Treasure Chest

There is a place on the outskirts of town that contain plenty of cool and vintage trucks. They hide on a narrow piece of property behind thick weeds and brush. The only time you can really see them is during the winter and even then the site lines are horrible. I’ve mentioned this site before a few years back when a B-Model Mack emerged from hiding. Passing by this location I noticed a new truck or least one that I could not see on previous visits.

Northern Companies Brockway

Yes, that is a Brockway and it’s wearing the Northern Companies logo. I went back and forth on the shoulder of the road a few times trying to get the best angle and this was it. We can only guess at the condition and model but I’m getting a 358. Anyone else care to hazard a guess? Maybe you even know something about this truck? This is part of CNY trucking history as Northern has now be folded into the Riccelli Enterprises empire.

I feel bad about sharing this one tantalizing photo so here is another Brockway in full view thanks to Ryan. It may even be the same model as the truck above!

Brockway 358 dump truck

This dump truck resides in Poland, NY and is in good hands according to some follow up posts on the Brockway Trucks Facebook group. If you’re not a member I suggest you look it up and join. And if you want the true nuts and bolts along with answers to questions from the people who know Brockways better than anyone else you must check out the Brockway Trucks Forum. If you can’t find what you need over there you’re asking the wrong question.

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Peeping Tom

Last Saturday saw a very unpleasant mix of weather that ranged from snow to sleet to rain. This indecisive pattern meant that plows around the area were on alert and waiting for changing conditions. Passing by the local NYS Thruway maintenance area I noticed a large groups of trucks loading up with salt so I stopped by for a closer look.

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The new Western Stars look good decked out with their plows, spreaders and decals. Below is a video of it being loaded along with a Sterling. Right after the Sterling was loaded it made a beeline right for my parked car. The driver got out and asked what I was doing with my camera. Turns out the boss man had taken notice of me and sent someone to investigate. Maybe he drives the Western Star? If you look closely at the Sterling photos you will notice the driver taking a photo of me with his smart phone. I was using the full extent of the zoom on my camera so I doubt his photos turned out any better than mine. Anyway, he asked a few more questions and then he moved on. I left before anyone changed their mind so no photos of the International or Mack trucks.

 

Later in the day I crossed paths with a few other plows from various towns and agencies. The town of Manlius always has sharp looking trucks. This DuraStar is no exception.

International DuraStar Snow Plow

In the mini gallery below is a shot of Onondaga County rig clearing a thick layer of icy snot from the roads. Next time I’ll have my camera in the right mode so it will be a little more in focus. Also seen is the rear end of the same truck along with the rear of a NYSDOT single axle International.

 

I almost forgot to post this shot of a City of Syracuse plow rig. Many area schools were closed yesterday in anticipation of a heavy snowfall only to have zero accumulation take place. However, 10 minutes north of this photo location snow was falling at 1+ inch an hour. The joys of lake effect!

International Workstar Snow Plow

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Autocar Mondays – Two for Two

Rust free is the way to be! This Autocar ACL from the City of Utica is looking pretty good all things considered. Despite the extended frame rails and quick hood access panels I don’t see an signs of plow equipment so I guess this truck takes the winters off. Maybe it was spec’d to be a plow but the dream never came true. How sad.City of Utica Autocar ACL

Continuing the proud tradition of Autocar trucks used in the refuse industry is this ACL of Roberts Construction. Worn but working. Nothing wrong with that.

Roberts Autocar ACL roll off

Thanks to Ryan for sharing!

 

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Tired Iron

Time to start the year off right at Daily Diesel Dose….by looking at trucks from an auction that took place in October! I kept putting these shots on the back burner for one reason or another until so much time had passed I almost thought it was too late for prime time. Then I realized it doesn’t really matter and I did promise continuing coverage of this event so here we go!

We saw some of the other plows from this sale in the forms of a giant military spec Oshkosh WT2206 and a former NYSDOT International 2574. As cool as those trucks are they were not the only rigs up for bid that day. There was this nice looking 2000 Volvo WG42 from the Town of Cato, NY. All you had to do was to bid, win, plow.

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Parked next to the Cato truck was a fairly large Autocar from the Town of Homer, NY. Moderate rust was to be found along with a 1420-3B Spincer transmission that provide all the low range gearing you could ever want. Further down the line was a nice looking 1996 single axle 2574 from the Town of Lysander, NY. Well, it was nice if you could look past the rust. In some places it was possible to look through the rust. Also in the gallery are a pair Volvo’s from parts unknown.

 

Along with the plows there was an eclectic mix of other equipment like this old sweeper.

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Some random notes about the gallery seen below. I never knew there was money to made in sawdust delievery. The stank eminating from the cab of the Ford tanker made me dizzy. Long live the S-Series. The Ford box truck was in decent shape but gas powered so forget about it. I lift things up and put them down. Pretty sure this truck was at the auction last year but returned again this time with some fancy LED’s and more bondo. Random International 4000’s series love. A Mack R-Model with over 800,000 miles on the odometer.

