Wagons stop at this station more often than trains lately

by Tom Dodd

There are not any “No U Turn” signs on East Cross Street by the railroad tracks. That’s because, when the street was originally laid out, it was made wider than most to allow space for teams (horses) to turn their wagons around in mid-block. The horse-drawn wagons were grocery wagons, brewery wagons, wagons from the mills, farm wagons, and wagons that hauled just about anything that is today hauled by trucks. “Station wagons” were another story…

Station wagons have taken new form since the days of World War II when up to 26 trains stopped in Ypsilanti every day. Station wagons ringed the block, picking up and leaving off soldiers, workers, travelers, and tourists. Today, no trains stop here, but the evolution of the depot hack continues into sports utility vehicles, vans and mini-vans, and assorted cross-over vehicles that seem unable to make up their minds. If the trains ever start stopping at Ypsi again, we’ll have plenty of kinds of station wagons to meet them.

Way back when: Northern Michigan resorts had their names painted on the sides and backs of wood-sided station wagons to pick up tourists and their baggage for the ride from the depot to the lake- or wood-side getaway. Ypsi’s earliest station wagons mostly carried country kids up the hill to the Normal School or husbands coming home from work in the Big City.

They’re called “station wagons” in the U.S., Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, but “estate cars” in Brit English. Old-time Aussies call theirs a “station sedan.”  In France, the same style vehicle is a “break de chasse” — literally “hunting break”. Some northern Michigan road hunters actually shoot from the rolled-down windows of today’s “breaks.”

Originally called “depot hacks” because they worked around train depots, a hackney carriage was the old name for taxi. Also known as a “carryall” or “suburban”, these nominations were used by General Motors from 1935 to the present day.

Earliest station wagons evolved from a truck chassis and were viewed as commercial vehicles along with vans and pickup trucks.   Today’s Cadillac and Lincoln behemoths have taken the concept far beyond anything seen at this depot district in the glory days of railroading.

Originally outsourced to custom body builders for all-wood bodies, station wagons evolved slowly into popularity. In 1919, Stoughton Wagon Company (Stoughton, Wisconsin) began putting custom wagon bodies on a Model T chassis and the first closed station wagon appeared here in 1924. Durant’s “Star” model is thought by station wagon experts to be the first car company to produce a factory-built model. “Woodie” roofs were made of stretched canvas treated with waterproofing.

By 1929 Ford was the biggest seller of station wagons. Ford owned its own hardwood forests and mills around Marquette, MI, and Louisville, KY, supplying the components for their popular Model A wagon.

Also in 1929, J. T. Cantrell put “woodie” bodies on Chrysler vehicles. In the mid-‘30s “woodies” became popular with more affluent drivers and, by 1941, the “Town and Country” model was the most expensive car in Chrysler’s lineup. It was also available as a “woodie” convertible model with no station wagon configuration other than the wood sides. The “Town and Country” label is still seen on Chrysler’s mini-vans.

Old “woodies” proved as difficult to maintain as vintage wood boats. Wood bodies, finished with varnishes that required recoating, bolts and screws, also required tightening as wood expanded and contracted through the seasons.

The Beach Boys rekindled the popularity of the “woodie” in the Fifties and Sixties with their surfer themed rock ‘n’ roll tunes.

Watch for “woodies” at the Orphan Car Show and at this summer’s Thursday Cruise Nights in Depot Town. The occasional “woodie” becomes the star attraction as it returns to its rightful place near the depot.

Station: A stopping place for travelers; sometimes a building, often only a signpost along the highway or rail line. Ypsi’s famous depot was also a station.

Depot: From Latin “depot,” and French “depositum” for something deposited.  A place for storage of equipment, food, or other commodities. Ypsi’s depot qualified because of its baggage building at the Detroit end and its freighthouse across the tracks.

Terminal: The stop at either end of the line. Ypsi held terminal status for only two years; then the tracks continued on to Ann Arbor, Chicago, and points west. Never eat at a “Terminal Diner”! It could mark the end of your eating habits.