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.
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.
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!
