On the strength of this vintage TV' show's 1st season (where I watched all of its 39 episodes) - I enthusiastically give Wagon Train my personal recommendation.Even though (at a 50-minute running time) a number of the episodes did tend to wear a little thin at times - (For the most part) - The overall majority of these 39 episodes were quite tightly scripted and believable.I also found the "Old West" settings seemed authentic and the actors could usually be counted on to give convincing performances.All-in-all - For anyone who enjoys watching top-notch TV Westerns from the 1950s - Wagon Train (filmed in b&w) was right on the mark. I especially liked actors Robert Horton and Terry Wilson.

This was the quintessential Western from the golden age of television and even 60 years later it still holds the title. The series was a runaway hit lasting an astounding eight seasons on the air producing 284 episodes airing on two major television networks throughout it's run. First it ran for five seasons on NBC premiering on September 18, 1957 until June 13, 1962 airing on Wednesday nights in prime time producing 226 episodes all in black and white(with the exception of five episodes that aired in color during the fifth season). After NBC canceled the series in the summer of 1962, ABC picked up the series for it's last three seasons airing from September 19, 1962 until May 2, 1965 where a total of 95 episodes were produced with Season 6 producing 37 episodes in black and white and Season 8 producing 26 episodes. Then on September 16, 1963 the series moved from Wednesday nights to Monday nights for it's seventh season where the show expanded to 90 minutes in color where 32 episodes were produced. The series was produced by Revue Studios from 1957 until 1963. From 1963 to 1965 the series was produced by Universal Television.The series debuted in the fall of 1957 at number 15 in the Nielsen ratings, rose to number two in the next three seasons,and peaked at number one in the 1961-1962 season. When it moved to ABC in the fall of 1962 the ratings began to decline and "Wagon Train" never again make the top 20 listings. The series starred Ward Bond as Major Seth Adams(Seasons 1-4) and was replaced upon his death by John McIntire as Christopher Hale(Seasons 4-8),and Robert Horton as Scout Flint McCullough(Seasons 1-5),and was replaced by Scott Miller(Seasons 6-8),and Robert Fuller(Seasons 7-8) along with Michael Burns(Seasons 5-8). Actors Frank McGrath and Terry Wilson were the only cast members that were with the series throughout it's entire run.An array of directors included Virgil W. Vogel (who directed over 80 episodes of the series), along with Joseph Pevney, Jerry Hopper, Allen H. Miner, Earl Bellamy, Herschel Daugherty, David Butler, Christian Nyby, Sutton Roley, Sidney Lanfield, Andrew V. McLaglen, Mark Stevens, and William Witney. Fantastic writers included Norman Jolley, Jean Holloway, Aaron Spelling, Thomas Thompson, Calvin Clements, Gene L. Coon, David Swift along with Harold Swanton and John McGreevey contributed to some of the stories. "Wagon Train" was so popular it became the attraction for an impressive array of guest stars ranging from Bette Davis, Rhonda Fleming, Barbara Stanwyck, Lee Marvin, Ronald Reagan, Leslie Nielsen, Joan Crawford, Ernest Borgnine, Carolyn Jones, Robert Culp, Agnes Moorehead, Glibert Roland, Charles Bronson, James Caan, Burgess Meredith just to name a few. And lists goes on and on...."Wagon Train" kept on rolling in as the new regulars were added to the episodes until the train came to an end in the Spring of 1965.

A few years ago IMDb had more trivia and comments on this show. One of the things I remember is that when Bill Hawks joined the show he was traveling with his family. In later shows family is gone and claims he was never married. When did you change your format to exclude such valuable trivia?

As a lad way back in the day I was one big fan of this TV series. Even at that age I appreciated all the famous guest stars this series seemed to attract. Take a look at the film credits of Ward Bond. You can hardly find a player, male or female, who at one point did not work with Ward Bond. All the more remarkable when you consider his rightwing politics and championing of the blacklist. The man was hated in some circles, but apparently no one denied his talent.It was a simple concept, Ward Bond as Major Seth Adams and his team led a group of hardy pioneers across the plains and mountains to California post Civil War. EAch episode focused on those traveling in a particular wagon or someone they met on the way who was usually a name guest star.Wagon Train was enormously popular. When Ward Bond died in November of 1960 it was national news. It was quite a month, his death and that of Clark Gable almost put the election of a new president named Kennedy out of the headlines. Bond's death also allowed Wagon Train to pioneer what Law and Order later perfected, the revolving change of regulars. Only Frank McGrath and Terry Wilson stayed with the show for the entire run.Frank McGrath and Terry Wilson were a pair of stunt men who worked a whole lot for John Ford and though they had done some roles with dialog in front of the camera, Wagon Train made their faces familiar to the public. McGrath was funny little guy as cook Charlie Wooster who must have kept them all amused because the regulars were forever complaining about his lousy cooking.Wilson played Bill Hawks and comments have been made about the horrible continuity Wagon Train had. It sure did and the most glaring example was that when the show first started, Hawks had a wife named Emily in that first season. She was not only dropped. but later on Hawks referred to himself as a bachelor. Couldn't do that today.John McIntire replaced Bond and was more than adequate as the father figure wagonmaster. There was a good episode that introduced McIntire as a temporary and sadistic wagonmaster played by Lee Marvin takes over and at the same time, the train picks up McIntire who's just seen his family massacred by Indians. McIntire is a former wagonmaster and he and Marvin have a confrontation.Robert Horton was scout Flint McCullough and several episodes featured him in the lead and they took him to the places he was scouting with guest stars there for him to interact with. Supposedly political differences were pretty rife between him and Bond. He quit as he was planning to do anyway as I remember even after Bond died. Bad career move though, he never got anything as good as Flint McCullough again.After that a host of new regulars came on the show, Robert Fuller, Denny Miller, and Michael Burns. The train came to an end in 1965. I was sorry to see it end.Hallmark channel runs Wagon Train sometimes, here's hoping they start them again.