[March 08, 2014]      

Friday morning, with the sun shining brightly and temperatures soaring into the high 40s, the first step of repairing the world's largest covered wagon began.

The crew of Matthews Construction of Lincoln was at the wagon site to remove the broken pieces as well as some that were not broken, set the wagon in a more upright position, and move it to face a different direction.

Matthews Construction is owned and operated by Brad Matthews. He and the original builder of the wagon, David Bentley, are working together to rebuild the broken wheels and put the wagon back together. Both Matthews and Bentley were on hand to oversee the operations Friday.

To lift the wagon and shift its position, RBC Towing and Recovery of Lincoln brought out two of their semi-tractor tow trucks.  With one positioned on each side of the wagon, they worked together to do the realignment without causing further damage.

Pictures by Nila Smith

Abe can't be bothered with all this.  While the construction crew worked, he sat on the ground and continued reading his book.

The unbroken wheels on the south side of the wagon have to come off.

 

 

A forward view of the wagon's tilt.