I’ve been going through some old truck show photos recently while backing them up to my Flickr account. Yesterday I was looking at the 2007 show photos from what was then the ATHS chapter of Western New York. When causally browsing through the files I dismissed the truck below as a White. Boy was I wrong. Turns out this truck is a Stewart. This is a new brand for me and based on the small amount of information on the web a rare brand for nearly everyone else out there. I was able to find an out of print book on sale through Amazon that lists the company as being active from 1912-1942 in Buffalo, NY. At one point Stewart dabbled in car building but eventually focused their energy solely on commercial vehicles.
The current owner (unknown at this time) typed a neat story/biography of the truck and the Stewart company which I have transcribed here.
Look and smile
This truck is a real diamond in the rough. It may not look like much at a glance, but feel free to look closer. I was able to get this truck only three weeks ago. I saw a real jewel right from the sight of this old work horse. It is supposed to be a 1937 Stewart 58 EX. A truck of 7000 lbs. capacity, according to the VIN tag on the fire wall. It has a Waukesha engine which was new to Stewart in 1937.
The company motto for 1937 was “Stewart acknowledges no peer in truckdom.”
Stewart began production in 1912 and ended all production in 1941. The company at one time employed 650 people. Peak sales reached 6,651,000 (?!) in 1929, before the great depression began. Unfortunately, Raymond and company Superintendent, William F. Stuhimiller both died suddenly in 1937. This truck is a true Western NY truck, manufactured in Buffalo, NY and had a working career in the city of Niagara Falls. Pretty exciting stuff!! I also have its brother, with consecutive serial numbers.
This truck has some neat features. Look and see.
The cab and cowl splits so this could be sold as a chassis for a bus or a fire truck or other application.
The brake system is different than we are used to seeing today, not a hydrovac, but a straight vacuum assist. Look on the frame rail under the driver. Note that the control valve is in the brake rod itself. Look at the size of the master cylinder also.
There are a variety of tires on here. Different brand names of the past, and sizes such as 9.75-20-?
The garbage body is an Elgin and is made at the Leach plant. The model is a Chief. The ID plate is on the right rear corner protected by orange paint. Leach is still in business making packers.
There is a hydraulic cylinder under the center rear that runs a rack and pinion gear to turn a sprocket to turn the chains that raised the basket to dump in the top. The rear opened like a tailgate to dump the load.
There is another ID plate on the right side, above the running board that says, Made in Buffalo.
Fun stuff indeed. I only wish I had more photos and videos of this piece of American history. If you would like to the view the rest of the photos from this show click the Truck Shows button at the top of the page. I have added a few other shows from years past and will be added more as time allows. Check back often!
