Wagon Train - The hour-long western drama WAGON TRAIN/NBC/ABC/1957-65 told the stories of the people who traveled west by wagon train from St. Joseph, Missouri to California in the days following the Civil War. The series featured Ward Bond as Wagonmaster Major Seth Adams who shouted his signature catchphrase "Wagons HO!"; John McIntire as Wagonmaster Christopher Hale [who replaced Seth Adams]; Terry Wilson as assistant Wagonmaster Bill Hawks; Robert Horton as frontier scout Flint McCullough; Scott Miller as frontier scout Duke Shannon; Robert Fuller as frontier scout Cooper Smith; and Frank McGrath as trial cook, Charlie Wooster.      

Wooster, Hale, Hawks, and Cooper

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THEME SONG LYRICS

"Roll On Wagon Train"
Music by Sammy Fain,
 and lyrics by Jack Brooks,

Roll along Wagon Train.

Rollin over prairie where there ain’t no grass,
Rollin over mountain where there ain’t no pass.
Sittin on a board eye in the weather,
Prayin to the Lord we stay together
Side by side on the Wagon Train.
Wagon Train, roll along.

Pickin up a passenger in every town,
Wonderin if he’s ever gonna shoot you down.
Lookin for a pal, ain’t it a pity,
Lookin for a gal, needn’t be pretty
If she’ll ride on the Wagon Train.
Wagons ho!

Gotta keep em on the run.
Time to go! And follow the sun.
Roll along Wagon Train.

Never had a cabin near a general store,
Only had a wagon and a forty four.
Sittin on a board. Eyein the weather
Prayin to the Lord we stay together
Side by side on the Wagon Train.

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Other programs to showcase wagon train travel included:  

Dusty's Trail/SYN/1973 - Western comedy about a wagon train going west lead by Mr. Callahan (Forrest Tucker) and his bumbling trail assistant, Dusty (Bob Denver). The rest of the passengers were derivative of the characters on GILLIGAN'S ISLAND/CBS/1964-67  (a rich couple, two girls and a guy). (30 Minutes)   

The Oregon Trail/NBC/1977 - Set in 1842, this was the story of an Illinois family who trekked west by wagon train to find a new home in Oregon. Family members included widower, Evan Thorpe (Rod Taylor); Andrew (Andrew  Stevens); William (Tony Becker) and Rachael (Gina Marie Smika). (60 Minutes)   

The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters/ABC/1963-64 - Frontier adventures of Jaimie McPheeters, a 12-year-old boy traveling with his scalawag father, "Doc" Sardius McPheeters (Dan O'Herlihy) as they headed west to the California gold fields by wagon train in the year 1849. (60 Minutes)