Trains are large. Trains are powerful. Trains are unrivaled on land in terms of raw cargo pulling power. But even the most powerful train will grind to a halt if not for an army of trucks and other equipment used to keep the tracks clear and in shape. Maintenance of way trucks we salute you.
At first glance I figured this truck was just a lube rig but then I noticed the sprayers up front and outback. Not seeing any hazardous material placards I’m guess this truck applies some sort of chemical along the tracks. We can only guess at what type.
This Peterbilt looks like it could pull a train car or two if push came to shove.
We’ll wrap things up with this Crew cab Freightliner which is definitely a fuel and lube truck.
I won’t pretend that I don’t have a leaning toward the trucks of the past but new rigs are not without their charm. Sometimes they look pretty darn good if you ignore all the electronic gremlins and engine problems that are lurking beneath the sheet metal. Maybe I’m painting with too broad a brush? I normally don’t take photos of Volvos but when I do they come out looking fantastic. That is my skill. 😉
The sun was in the perfect location for this shot when I stopped by Beam Mack. That’s one good looking VNL.
Mack fans don’t fret, a nice pair of Pinnacles were also on hand with future in leasing through Conway Beam Leasing.
Moving to the other side of town we pay a visit to Tracey Road Equipment and a day cab Western Star 5700XE. Of all the new and radical truck designs of the past few years I’ve warmed up to this one the quickest. Hopefully these will sell well and break up the monotony of fleet trucks on the highways of today.
Obviously based on the sun in this photo I didn’t take the shot below during my visit with the 5700XE. I found it to be a nice representation of the Daimler Trucks North America line up with a Western Stars of all types, a Freightliner Cascadia and a poor little M2 hiding in the background.
Seen below, a day cab Pinnacle also for Conway Beam Leasing, like the ones above it will probably be a dedicated customer truck, another shot of the Volvo and a look at the red Pinnacle hiding in it’s shadow. If only the spots had been reversed. What a photo that would have made! *Update* I almost forgot about a new Mack Granite for Van Slyke Trucking.
Old dump trucks coming out of the wood work! They’re everywhere! Just like we saw a short time ago it’s the season for experienced equipment to come out of hiding and help with construction projects in the fleeting days of nice weather. At the Hotel Syracuse renovation I spied this Ford LTL 9000 of ERSI.
Across town, acres of concrete parking lot have been torn up and ground into small chucks for what has been rumored to be a new ready mix or asphalt plant for Riccelli Enterprises. That would be great if true as it would be real nice and easy location for truck watching. Look at the gems it is already producing! This International S-2500 of Greene Excavating is absolutely mint in every way. Paired with that old steel dump body out back and you have a real blast from the past.
Time to revisit and oldie but a goodie in the form of this Diamond-Reo Giant of ProPave. Now in its third showing on Daily Diesel Dose since 2011 this truck is still going strong and appears to be well maintained. My driveway should have been replaced a decade ago and I’m tempted to go with ProPave simply because they run this truck and a LTL 9000.
I was passing through the Inner Harbor part of town two weekends ago when I was caught up in a convoy of dump trucks. I followed them about a block until they returned to a large pile of dirt that was slowly being dismantled by some Liebherr equipment. I stopped in a nearby mall parking lot to watch the action and take a few shots.
At one point I noticed or more accurately heard that one of the Ford dump trucks was Detroit powered. I hung around to catch a video of it leaving and that’s when my presence was noted by the people monitoring the dust devices. They kept staring and pointing so I figured it was a good time to leave. In case you’re wondering this massive pile of dirt was once contaminated by decades of petroleum leaks as this section of town was known as Oil City. Bacteria with a taste for oil products was used to clean the soil to a level acceptable for use as fill per DEC standards. While not the exact pile noted in this story the concept is the same.
Got Soybeans? That tagline was much more effective with milk. Anway, I thought this old 1974 Transtar 4300 was a nice slice a farm life. I poked around this old rig at the Empire Farm Days auction and made a short video of what I saw. Overall condition? Decent. The large fiberglass hood was damage free while the cab and interior were much of the same. Sorry, I forgot to take still shots so you’ll have to watch the film to see what I mean.
I didn’t do any research prior to my arrival so I’ll have to fill out the facts the video doesn’t include….which is basically everything. The Transtar4300 design first began to surface in early 1970 but did not enter full production until September of 1971. Steel or aluminum cabs were offered with the aforementioned fiberglass tilt hood. Power was provided by a variety of Cummins or Detroit Diesels. The exact model of this truck is a F-4370 indicating is was the largest and heaviest of the Transtar line. A BBC measurment of 114 provided enough room for eight different Cummins (N, NH, NT) models producing up to 370 horse power. Detroit Diesel options included the 6-71N and two versions of the 12V-71N. This particluar truck had one of the larger Cummins options and was paired to a nine speed. I probably would have bought this IH if it had a 12V Detroit.
The Transtar saw the introduction of many driver safety and comfort features including a padded dashboard, non-slip pedals and corrugated cab steps. Maintenance was simplified with circuit breakers for isolating electrical gremlins, a drop frame for ease of engine repairs and a cooling system that featured radiator hoses with no bends.
This ’74 model was one of 66,092 trucks built that year in the Fort Wayne plant, a bastion of IHC production until it’s closure just a short eight years later.
