During the golden age of the TV Western, a few series ruled the ranch (that is a completely legitimate idiom), among them Wagon Train, the tale of a wagon train making its way from Missouri to California. The series had a large cast of regulars, as well as weekly guest stars that donned gun belts and bonnets (though usually not at the same time).

The show was based on the 1950 film Wagon Master and Ward Bond, one of the film's stars, made the transition to television as Major Seth Adams, leader of the wagon train. Maj. Adams traveled a dangerous and adventurous trail but he had the help of a good group of scouts that rode with him. Robert Horton and Robert Fuller played scouts Flint McCullough and Cooper Smith and Frank McGrath played Charlie Wooster, cook extraordinaire.

The large distance the wagon train had to cover meant that there was a variety of terrains and backdrops to travel through and every frontier danger you could imagine. Bandits, hostile Indians and smugglers routinely attacked the wagon train and perpetrated all sorts of evil deeds on our heroes; pistol-whipping was a big favorite, as was being left to die in the desert with no food or water. The frontier was a tough, tough place.

New faces and characters appeared every week and some notable guest stars rode along with the wagon train gang. The pilot episode featured Ernest Borgnine and later episodes saw the likes of Barbara Stanwyck, Lee Marvin, Leslie Nielsen, Bette Davis and Peter Lorre. Ward Bond died suddenly in the middle of the fourth season and was replaced by John McIntire as wagon master Christopher Hale, though no explanation was given within the show.

Wagon Train aired on NBC from 1957 to 1962 and then moved to ABC until 1965 with few changes in the characters' lineup. It was one of the most popular shows during its time but, inevitably, ratings did decline in the last two seasons and it was cancelled.