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A toy wagon has the same structure as the traditional, larger wagon, but is much smaller and has an open top. An average wagon is able to seat one child, and is generally propelled by human power through a handle at the front. Some famous brands are Radio Flyer, Little Tikes, Red Rider, Northern Tool and Equipment, Lowe's, Cardinal, and Speedway Express.
Toy wagons have been around since the late 19th century, and are traditionally painted red. They were originally made of wood. Antonio Pasin started making wagons in 1917 and eventually started the Radio Flyer company. He produced many of them in his workshop in Chicago and they became a national hit after the 1933 Chicago World Fair. His toy wagons helped bring people back from the thoughts of the looming war to their simple pleasures.
The basic design of toy wagons has been the same since the late 19th century. Usually, a small wagon contains 9, 12, or 16 bolts. The back axle usually contains 4 bolts, and the front varies among the different steering designs. The wheels can be air tires, hard rubber tires, or hard plastic tires. Some small kids' wagons are made completely out of plastic. Some are made of wood, aluminum, poly, or steel. The shape of the handle also can be different, some shaped like a T, others like a D, and some with a circle handhold at the end. The main problem with wagons is rust. Wagons are usually painted in outdoor paint to prevent rusting, but all metal wagons will eventually get slightly battered and can then rust.
People also use toy wagons for small, outdoor projects. Companies such as Northern Tool, Lowe's, and Tractor Supply Company make wagons specifically for outdoor work. Usually they are painted a different color than red and are made of metal. They are also usually larger and more expensive. Wagons can be useful for moving dirt, wood chips, mulch, or gravel. They can also be used in gardening for moving plants. Nursery wagons are available just for professional gardening. Nursery wagons let dirt and water go through the bottom and are good for plants and pots in a greenhouse. They can also be used for moving camping gear or boxes. Some utility wagons are self-propelled by small motors so that the user can handle heavier loads on rough, uneven terrain. These wagons are often equipped with a tilting cargo bed which allows the user to dump their cargo more easily, making them suitable for small farms. Some companies, such as Speedway Express, make huge 8-wheeled wagons that are made of wood, usually handmade by the Amish.
In some countries, wagons are popular ways to transport children around outside events. These trolleys are often large enough to fit multiple children, and usually made of fabric with metal frames that fold to fit inside a vehicle. In the United Kingdom, festival wagons allow parents to take children around music festivals comfortably, often with protection from sun and rain. [1] In Germany, families often use wagons for picnics and beach holidays, and traditionally on Father's Day (Ascension Day) German men use small wagons to carry food and alcohol on a group excursion – specially designed toy wagons with built-in barbecues or beer tables have been produced for this market. [2]
In 1997, Radio Flyer [3] made a huge wagon 27 feet (8.2 m) long and 13 feet (4.0 m) wide to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Radio Flyer. The wagon weighs 15,000 pounds and is constructed of steel.
A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be moved easily facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load, or performing labor in machines. Wheels are also used for other purposes, such as a ship's wheel, steering wheel, potter's wheel, and flywheel.
An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle is supported. In the latter case, a bearing or bushing sits inside a central hole in the wheel to allow the wheel or gear to rotate around the axle. Sometimes, especially on bicycles, the latter type of axle is referred to as a spindle.
A cart or dray is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs.
A shopping cart, trolley, or buggy, also known by a variety of other names, is a wheeled cart supplied by a shop or store, especially supermarkets, for use by customers inside the premises for transport of merchandise as they move around the premises, while shopping, prior to heading to the checkout counter, cashiers or tills. Increasing the amount of goods a shopper can collect increases the quantities they are likely to purchase in a single trip, boosting store profitability.
A bicycle wheel is a wheel, most commonly a wire wheel, designed for a bicycle. A pair is often called a wheelset, especially in the context of ready built "off the shelf" performance-oriented wheels.
A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping or, on those made in recent centuries, steel springs. Two-wheeled carriages are informal and usually owner-driven.
A scale model is a physical model which is geometrically similar to an object. Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small prototypes such as anatomical structures or subatomic particles. Models built to the same scale as the prototype are called mockups.
A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people.
Radio Flyer is an American toy company best known for its popular red toy wagon. Radio Flyer also produces scooters, tricycles, bicycles, horses, and ride-ons. The company was founded in 1917 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.
A wheelwright is a craftsman who builds or repairs wooden wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the word "wright" as in shipwright and arkwright. This occupational name became the English surname Wright. It also appears in surnames like Cartwright and Wainwright. It corresponds with skilful metal workers being called Smith.
A hand truck, also known as a hand trolley, dolly, stack truck, trundler, box cart, sack barrow, cart, sack truck, two wheeler, or bag barrow, is an L-shaped box-moving handcart with handles at one end, wheels at the base, with a small ledge to set objects on, flat against the floor when the hand-truck is upright. The objects to be moved are tilted forward, the ledge is inserted underneath them, and the objects allowed to tilt back and rest on the ledge. The truck and objects are then tilted backward until the weight is balanced over the wheels, making otherwise bulky and heavy objects easier to move. It is a first-class lever.
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A bicycle trailer is a motorless wheeled frame with a hitch system for transporting cargo by bicycle. It can greatly increase a bike's cargo capacity, allowing point-to-point haulage of objects up to 3 cubic metres in volume that weigh as much as 500 kg. However, very heavily loaded trailers may pose a danger to the cyclist and others, and the voluntary European standard EN 15918 therefore suggests a maximum load of 60 kg on trailers without brakes.
A horse-drawn vehicle is a piece of equipment pulled by one or more horses. These vehicles typically have two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers or a load. They were once common worldwide, but they have mostly been replaced by automobiles and other forms of self-propelled transport but are still in use today.
An ox-wagon or bullock wagon is a four-wheeled vehicle pulled by oxen. It was a traditional form of transport, especially in Southern Africa but also in New Zealand and Australia. Ox-wagons were also used in the United States. The first recorded use of an ox-wagon was around 1670, but they continue to be used in some areas up to modern times.
A spare tire is an additional tire carried in a motor vehicle as a replacement for one that goes flat, has a blowout, or has another emergency. Spare tire is generally a misnomer, as almost all vehicles actually carry an entire wheel with a tire mounted on it as a spare rather than just a tire, as fitting a tire to a wheel would require a motorist to carry additional, specialized equipment. However, some spare tires are not meant to be driven long distances. Space-savers have a maximum speed of around 50 mph (80 km/h).
The Hubley Manufacturing Company was an American producer of a wide range of cast-iron toys, doorstops, and bookends. Toys, particularly motor vehicles and cap guns, were also produced in zinc alloy and plastic. The company is probably most well known for its detailed scale metal kits of Classic cars in about 1:20 scale. Starting in 1960, Hubley participated for a couple of years with Detroit automakers as a plastic promotional model maker. Many Hubley toys are now sought-after collectibles.
A flatbed trolley a common form of freight transport in distribution environments, for moving bulk loads. Trolleys can aid in reducing effort required to move a load by allowing the user to pull or push instead of lift and carry. A very simple design offers a basic flat platform with four casters and a fixed handle which is used to either push or pull the platform with the load on the platform. Without a flat surface it becomes an open frame trolley and without a handle it is a bogie or dolly.
Media related to Toy wagons at Wikimedia Commons
