Robert shares with us a shot of not just one but two Autocar Fire Trucks from companies in Delaware. The unit on the left with open top comes from the Hockessin Fire Company and complete with a Hahn pumper body and Detroit Diesel under the hood. The truck on the right is 1961 model with an Oren body. Originally this truck came equipped with a gas engine that was removed in favor of a, you guessed it, a Detroit. Currently wearing a Elsmere Fire Company signage some poking around the web reveals it started life with The Hockessin fire department as seen by this great collection of photos. That setback axle rescue truck is mean looking!
Alright, it’s time to get back to some more footage from my visit to the Tackaberry Collection. As I mentioned before International trucks have a very strong presence in the buildings and back lots. I’m fairly sure that every model of IHC truck can be found somewhere on the property. I saw KB, L, R, A, M, Loadstar, Fleetstar, Emeryville, Travelall and more. With row upon row of trucks it was impossible to photograph them all but I tried. It was like being a truck show so I figured that a video walk was the best way to go. There is no narration, the trucks do all the talking. A few “off” brands make an appearance as well so keep an eye out.
This past Saturday saw the Hoppenville Antique Truck, Tractor, and Car show take place at the home of noted collector John B. Haines. Similar to events that take place the Mahan and Tackaberry collections, the doors are graciously opened for members of the public to browse and admire the treasures held within. Coverage from the event this year once again comes to use courtesy of Dave. Great job with the photos!
This past Saturday I had the privilege to visit the Tackaberry Collection, a world class assembly of trucks, tractors, heavy equipment, diecast models, and other memorabilia that has no rival. If you disagree just look at the image below. Who else has a restored Pay Hauler flanked by a Dresser TD-40 on display. ‘Nuff said.
With over ten buildings packed with restored and original trucks I really didn’t know where to begin so I mostly wandered around in circles with my father in a constant state of awe. Most of what lies within the barns will remain a mystery (unless you’ve been there or seen other photos) as I just couldn’t decide what to photograph first. I didn’t feel I could do the trucks or the collection justice with a fuzzy or cramped photo so I just let them be. Besides, you really have to see this place for yourself. The three shots below will give you a basic idea of what it was like to visit each building.
While there was plenty see inside there was an equal amount, if not more, neatly arranged the rest of the property. I spent most of my time outside during the visiting wandering the rows of trucks awaiting their chance to be restored or help another vehicle be restored. More on those later. While I would say nearly every brand of truck every produced in North America has a least one representative present in the collection International Trucks hold a majority. You won’t hear any complaining from me about that!
So much to see. So little daylight. One of the newest arrivals was a Ward LaFrance fuel tanker straight out of Brooklyn. I can count on one hand how many times I’ve seen a non fire truck WLF truck in my life.
If you can’t find something to drool over here you don’t like old trucks. Or tractors. Or heavy equipment. Or much of anything at all!
Autocar Mondays has been a regular on this site for a number of years now and in that time we’ve seen plenty of trucks roll through that have been lost the ages. Thankfully this 1965 A75T escaped that fate and is now back in the hands of the family that bought this truck new over 50 years ago.
Ray Arnold purchased this truck new from Autocar in November of 1964 and proudly drove it home from the factory a few months later. As assembled the A75T came with a 855 cubic inch Cummins NHE225 engine, Spicer 8016-5B transmission (aka “married box 4×4”), and a White 134C rear axle with a 4.63:1 ratio. With a 156″ wheelbase riding on 10.00-22 12 ply Goodyear Hi-Miler Nylon rubber mounted to five spoke Daytons it would be normal to expect this truck to punish the scales but looks can be deceiving. Thanks to an all aluminum cab, hood, frame, crossmembers, transmission case and fuel tank this truck weighs in at just 10,500lbs with a ¼ tank of fuel. In addition to the weight savings the aluminum most likely played a large role in saving this truck from the ravages of NYS road salt.
Special factory installed options of the time found on this truck include dual bumper mounted headlight pods for low and high beams, in cab compression release, 32 inch passenger seat, and additional cab marker lights. As weight laws changed a tag axle found its way to the back of the frame which allowed this truck to legally haul 24 tons of cargo.
Based out of Spencer, NY Ray and the Autocar would spend the summers hauling materials out of various operations in the Geneva and Horseheads, NY area. In the winter a propane tank became a permanent fixture in the mirrors as numerous trips were made to large underground storage facilities around the Finger Lakes region. In 1969 a new Autocar joined the fleet and the A75T passed from father to son. James Arnold would drive the truck for a numbers of years cutting his teeth behind the large white steering wheel (no power steering) and compound transmission.
