Sad news to report today. The White 3000 asphalt tanker that was the first Lost and Found feature on this website is no more…or soon will be no more. Despite hiding behind a hill of scrub brush and road tailings the White’s cover was blown when a new access road to a CSX rail yard was created last month in response the devastating fire at Syracuse Recycling. Months after the fire was extinguished it continues to claim victims.
I’ve been watching the progress of the new access road and was hoping it would bypass the White. For a time it looked like the truck would live to rust another day but then yesterday I noticed a hulking mass of brown metal appear from the trees. I knew right away what had happened. A closer inspection revealed the cab to be completely destroyed. Most likely by the unforgiving bucket of excavator. A summary execution if there ever was one.
Sad…sad….sad…but if you can’t save them…photograph/video them!
Little is know about the past life of this truck. I couldn’t find any decals during my visit that would indicate what paving company used to operate this truck. The popular guess is some incarnation of Penn Can Road Materials. On the topic of PCRM their old terminal near they NYS Fair grounds was recently leveled. Tough week for the construction history of CNY! In some form the White will live on through this website and the oracle of knowledge that is YouTube. I would be really kicking myself if I hadn’t stopped a little less than a year ago to video tape this truck before the long arm of the scrap man found it. You just never know when that old truck you pass by everyday will be gone.
So long White 3000. We hardly knew you.
You should have grabbed the front wheel hub caps!
What a waste. Not too many White 3000 tandems left and it still had its original body too. Lucky you got the shots you did when you did.
Penn Can was the name! I think I had guessed Empire as the name originally, but now that I read Penn Can Road Materials I am convinced that’s it. You could see this truck in the line-up from 690 going towards the fairgrounds for many years. They had a White Compact distributor too. Man I wish I had shot their fleet. The ’60’s Ford NT-950 was my favorite.