FINALLY! A Cat CT660 in the wild! I’ve seen more than enough at trade shows and the dealer lot but never one on the mean streets of life. Belonging to Costello Blacktop Paving this truck was one of three (Mack and Freightliner) working to pave the bottom floor of a new parking garage. Yes, that very parking garage we watched rise from the earth two short months ago.
Cat CT660 – Click to Enlarge
Today we have the heavier side of the Dobbins scrap yard. The gallery below contains trucks of all shapes and makes. I even added a few Walters that were lost in the avalanche of material. There are a more than a few unique vehicles to be found in the photos below. As far as the buses go I really like the looks of the old Henderson Central School rig and what appears to be a Ford wearing military paint and lettering. Finding a ’62 Chevy wearing a door that read Santaro-Taroson was a geek moment for me. I am familiar with the Santaro Trucking company from modern times but never realized there was once a partner in the business. On the second page of the gallery you will find a strange looking hood that once belonged to a White Truck, or least that is my guess. The paint scheme matches a nearby White cab but I get a Brockway way vibe when I first glance at the hood. The grab handle gives me a Hayes feel. What do you think?
Yes. That is snow in the background. No. This is not a recent photo. Thank God! I grabbed this photo back in March and forgot about it until now. Kobelco and Komatsu excavators of all shapes and sizes.
Kobelco and Komatsu Excavators – Click to Enlarge
This equipment was participating in the demolition of Kennedy Square. A former public housing complex in downtown Syracuse. You may recall a Komatsu PCL600LC was used to slowly dismantle two multistory structures. Over the months I accumulated plenty of footage of the demolition. Now that the project is nearing a close it feels right to clean out the archives and publish what remains. Now about this Cat 345BL. A stocky looking machine.
Cat 345BL Excavator – Click to Enlarge
Jumping back to more current times we have a few of the machines from above working to sort scrap and feed a concrete crusher.
Hopefully in the near future I will be able to grab footage of new construction on this very land courtesy of an ever expanding SUNY Upstate.
My wife happened to take some great shots of two different milling machines being hauled by two different Mack trucks. Below you see a NYSDOT Mack Granite hauling a Bomag 600/15 Cold Planer. According to photos on Bomag’s website this machine is nimble enough to mill a circle around a manhole opening.
NYSDOT Bomag – Click to Enlarge
For the larger jobs we have this Marini MP-2100 miller owned by the Lan-Co Companies. I had never heard of Marini before seeing this photo so I did some searching. As it turns out they are owned by Fayat Group, a French company that just so happen to be the parent company to Bomag. Everything and everyone is connected!
Marini Cold Planer – Click to Enlarge
Today we return to the junk yard to visit a trio of old White Trucks. All three were located at the now infamous Dobbins Auto Parts in Adams, NY. Like many of the other vehicles on this property they have been ravaged and savaged for decades. The White 9000 you see below once belonged to Super Motor Lines of Greensboro. The best I can tell this particular company went out of business in the early 90′s.
White 9000 – Click to Enlarge
Please enjoy a tour of the three by watching the video below.
I feel like I have been neglecting the Mack truck fans over the past few weeks so please accept this mint RM as an apology.
Mack RM Plow – Click to Enlarge
For those that are all about the details this truck is a 1987 RM6884X with a E-6 diesel (350HP) and a 9 speed Maxitorque transmission. Differential lock and 4WD included. The odometer only showed 97,000 miles.
As far as rust goes I couldn’t find any. Dents, smashes or dings? None. The interior was clean and well kept. There was neat plaque on the dash that read “Custom Built for the Town of Arcadia.” That being said I felt really cramped in this cab compared to the Internationals, Autocars and late model Macks at the auction. But that really doesn’t matter, this truck was awesome.
Mack RM Plow Truck – Click to Enlarge
Here is a video of the Mack while running including a walk around and cab visit. At one point in the video I felt like I was at a carnival with all the low air buzzers, ringer and beepers going of in the trucks around me. Ahhhh, the auction lot.
I thought this was an interesting catch considering the load was untarped. I’m guessing the rolls out back are aluminum that originated from mills in Oswego or Massena, NY. Just a guess.
TMC Transporation – Click to Enlarge
Check back later this afternoon (5/14) for intense Mack truck action.
Probably more than a few people saw the Brockway post from the other day and happened to notice the Autocar in the background. Hopefully they didn’t toss and turn in their sleep wondering if they would ever be able to see more of the truck. Here it is!
According the auction paper work this truck is a 1985 model. I’m not sure of the exact specs because I forgot to check the door jam for the detailed information. Ooops. You can be assured that this truck has a Cummins matted to an 18 speed. No shortage of gears here!
The former owner of this truck was the Town of Pendleton, NY. The rust is just starting to take hold in the usual places (above windshield) on this classic Autocar cab. The fenders are the next obvious trouble spot.
The Cummins in this rig loved to produce smoke. I left the door open while filming so you could hear that sweet diesel rumble. At one point the wind decided to change course and started to blow the exhaust right back into the cab. If you look closely you can see if drifting by the lense. The hood on this truck is very long. Toss a plow and a wing to the mix and I don’t know how any driver can accurately see what is going on…..and that is on a clear day! Just something to keep in mind the next time you “need” to pass a plow.
Click to Enlarge
Click to Enlarge
Another Saturday another auction! Yesterday I went to the yearly municipal vehicle auction at the Town of Palmyra highway department. Trucks and other equipment from all over the area sell at this event. Until yesterday afternoon I thought I was going to skip this event but I eventually came to my senses. This was the first time I have ever been to this auction and this part of the world. I’m glad I went.
Plenty of late model plow trucks of every make were on hand including some rare birds like a ’72 Brockway 361 and a 85 Autocar. To be honest they were the reason I made the trip but once I arrived there was plenty of other great things to see. I was surprised at the large collection of Ford L-Series trucks in very strong shape. There were more than a few Mack trucks to review including a mean looking AWD Mack.
Between the Dobbins auction last week and the auction yesterday I’m drowning in material. I figure there is no better place to start than with a trusty Brockway.
This ’72 361 has north of 124,000 miles on the odometer. According to the auction paper work this truck once belonged to the Town of Ulysses, NY. All in all this truck looked rather good to my amateur eyes consider the year is 2013 and this rig has been tasked with plowing snow for all those years. The rust was minimal and very reparable. A Cummins power plant resides under the hood that seemed to rattle but maybe I was just looking for a problem. Moving to the cab found all gauges in place and in working order. The only way to rev up this rig was to mess with the throttle under the hood. The peddle in the cab was completely flat on the floor. Just a little something for the new buyer to tinker with.
Here is a walk around video of the Brockway. Enjoy the sounds of the low air bell and Cummins on startup. Plenty more to come from this auction in the days ahead!
If you google International A-160 you’ll find that many of the result show a 4×4 setup with blower just like this one. This truck is equipped with a SnoGo thrower. I call them blowers but maybe the term isn’t interchangeable? The power plant for the thrower is Red Seal Continental gas engine. All in all this truck was fairly solid. Just a little body damage to the front driver side fender and a misaligned door on the passenger side. Ready to work!
Click to Enlarge
Nearby was this Brockway 260. Missing wheels and rims where a common theme at the Dobbins Auction. The cab on this truck looked OK. This is back in the era when wood was still used in the cab. I’m not sure what engine this rig had but it was huge. Stamped on the block was the phrase “Chrome Moly”. I’m not entirely sure what that means but it sounds interesting.
Click to Enlarge
Oversized vehicle on I-81 that was too large to fit under a bridge.
Photos from the Blizzard of 93
Photos from the Blizzard of 93.
