History Being Made! The 20 Mules Hitched to the New Borax Wagons 

As a child I watched and loved the Death Valley Days show on TV with my brother and mother. My grandmother had a model of the 20 mule team in her formal dining room -- with the wagons, water trailer, 20 mule team and two men -- one on the brakes and one on the lead donkey -- the whole outfit. I don't know the date of it for sure but I suspect she got it and put it together sometime in the early1950s. I got it when she died and still have it. Great memories, great U.S. history.......

What a privilege it is to see a repeat of history. As a relatively new immigrant (legal) I had the great opportunity to watch Engel's Coach shop make and assemble these old Borax wagons !! A great part of history !! Thank you and God Bless !!

Wow! Great attention to details and maintaining the legacy of these wagons and our country's history. As has been said; "a man who enjoys his job will never work a day in his life'. While I know how hard this work is, you appear to have enjoyed the entire process. Thank you to all involved in this project.

My paternal grandfather was a teamster on those wagons and an accomplished wheelwright. My family had many old photographs from those days all donated to museums now. I am so thankful to you and your team for the craftsmanship, teamwork, and especially for sharing the series on RU-vid. I'm also really happy that I found it!

I'm 64 y/o now, but I keenly remember Watching Death Valley Days on TV, as a young boy, with my father. He was a huge fan of the show. He grew up in rural Wisconsin, plowing fields and picking rocks in the 1920's with a team of draft horses (Jake and Prince). He sent away for, and built, a wooden model of the "20 mule team" wagon train. I think this was a show promo from one on the show sponsors...possibly a beer company. He lovingly assembled that model, fitting it together with jewelers chain. When he was done, it was a work of art. I still have it. Watching your wonderful video brought tears to my eyes as I thought about my dad. I'm sure he was only one of many "old timers" who were sitting at the edges of Heaven watching and cheering as you rolled out the completed wagons and those 20 mules. I know that he loved it. God bless you, congratulations on your efforts, and many, many, thanks!!!!

When I was a kid I apprenticed under Bill Calhoun who claimed he had worked on the original Wagons in 1882. We built a single wagon in 1958, Bill was way up in his 90's I worked for him for a couple of years before he passed away, he was a fine Blacksmith, a Wheelwright and friend. Sure would have like to have seen this in person.

68 here and can't say "years young"....lol I still remember the 20 Mule Team Borax adds on Death Valley Days as a little fellow. Amazing thing, that TV, it had us all mightily impressed. That program took us back around 100 years. You just took us back around 70 more on top of that. Amazing work you all do!! Thanks for sharing a look at it. AMEN.

nothing quite like the feeling of a job well done.. beautiful work and the video series you put together is splendid.. thanks so much for taking the time..

im awe struck by the craftsmanship by you and your team! Amazing!

By sheer coincidence I stumbled into this fantastic series of movies on the construction of these cars. Magnificient job! and your over-relaxed voice-over makes David Attenborough sound like an hyperactive toddler... Big, big compliments, and greetings from the Netherlands!

I am in awe - from start to finish of the complete build. You sir, are beyond a Master Craftsman. A laborer uses his hands. A craftsman uses his hands and his mind. But an artist uses his hands, his mind and his heart. You are truly a Master Artist.

This is amazing, you people reenact your past, doing the things your ancestors did keeping your ancestry alive, only if more folks around the world did the same...

I am 65. I temember as a little boy , my Grandfather had mules and horses. We had a wagon we went to town in Taking produce that grandad grew. I remember my Dad would put the rains over his sholders while plowing . He could pull out a bulldurahm sack of tobacco and roll a smoke one handed. Holding the tobacco sack in his teeth. the other hand on the plow handle.

Absolutely wonderful. I smith a little and do woodwork with period tools so this has a special place in my heart. I love this. Great work to all and God bless.

Beautiful mule team, beautiful wagons, excellent accomplishment.....Congratulations to all involved. Thanks much !

Like many of the others who have commented - i'm old now- 69 - but i watched this TV show- Death Valley Days - every week - with my parents and younger sisters. This video sure brings back many old and happy memories. Thank you for making it possible!!