 

I also shot a walk around video of this John Deere scraper. Stay clear of moving parts. Blue smoke comes standard!

 

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Crew Cab Ford Dump Trucks

A few months back my dad pointed out this crew cab F-800 dump truck for sale in the Westside of Syracuse. When we stopped to take a closer look it was evident that the truck had been painted a few times since leaving the factory. Underneath the flaking black paint the previous layer of red was straining to make a comeback. Peering through the windows yet another color could be found in the hue of a bright yellow. Most likely the original complexion, this yellow spoke to the past life of the truck and uncovered a long forgotten mental note to investigate a similar vehicle nearby.

Ford F-800 Crew Cab Dump Truck

Travelling to the Eastwood section of the city found yet another road crew limo. While any outwards clues have been long removed from the westside truck this particular Ford hasn’t received the same treatment. Clearly this one is a former Onondaga County DOT rig. You can still make out the hastily covered logo on the door.

Onondaga County DOT Dump Truck

Shortly after finding these trucks a conversation developed on Flickr regarding the whereabouts of such rigs during which it was revealed the trucks to be from the 1989 model year. Now that the Fords have been found we need to find those Brockways!

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House Cleaning

Yesterday, as I so often do, I passed by the Town of Dewitt Highway Department garage and immediately noticed that some house cleaning had taken place near the back forty. The graders and industrial forklifts are now gone leaving a much cleaner view of the snow thrower in question from a few weeks back.

Oshkosh Snow Thower

It’s clear to see now that the rig is an Oshkosh of a very old vintage. Defintatley mid 50’s oare earlier. Please let me know if I’m completely wrong on either the age or make. My feelings won’t be hurt. I promise. Regarding the other equipment the two graders have been moved closer to the salt shed while the forklift remains to be seen. Possible auction items in the near future? If so, my religious visits to Auctions International will certainly pay off.

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Autocar Mondays – From Newark with Love

What is it about beat up Autocars that I find so appealing? I guess they just wear the damage so well. Seth shares with us this wrecker from the Newark DPW who like most municipalities along the east coast was a large user of Autocar trucks. This classic still sees action from time to time according to Seth. It’s a fantastic catch! Make sure you stop by his website x635photos.com for more great shots.

NewarkAutocarWrecker

Would you like to help Autocar Mondays stay a regular occurrence? Email Me any photos or videos that you have!

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If it’s not broke…

If it’s not broke…don’t replace it it! I couldn’t believe it when I saw the photos below. The City of Utica, NY still has four FWD plow trucks in active service. Four! Long live the old iron. Maybe a decade ago this discovery wouldn’t have been such a big deal but now a days you don’t just don’t find these rigs in large numbers or on the front lines. Sad but true.

FWD Plow Trucks

These FWD’s have probably seen more than their fare share of newer trucks come and go. They now share the stable with a mixed bag of International and Mack plows trucks and probably a few other makes.

City of Utica DPW

I know some of you probably saw those Macks in the background and started to drool. Don’t worry, here is one in all of its glory.

Mack Granite Snow Plow

 

These photos come to us courtesy of Ryan. More to come!

 

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Return of the King

Ryan returned to his ancestral homelands last week for the holidays and didn’t waste anytime getting back to his old tricks of shooting plows. Check out this Mack RM of Deerfield, NY.

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Looks good right? Can you believe it’s still wearing the original paint? That’s what preventive maintenance can do for your trucks people.

 

Keeping the RM company and trying to fill its shoes are a modern Mack Granite and a few International 7600’s.

Town of Deerfield (4) (1024x683)

 

I don’t know about you but I think we need to get Ryan back in town more often! More to come from his journey home very soon.

 

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Still Working – John Deere Loaders and Ford Backhoes

New heavy equipment is expensive. Very expensive. If you find an older piece that can still pull its own weight you hold on to it. Sure, the hydraulics may not cycle as quickly as a newer machine and there certainly isn’t a computer screen to be found anywhere in the cab but getting the job done is the most important task. Here is a Ford 755 still doing site work at a new housing development. Based on the front tires 4×4 power could be an option on this old backhoe.

Ford 755 Backhoe

Here we have a pair of John Deere 544 wheel loaders. These two machines are currently stationed at a local shopping center. Sometimes they sport plow blades while other times they run just buckets. I hope to grab some operational footage of these two before the winter is done. These 544s bare the company logo of Seneca Pipe which we’ve seen before on this site in the form of some old International and Ford dump trucks.

John Deere 544 Loader

Looks like the JD544 is a popular machine among the mall crowd. Zack sent me this photo the other day of a one clearing snow at shopping center in Connecticut.

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