I came across this little gem on Youtube the other night regarding Coles Express from the great state of Maine. This promotional film provides a fascinating glimpse of trucking as it was in the the early 1970’s. The film opens with a scene of young man sitting on the bumper of a International V-Series (?) as he watches a Diamond Reo backs a trailer to a loading dock, all the while a Detroit Diesel screams at that top of it’s lung. Picture of the Year? I think so. As I mentioned, this video will take you through the history of Coles and their daily life at the time. Highlights include Diamond Reo cabovers, the delievery of a live parrot and the Tank-Van; the east coast version of the dromedary setup.
All of this great footage comes to us courtesy of the Cole Land Transportation Museum of Bangor Maine. If you ever find your way up north this museum looks like a perfect stop as it contains not only many of the trucks seen in the video below, including the tank van, but many other historical vehicles as well. For a full history of Coles Express click here.
If you’re interested in more of the Tank-Van, and I know you are, click here.