What an incredible feat of craftsmanship, endurance and perseverance honoring those who walked the paths before us. This truly is a historic event recreated by a team driven by a passion and respect for times of old. Well done to all of you. At ten tons empty, I see why 20 mules are needed-------15 for the wagon weight and 5 for the borax:-) This has been my favorite series thus far....but I have many more "Engels Coach Shop" videos to watch. Thank you!

Those wagons are an awesome piece of fabrication. Well done.

To paraphrase an old expression: "Many hooves make light work." 😊 I just want to say thank you for recreating the 20 mule team and showing us just how hard the old Mule Skinners really had to work to keep the whole thing going. Cheers!

My great-grandfather Fiscus used to haul freight with mules in Wyoming. Showed this video, and others, to my Son. Thank you for uploading and sharing the mules and the construction of the wagons.

The workmanship, the photography, and presentation were top notch! Really enjoyed the series as I've done some woodworking and machining. THANKS !

what a delightful thing to watch! I had no interest in Wagons, borax or otherwise, but came across the making of the wheels. The calm and informative commentary gradually drew me in, such a good view into the craftmanship, and it looks like a happy bunch of people involved. Now I have to watch the whole series, so relaxing compared to the frenzy of modern life. Thank you all .

This wonderful video gave me a sense of what my grandfather did on a daily basis being a freighter, using up to 20 animals. His teams pulled heavy cast iron items on his freight wagons, used in the production of gold, destined for the early gold mines in the Boise Basin of Idaho. Thank you profusely for this amazing production. It will serve as a means for my grandchildren to understand more clearly the early lives of our family.

Well, this whole scene puts a huge lump in my throat. I am 73 years old and I remember well the old Ronald Reagan narrations of the Tv show. It is quite a memory - as they had footage of the 20 mules team pulling the borax wagons- I suppose the same wagons you fellows had to model this new train from. When I was a boy of 9, my father owned a small sawmill in Missouri cutting props for mines off of contract cutting on various owner's land. The trees were generally pine but also some oak and other species. The biggest trees would be upward of 18-inch diameter. Because of the way the hills and forest was and the select cutting, there were no hauling roads. The logs were hauled out- skidded one at a time- from the forest to the mill. So tandem mule teams were used for this. These were huge mules of drayage stock and I was given a team, shown how to work with them, told where to go, what colored rags to follow to get to the felled log, snatch it with a set of tongs so big I could hardly lift them, and lead the mules in and out back to the mill where the men at the mill would take the log and I would then be given a little map, usually written on grocery sack paper, to go get another log. Most days, I would skid two logs in the morning and two in the afternoon. There were three other teams working other parts of the local woods to help keep the mill supplied with logs. I attended school at a very small, one room school house with all 12 grades taught by a single teacher, three days a week- and that schedule was not unusual for kids on working farms and such (this is why I had to repeat the 4th, 5th and 6th grades). The two mules I had were Bess and Old Tom- both black with white blaze and hooves and so broad, it was like doing the splits to ride on heir back- which I seldom did- I always walked leading them. That was my team- we skidders never switched teams since the mules grew accustomed to our voices and commands. Those mules were much smarter than I was at the time- they knew their jobs and how to do it right. If you tried to get them to do something dumb, they just would not do it- they were uncanny- to me, they were just like regular people and I thought of them as friends and apparently, they thought of me that way as well for they never did anything but occasionally steal from my lunch sack- an apple or a candy bar- once, my whole dang lunch went down a mule gullet, with the paper sack! But I was very young and had a childish mind full of imagination so we would amble along with me singing and talking and telling them stories- they were excellent listeners, too... Then my Dad lost the sawmill to the bankers,. the day they took the mill I was off at school and when I came back, trucks had come and taken all the mules and the most of the mill. When my Dad explained what had happened I cried like a baby. My Mules were gone- they were my best friends...It took me a very long time to get over it. So, seeing these mules doing this work so confidently and with such will, smarts, and determination, I kind of get emotional.

Wow, I'm not tearing-up, but right on the edge. Amazing. Those mules seamed comfortable pulling the empty wagons uphill.

