Horse Drawn Oddity

JSMcustoms

JSMcustoms

Joined
Feb 2, 2012
Messages
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The title more or less says it all. I saw this across the street from my home earlier and was wondering what this thing is and/or is used for. Does anyone know?

[video=youtube;xQdDiXP-lAY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQdDiXP-lAY[/video]
 
It's a glass sided hearse. Back in the day the deceased were either carried in the casket to the graveyard by pall bearers or driven out on a wagon or hearse depending on the local resources. They may still be used, a horse drawn funeral procession in considered a high honor today.
 
Yes that's what it seems . I've seen in movies and other sources photo's of highly decorated hearses , the hearse itself and horses -going in style !
 
theHobbyist said:
Looks like a horse hearse... therefore I concur?
Did you see them loading anyone/anything into it?
Click to expand...

No, I didn't see them load anyone or anything in to it. It left the parking lot and headed down the road empty. Nice to know what it is now though.
 
Oddly enough I saw a funeral procession headed by a horse drawn hearse yesterday. Not a common occurrence at all in Birmingham but it adds a touch of class I think.
 
Exactly, it is a traditional horse-drawn, glass-side hearse. It appears empty, so I suspect it's either on the way to a funeral parlor or on the way back home after a committal which would also explain why it is alone and not part of a procession.

There is a craftsman somewhere on the east coast -- I read a story somewhere in the last year of so -- who has taken up building these hearses again. Each one is hand-built. He does a very small number per-year. They sell for well into five figures, as I recall. And the story noted that he has a long waiting list as funeral directors are looking for new products and services to sell in a competitive market.
 
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It was probably on the way to the church up the road from my home (about a half mile or a little more). It left headed that way empty and returned empty a couple of hours later and was loaded up in a trailer.
 
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