Yesterday, new plows. Today, old plows. It’s the way of the world. Rust will consume us all. You can’t blame me for having a bleak outlook after attending another surplus equipment auction at the NYSDOT Region 3 HQ. All the usual suspects were there in the forms of International 2574s and 4700s. The Thruway even snuck an early Mack Granite with lowboy into the mix. It was only a 2003 model. So young.
Some of these rigs had life left while others wouldn’t be worth the time. A quick sampling of license plates in the parking showed plenty of people making the trip from states that hire private contractors to plow roads. Hopefully they were here for parts only. NY get’s their money worth out of these trucks before tossing the husks aside. Look at this old S1900 from the SUNY Oswego. Looks alright till you open the door and see your feet. Flintstone power in every sense of the word. I was afraid a bird might land on the roof and the entire cab would crumple inwards like a empty soda can in the vacuum of space.
While I enjoy looking at all the old stuff I also take these auctions as a time to check out the new rigs. Trucks like this tow plow! The future of plowing in New York State has arrived. Everything about this setup is brand new right down to the new DOT logo on the door. Gone is the flying T. Outrageous if you ask me but no one ever does. Why?
Neat video of this to follow tomorrow along with all sorts of new trucks and a few other gems.
Related: Everything Must Go!
The flying T has been around since about 1970. Sad to see it go. No more logos in the state. All the agencies. I’m waiting to see the trooper cars change. I have seen the Thruway pickups are changing to white, not T-Way yellow.
Change for the sake of change I suppose. I’ve heard the white pickups are supervisor rigs. Cheaper to keep the white than order them in yellow. Safety first but only if it doesn’t cost too much.