When I was a boy I remember the death valley days on tv,so thank you sharing the video.

Awesome....brings back so many memories. Its great to see this history preserved.

Outstanding work guys... job well done!! It's a beautiful site to see them all hitched up on video... I bet it is more impressive to see in person... Thanks for sharing this beautiful series of the 20 mule team Borax wagons!!!

No doubt you thoroughly enjoyed seeing your craftsmanship working properly. Excellent job.

Great video. No music, no gimmicks, thank you guys !

That is incredible to watch and know that back in the day our ancestors had so much going for them to even try such a thing. Then a man comes along and replicates that very event by making by hand copies of once was. Hats off to everyone connected in this monumentous effort. If I were a movie producer I would love to do a story on the men who drove these huge rigs and to the men who organized all those mules. Job more than well done.

Outstanding video! Those wagons are absolutely beautiful! I was amazed that the empty load is Ten Tons!!! Thankyou for sharing this wonderful achievement! 😃👍

Yes! the TV program was Death Valley Days. A trip down memory lane. Again, thank you for sharing.

I cant tell you how much I appreciate you documenting this. I've been to Death Valley a number of times - it is easily one of the most beautiful places on Earth. I always stop and the Borax works and marvel at the wagons. It is always the brakes that get me the most. There is no easy gentle slope into or out of the Valley, the patience and skill required to navigate the old roads is amazing.

I started out hours ago just watching how the wheels were made and ended up watching the whole series. All the steps were shown, but the decades that it took to acquire the skill to perform them were left to the imagination. I'm a mechanical engineer, and this whole process was a work of art. Thanks for posting it.

It takes great passion to commit so much time, money, sweat, and precision to bring history to life. This is a treasure. Bless you.

Great videos and wonderful craftsmanship. You must have been proud to see it all work out. Congratulations!

The wagons are pretty cool but I love the mules! Such wonderful animals. Hee haw!

Wonderful……it’s good to remember our history….what dedication to build these wagons…..and first time drive for these mules….I hope they did it every day for a week to smooth it out

Wow truly amazing seeing the team pulling the wagons, gave me goosebumps. Emotions must have been high that day!?

Thank you ALL so much for your video's the documentation that will always be with us and generations to come. You have put a large foot print down on our Planet Earth that will forever show why Americans draw favor to our one and only God ! Amen

This may be an older video, but it was worth watching. Thank you to the crew who did all the hard work and the camera person who shot the video. great job.

What a great project of love... dad farmed with draft horses until the mid-1930's in Saskatchewan and Manitoba... and some of his inlaws had mules they logged and such with, he wasn't too fond of mules but would almost cry when he'd see draft horses in his later years he was so fond of them and their part in his youth. He'd have been 100 this year :)

Awesome , to watch these Mules work b together. Enjoy watchin the different wagons and coaches plus carts being made . Thank Yo for sharing Mr. Engel

This is may be the most fantastic thing I've ever seen on youtube!

The whole thing is fantastic. What a tremendous amount of work went into making those wagons. I'm old enough to remember the local blacksmith making all kinds of bits and pieces of iron work on his forge.....but especially horseshoes. It's great to be able to watch a real blacksmith make all those intricate bits and pieces that go into such a set of wagons. Thankfully you folks had an original to work from. So much of that kind of history is lost forever. Long may these wagons roll on !!!

So wonderful to see the fruits of skilled craftsmen working and looking so good well done

Dear Mr. Engels, This has been a most enjoyable and informative documentary series and I greatly appreciate that you have taken the time and effort to make this. Your voice is as steady as the iron and wood you work. Thank you

I watched the building of the short version of the wagons and water wagon being built and this video are very good. The knowledge it takes to build the wagons and to handle the mules is imperative.

Wow, I remember the commercials on black and white TV, the box's in the store. What a job of craftsmanship you have done, a real recreation of history, something none of these young folk, haha me at 67 have never got to see. Thank you sir.

Thanks for posting. All three have been interesting and exciting vids. I am an antique freak and really appreciate authentic action of days gone by. Shows, too, how easy our lives are today. Thanks again.

