It would be very slow if they just used this 1 horse vanto travel great distances, but if there were facilities for rail transport for the horse and van it seems possible that they may have gone by rail to an area and then travelled 'locally' with their horse + van.
sorry to be so long winded
look forward to any thoughts
thanks
chris
chrysanthemum

Certainly in the very early days private coaches would be transported on special wagons, their owners travelling in carriages that themselves looked like coaches, but I don't know if anyone has researched them in depth.

I dont know if it was the same for trade or travelling players' wagons. Probably too expensive.

Osbornes Map of the London and Birmingham Railway includes such a wagon as part of a train pictured at its head

Hello chrysanthemun and welcome to the Railway Forum. Some years ago I had a chat with one of the grooms from the Duke of Gloucester's estate and he told me that in the old days the people that could afford their own carriage, also had other horses in town (London or Bristol). If they were going to somewhere where they did not have a stable, then the would send some horses to the town a few days before they traveled. They could also hire a team from local stables if needs be.
P.S. He also showed me the Dukes private station on his land, a through back to when the line was built through his land, now no longer used.

Welcome to the Forum Chrysanthemun. Sounds a very interesting topic. Hope someone can come up with a few answers. Please share anything you find out with us.

Best wishes,

John H-T.