Information source: International Trucks by Fred Crimson. Pages 419 & 463.
If there is one thing I like it’s finding older truck still on the job. Zack has tempted me for awhile now with tales of an Autocar Fire Truck with tanker body out of Glastonbury, CT. He finally was able to grab a shot of this fine machine and I think we can all agree it was worth the wait. This 1987 model is equipped with a 4-Guys 1000/3000 tank and is still in immaculate shape. Make sure you check out Zack’s website for more great photos like this one.
Do you consider yourself a Friend of Autocar? If you do you might be interested in the annual “Friends of Autocar” meeting and banquet to be held Saturday September 26th in West Chester, PA. Check out the details below.
I’m breaking all the rules today and posting these photos before September. To hell with the rules! I actually saw this truck back in May and meant to include it in the early August plow update but forgot. It’s a 114SD with not particular customer in mind. Maybe it could be yours?
The Town of Minetto, NY had their truck at the local Oshkosh dealer this weekend…hopefully to have that decal removed from the door. 😉
We’re off to a good start with this truck. Destination unknown. If it returns I’ll try to catch it.
In the gallery below we have a repeat customer in the form of Western Star 4900 for the Town of Westmoreland, Town of Fairfiled also shows up with a 4900, old Volvo for the Town of New Haven, Town of Chenango has a new 4700 on the way, Town of Camillus has a 4×4 4800 possibly to replace their surplused Oshkosh, Town of Onondaga is also in the 4700 act. Both Chenango and Onondaga have spec’d their trucks with manual transmissions in a reversal of modern trends. Finally, one of the classics from on of the sharpest fleets around, an International Paystar5000 from the Town of Manlius. This truck has been at the local spring shop for at least three days. It’s in the pickup part of the lot so I figured it would be long gone by Saturday. The truck chasing gods smiled upon me and it was still there when I stopped by. Even the truck that was on the left was gone opening up a nice angle.
Let’s face it, this summer weather won’t be with us forever. It’s time to relearn how to drive your vehicle when the white stuff begins to pile up and up and…up. If you come from a climate that doesn’t receive any real snow you might wonder what there is to relearn? Let me tell you. Everything. I know it sounds weird but us harsh climate people literately forget all we know about winter driving by the time summer is over. You should see the panic and overreaction that fills the streets when Susie Snow Flake begins to fall in mass quantities. Cars spinning out. People traveling no faster than five miles per hour on the interstate. Schools closed for days at a time. And then, before you know it, October has passed and the roads are filled with grizzled ice roads veterans. A blizzard is on the way? Who cares! Old Navy has a sale! Yup. Just like that.
So take a moment to brush up on your winter driving skills by watching this old film from the mid 1950’s. Obligatory happy background music comes free of charge. You know you are watching a film from a hardier time in history when the narrator tells you to wear heavy clothes not for comfort but because your window will be down to avoid death by carbon monoxide. Can you image saying that to a modern audience? The automotive star of this film is a International R-190 single axle truck that from the looks of the interior was brand new at the time of filming. I really enjoyed the sights of the snow covered 50’s highways and biways. I was hoping for some snow plow footage but that never happened. You can’t always get what you want but sometimes you get what you need. Enjoy.
This is just my second capture ever of a Cat truck outside of a dealer lot or trade show. Either CNY is not full of early adopters or don’t get around as much as I think I do.
This one is owned by Tacuki Enterprises and was starting to a fill a hole in the ground created by D.E. Tarolli crews. Check out that view of the tracks railfans. All of East Syracuse is like this and I hardly ever take advantage. What a waste!
Ahh, auctions. It feels like I haven’t been to one in a really long time. RTI Auctions holds a two day extravaganza in conjunction with the Empire Farm Days show that usually contains a few gems worth nothing. Remember that huge lump of iron from last year, the Allis Chalmers HD21 with Zor plow? What a beast that thing was. This year my eye fell upon a 1987 GMC General with set back axle. That’s right, set back axle.
History now records 1987 as being the final year of the General and the only year the set back axle option was offered. Right around this time General Motors would enter a joint venture with Volvo creating the Volvo GM Heavy Truck corporation and the WhiteGMC brand of truck. Production numbers of the set back axle are unknown but much lower compared to the tradition General. Rumors have circulated on the internet that only twenty of these trucks left the factory with this setup. I find this number to be too low for a factory production run. A little more digging indicates that some set back Generals may have been produced wearing the WhiteGMC name badge. If true, this is probably were the twenty number originated as I have never seen a GMC General of any form wearing this name badge.
All things considered this truck was still pretty much intact. The fiberglass front was largely in one piece and free of major cracks. The grill wasn’t half bad either with all logos and trims to be found. Out back a real nice dump body was just begging to be used. Under the hood? No idea. But it turned over easy. Inside the cab the view stayed the same with an intact dash and function gauges. Some form of 10 speed transmission could be found sticking up through the cab floor. Flipping down the drivers sun visor found an asset sticker for Dolomite Products, a large aggregate supplier from the Rochester area.
I spent a few moments documenting the truck via video for those that don’t like to read. 🙂
I’m going to guess this truck found a decent home largely thanks to the nice dump body out back. Yeah, I suppose someone could buy the truck for the body alone and junk the rest but who would do that to a classic?! Surely no one reading this site. More to come from this auction. Think Oshkosh plow and International Transtars.