My family have been using 20 Mule Team Borax as long as I can remember. When I was a kid my mother had sent away for a 20 Mule Team plastic model for me to assemble (I like making models) and add to my collection of models. It is fantastic to see one in action and hear the bells. I am very impressed by the craftsmanship. Great job I must say.........

That must have been a rare site to see even back in the 1880s! To see it in the 21century is something else entirely. Thank you. it is an image that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Can not imagine the pride that you felt seeing the wagons being pulled. Amazing work. Thank you

Seeing the ""pointer mules" in action was very impressive. I never knew jumping the chains was part of a mule's duty sometime.

This achievement is simply amazing! I am so impressed that men can organize and control 20 animals to do such a feat! It was beautiful to watch. Those wagons are so beautiful and the workmanship is fantastic. Was there water in the tank wagon to adjust the pulling weight? What was this wagon for? Remembering and experiencing our history like this is very impressive. Thank you.

Thanks so much. Beautiful wagons. Mule’s look beautiful also😊

Whenever I come to despair of this modern world and its peoples' near total reliance on goods about whose manufacture they know nothing but on which their lives are ever increasingly (self) centered; I will watch this series again -- sure in the knowledge that in small pockets of the world there exist folk such as yourselves; keeping the critical basic crafts alive and passing on their invaluable store of knowledge to their posterity. Thank you again for sharing with us.

ABSOLUTELY Amazing......I hope the knowledge and skillful techniques of the wheelwright continues forever....! Thanks for sharing I enjoyed watching immensely..!

In 1983, I was 15, my grandpa showed us how , when he was a young man, to plow with a mule. I will never forget that lesson. It gave me a great appreciation of a tractor as I cut several of acres of hay in hours rather than days and not having to deal with power that had its own brain! I could sit rather than walk! My gramps was born in rural Arkansas in 1912. He taught a lot of the old ways to me and now at 52 I am so glad he did. My kids will never know those ways, even though I have tried. I still have my gramps old mule collars, traces, etc. They are very old and cherished. I would love to have his old Springfield wagon. How would these mules do with a full load of Death Valley gold? (Borax).

Bet you were proud of making history, mule history happen. What an effort mule powet must have been. Wonderful effort.

I remember as a child my mom used a borax laundry soap and there was an offer on the box for a model of the 20 mule team with all 3 wagons. My Father got two of them and put one together for me to play with and put the second together as a display. That one got painted so it looked original. Y’all did a wonderful job building the new wagons!!

I am building the vintage model kit and this is surreal. Thanks for the inspiration. What an accomplishment.

I am a little choked up with appreciative emotion for you all and the Mules and horses. Thanks.

Very interesting how the mules jump back over the chain after the turn. Cool stuff.

Just Amazing! Thanks for listing this !!

What a team of men and women who made this happen. I just found your channel today and watched the whole series. Spectacular for sure. Thank you so much. I remember on my Grandfathers farm that we used horses for many chores and I got to drive them as a small boy when I was 5 or 6, now at 74 that is so much fun to watch. You made all that history come alive for many of us. Thanks. John in Pensacola, Fl.

I watched the entire build. I was amazed of how solid and how well build these wagons seem to be so I did a little bit of reading only to find out that fully loaded they weighed 73,200 pounds (33.2 metric tons), and during their 6 years of hauling borax 165 miles (275 km) across the Mojave Desert, not one of these Borax wagons ever broke down! An impressive build and impressive engineering of 1880.

Third time for me watching this video completely from start to finish. I just love the mules jumping the chain on the turn and the hard pull right at the end. Thank you for posting.

A wonderful end to a wonderful series! You and your team must be very proud!

My Great-Great Grandpa named Frank Duntley drove that wagon. What a wonderful treat to find this video, thank you.

Great application of old world craftsmanship and a beauty to behold.Not trying to be smart but if those mules were struggling over the last hump in the road with empty wagons, how would they do with tons of borax on board?

Amazing! A few years ago we traveled through the west and I remember a road overpass that was named 20 Mule Team road. As I drove under it I asked my wife how many people who drive through this route actually know about the Borax route and the 20 Mule Team. I fondly remeber the TV show with The Old Ranger.

