1928 Chevrolet Hack Depot

By Jay Hirsch

By the early 1920 travel by train in the United States was common, convenient, and luxurious, depending on what wanted to spend. Hotels were built at seaside resorts, scenic mountain areas, and lakeside pleasure spots. The people traveling by train to these destinations needed ground transportation their hotel they or their private estate.

The “Hack Depot” vehicle was born, a forerunner of the station wagon. The Hack Depot was usually a pickup truck chassis that was sent to one of the several companies that made wooden bodies to be placed on the truck chassis. The term Hack Depot was used to describe what the vehicle did — it transported people from a train station to a nearby hotel or resort,

Wealthy people of the era — who could have owned in addition to their city house a summer estate, an estate for the fall, and even a winter retreat in a warm climate — were one of the prime owners of Hack Depots. They would have one of their house servants meet them at the train station and load the Hack with whatever luggage they had and take them to their estate house.

The 1928 Chevrolet Hack Depot seen here is one of those privately-owned vehicles. It was built for Edward Livingston Jr. to be used at his house Mystery Point, located in Putnam County, N.Y. Mystery Point was 300 acres on the scenic Hudson River. 

The engine used in the 1928 Chevrolet was the OHV-4 cyl/171 cid/2.8 liter engine putting out 35 hp. The Chevy had four-wheel mechanical brakes. In 1929 Chevrolet would introduce their new inline OHV 6 cyl/193.9 cid/3.2 liter engine, affectionately called “stovebolt.”

Edward died in the 1930s and his sister Clarissa had the Chevrolet shipped to her house in Florida where it remained until 1946 when it was returned to its home in Putnam Valley. At this time Daniel Munro, who took care of the grounds of the estate and lived there, became the owner of the Chevy. It was a registered and running vehicle until 1962 and had 52,000 miles on it. The wood was starting to deteriorate and the Chevy …

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