In 1973 Ray sold the truck to P & R Oil under which it would continue to haul loads until the early 1990’s. Following a broken rear spring the truck was parked behind a gas station where it would gather plenty of attention. During this time many purchase offers were made that ultimately failed for one reason or another. Eventually the stars aligned and a new owner was found. After some repairs the truck began to appear on the show circuit where it came to the attention of the grandson of Ray, Matthew Arnold. Upon inspecting the the truck Matthew’s father suggested not buying it do the worn condition. Thankfully sons rarely listen to their fathers and the truck returned to the Arnold fleet.
While figuring out how to haul the truck back to his home two hundred or so miles away from it’s current location Matthew learned that his father had been busy replacing fluids, belts and other pieces to get the truck road worthy. If it ain’t broke don’t tow it!
You could never tell the two had been separated for the the past 43 years. Not a gear was missed in that compound transmission. With a world that changes so quickly it’s nice to have a tangible connection to the past like the old A75T.
Above we see two generations of Arnolds posing with trucks from the family fleet. They have great tastes if you ask me!
Time for a fresh look at this 1948 Mack LM with a bark that is the loudest on the block. If you thought the offset cab was something that came into existence with the DM or U-Models than think again. Mack, engineering from the future. Also in the video, a 1938 Mack FH with Rex mixer body that was found in the condition that you see it. Simply amazing.
And finally, the tried but true random cut scenes that when put together equal a fantastic truck show.
Time to enjoy an old standard of Daily Diesel Dose in which we just look at a random collection of snow fighting rigs.
This first truck is a 4×4 unit with Henderson equipment. I spotted this truck behind United Radio where it was waiting for, you guessed it, a radio system. Typically the City of Syracuse and Onondaga County send their equipment to location. Based on color of the cab I lean toward the county for this truck but then again the city has been receiving a bunch of new equipment recently so you might as well flip a coin….and then you could still be wrong.
Heading home from the Tracey Road Equipment open house I came across this beast wearing Henderson door stickers. I guess the Henderson reps thought better of bringing a Mack product to a Freightliner/Western Star dealer? Cool unit either way with what appears to be some sort of roll-off system.
Returning from picking pumpkins with the wife we passed by the Onondaga County Marcellus Maintenance garage. A large collection of seemingly older plow blades were outside for all to see so I made sure to grab a photo. In my mind I imagined these blades being hooked to a Walter busting drifts in the hills that surround the area. I doubted that there were any trucks mighty enough left in the fleet to handle these blades but was told that a pair of AWD Paystars have been modified for the V’s when nature calls. Good enough for me!
The gallery dump. In order of appearance. Autocar ACL for Town of Preble, NY. International WorkStar Town of Lake Placid, NY. Kenworth T-800 Tompkins County. Western Star 4700 Town of Lysander, NY. Oneida County Highway Department Freightliner M2-112, Town of Georgetown, NY International WorkStar. Unknown International WorkStar. Town of Manlius, NY International WorkStar. International 2574 Town of Marcellus, NY.
Last week one evening I was standing in front of my sink washing dishes when and a thought crossed my mind. When is that show at the NYS Fairgrounds that features new snow plows? It’s sometime in the spring right? And then it dawned on me that no, it is not in the spring, but the fall. I ran to my computer and and did a quick search fearing that I was too late but like Scrooge walking up on Christmas Day I found there was still time to change. The highway expo was in two days.
As in previous years the Center of Progress was packed with new trucks from all the major players. I won’t pretend to understand half of what I saw inside or outside of the building. We all know I just go for the trucks. Around these parts the majority of plows rigs come from Western Star, Mack or International so it was refreshing to see this Kenworth T470 with a SBA on display.
And there was so much more. More than can be pictured with what time and crowds would allow.
This old Walter FCBS formerly of the Town of Alexandria, NY has gone just about as far north in New York as you can before crossing the border into Canada. Presumably used as yard truck for an auto importer/exporter this Walter is fairly popular online with no less than six or seven people posting photos of it on the Facebook Walters group. Aftering seeing so many others visit the truck I figured I should too. Powered by a 250 Cummins connected to a Walter 6 speed transmission this truck is as real as it gets.
Just in time for winter! New snow plows for the New York State Department of Transportation. Stopping by a surplus auction earlier this month I couldn’t help but grab a few shots of the new trucks lined up and waiting for delivery to their respective locations. As discussed before International and Viking wrestled the contract away from Mack and Henderson for the next three years for what is multimillion dollar contract.
International N13 diesel engines with SCR and automatic transmissions complete the most basic setup of these new trucks. Despite so many of these being housed at the Region 3 HQ I have yet to see these be distributed to the local barns across the area. If anything, the Macks seemed to have been contracted in the CNY area from other locations. Of course, this is just my layman’s view.
Hanging around with the new Internationals were some older 02 or 03 models as seen in the gallery below plus one single axle Mack.
