Wagon Train
The Ben Engel Story
TV Flash files “The Ben Engel Story” as hour 252 of 284 in the TV Flash guide — Wagon Train (1957–1965) on NBC/ABC, season 7, episode 26, aired 1964-03-16, 90 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S07E26: listed hour 252 of 284 in the Wagon Train guide, hour 26 of 32 in season 7. It aired 1964-03-16 (90 min). The listed hour before it is “The Duncan McIvor Story” (S07E25). Next is “The Whipping” (S07E27).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Ben Engel and his employee Harry Diel are moving the Engle store to the west. During the Civil War, Engle paid Diel to take his place. Diel was subsequently decorated as a war hero.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Ben Engel Story sit in the Wagon Train guide?
S07E26 is listed hour 252 of 284 — hour 26 of 32 in season 7, season 7 episode 26.
When did Wagon Train S07E26 air?
The Ben Engel Story aired 1964-03-16 and is listed at 90 minutes.
Where should I start?
Start in the Ward Bond era, when the wagon master is the monument, then sample the John McIntire handoff if you want the continuity drama.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Wagon Train is a moving town of guest stars: the prairie as anthology stagecoach, Ward Bond then John McIntire after a mid-run death. Watch it now as the late-1950s ratings giant behind Gunsmoke — migration myth as weekly guest-star theater, trail dust as a continuity problem the network actually had to solve.
The work is a convoy that is also a guest list. *Wagon Train* (NBC then ABC, 1957–1965) turns the prairie into an anthology stagecoach: 284 episodes, eight seasons, Ward Bond as Major Seth Adams until his death in 1960, John McIntire taking over as Christopher Hale, Robert Horton as Flint McCullough, Frank McGrath as Charlie Wooster. Hollywood names drop into the convoy. Semi-anthology structure. The west isn't won; it is episodically negotiated. That is the form.
Filed against
- Ward Bond as Major Seth Adams
Ward Bond’s Major Seth Adams drove Wagon Train as a moving town of guest stars — the prairie as anthology stagecoach, late-1950s ratings giant behind Gunsmoke, migration myth as weekly theater. Trail dust as a continuity problem the…
- Robert Horton as Flint McCullough
Robert Horton's Flint McCullough scouted Wagon Train as a moving town of guest stars — prairie as anthology stagecoach, Ward Bond then John McIntire after a mid-run death, late-1950s ratings giant behind Gunsmoke. TV Flash files him as…
- John McIntire as Christopher Hale
John McIntire’s Christopher Hale took Wagon Train after a moving-town anthology needed a new wagon master — 1950s catalog prairie as guest-star stagecoach, then Naked City stretching the gravel into eight million stories. TV Flash files…
- Frank McGrath as Charlie Wooster
Frank McGrath cooked the trail as Charlie Wooster on Wagon Train — prairie as anthology stagecoach, Ward Bond then John McIntire, a moving town of guest stars. Late-1950s ratings giant behind Gunsmoke. TV Flash files him as catalog wagon…