I was at Mule DAys in 2011. Bobby Taner had a 20 up mule hitch then.. It most of been an old one. Yes It took me three photos on my camera and it must of streatched a quarter mile,, front to back. Glad Bobby Tanner keeps this tradaition alive and well.

I watched to see if they would jump the chain. I was not disappointed!

I have seen those many times standing in Mustard Canyon and in front of Furnace Creek Ranch, asking myself how that was working back then.... Awesome recreation and very, very impressive. Thanks a lot!!

Congratulations; a great project well done. Nice to see all the smiling faces.

What a great video, all of the series. Great enjoyment in watching this. Thanks for the presentation.

That's Fantastic ! Hats off to the entire crew, 👏

Marvelous job, I am so happy to have found you guys. So happy there's still folks like you around. Faith in humanity has been restored. 😂

Beautiful! Wonderful! Thank you for sharing the whole video set, and the process. A job well done!!

Outstanding series of uploads - impressive workmanship to original standards - all add up to an inspired collection which comprise this playlist. Thanks for the huge amount of work involved both in construction and filming, I enjoyed all efforts with relish... *_kudos_*

Hearing the wagons roll and watching the dust raise totally sent a shiver down my spine... very cool!

Had a family friend Bo hamby who worked for TVA running teams of mules back in the 30s . He was 13 years old . would run two teams . one in the morning till lunchtime and the other till dark. He was 13 . we were and still can be at times a great country. God bless a great stewardship.

beautifully made wagons thank you very much for your craftsmanship and skill

Thanks for sharing this series of such a wonderful skilled people that unfortunately are becoming extinct.

I really enjoyed this video , thank you for taking the time to make it

I remember watching "Death Valley Days" on TV when I was a child. Brings back memories. Thanks for uploading the video.

Thank you for sharing the old ways and excellence in craftsmanship. Well done!

wow, very impressive on so many levels. and congratulations, thank you for posting!

OMG! What a fabulous video. Thank you so much for sharing this. It is an iconic re-creation of a seminal time in the history of the West. Your team is to be congratulated for this gift.I clearly remember the 20 mule team Borax commercials on early TV. It has been more than 60 years, but I vaguely remember there was a TV program using the mule teams. but my memory isn't as sharp as it used to be so I may be wrong in my assumption. None the less, I thoroughly enjoyed this video, one of the best, in my opinion, on You Tube. Cheers.

My 6 year old girl and i thank you for showing us.

Everything beautiful and perfect; weather formations, scenery, wagons and, especially, all the matched mules. Thanks for posting ECS.

Wonderful! Cannot imagine that in high summer. Our ancestors were tough!

I had a model of these when I wad a kid! I painted it and my dad put the whole shebang on a 1x4 pine board. Got it from the Borax laundry treatment. Love mules! This is a wonderful hitch!

One has got to be impressed by the thought and work that went into these wagons. Doubly impressed too by the weight these mules had to pull across the hot and cold dusty desert. We were told a cumulatively empty, the wagons weighed 10 tons. Now, add the weight of the wagons filled with Borax along with the water filled water wagon and you've really got to be impressed by the mule power. Thank you so much for the series and this reality trip back into history.

THE WAGONS ARE BEAUTIFUL & CAN HAUL A LOT OF WEIGHT. GREAT JOB MAKING THEM . A LOT OF TEAM WORK IN MAKING THE WAGONS FINDING GOOD WOOD & MATHEMATICS & CRAFTSMANSHIP ! THAN FINDING , TEACHING , TRAINIG THE MULES TO WORK TOGETHER . TAKES A LOT OF PEOPLE / OF DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS / TO FIGURE THIS OUT , PLAIN , PROCEED TO SHOW IT CAN BE DONE TOO . YES I USE TO WATCH THE SHOW ON BLACK & WHITE TV . THE GOOD OLD DAYS ! THANK YOU MR. FOX ! BE SAFE ! GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS ON YOUR JOURNEYS ! ENJOYED !

Beautiful ! I doubt the originals were this perfect.

Hats off to the crew. You have made my computer a time machine.

Thank you . I feel really good watching that. Happy trails.