What was the purpose of a depot hack?

[Eccentric Old Guy]

What was the purpose of a depot hack?

eog

[gz]

Think about it as an SUV, minivan or a very small shuttle bus. It would have had two or three rows of bench seats and a small storage area for luggage. Some also had roof racks for additional luggage.

The original purpose was to hall a small group of passengers and light luggage. It would have typically been used for short distances such as in between a train depot to a hotel or into town.

The name "depot hack" originated during the horse-drawn carriage days and was carried over into the automotive era during its first two decades. The name "hack" was often applied to various commercial horse-drawn wagons. By the 1930s, the name "depot hack" became obsolete and was replaced with station wagon.

[J Franklin]

Hack was a word related to horses. A horse rented out was called a hack. Most likely the word hack was transfered to a horse drawn cab, and then horseless cabs, and then specifically to the cabs (hacks) that hung artound the train, bus, and aeroport. Thus Depot Hack. You still hear the term hack for a cab depending on where you live.

[A bones]

Originally Posted by gz

Think about it as an SUV, minivan or a very small shuttle bus. It would have had two or three rows of bench seats and a small storage area for luggage. Some also had roof racks for additional luggage.

The original purpose was to hall a small group of passengers and light luggage. It would have typically been used for short distances such as in between a train depot to a hotel or into town.

The name "depot hack" originated during the horse-drawn carriage days and was carried over into the automotive era during its first two decades. The name "hack" was often applied to various commercial horse-drawn wagons. By the 1930s, the name "depot hack" became obsolete and was replaced with station wagon.

Originally Posted by J Franklin

Hack was a word related to horses. A horse rented out was called a hack. Most likely the word hack was transfered to a horse drawn cab, and then horseless cabs, and then specifically to the cabs (hacks) that hung artound the train, bus, and aeroport. Thus Depot Hack. You still hear the term hack for a cab depending on where you live.

Nice work guys. I never thought about the term,just knew of the purpose.

[Stretch Cab]

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My grandfather built the "Hack" that I have now. I helped him 50 years ago or so to gather the parts to build a re-creation of the model he drove as a young person between Ft. Pierce and Okeechobee, Fl. He hauled laundry both ways from the cleaner and back. As a put-together reproduction it isn't valuable but to me it is priceless!