The 2016 National Brockway Truck show was a great success. The four day long event was filled with numerous activities all centered around the trucks that once earned the City of Cortland the nickname of Huskie Town USA. On Friday a group of truck set off from the Brockway Museum for scenic cruise through the hills of the neighboring countryside of Cortland and Onondaga Counties. Passing through lush farm lands along twisting country roads the Brockway convoy eventually arrived at The View, a local restaurant and bar with terrific…..views. The muggy August weather and the original condition of these trucks (No Air Conditioning) meant that both man and machine were ready for a cool down. An ample selection of cold drinks were ready and waiting along with excellent food.
Not part of the convoy this 359 model happened to be doing farm work nearby and stopped by to join in on the fun. A sure sign that Central New York is Brockway country.
Now for a teaching moment. If you hang around Brockways long enough you’ll eventually see a truck wearing a Huskidrive emblem. You might even see a truck sporting to Huskies side by side on the hood. These two items are more than just extra bling by people looking for attention, they represent a technology Brockway introduced in 1968 to merge low end axle ratios (necessary at the time for pulling power) with higher end speeds desired by both truckers and the general public. Essentially Huskidrive meshed a low speed axle for pulling with a high speed axle for cruising without the need for the typical large gearing found in a classic overdrive system. Similar to a two speed rear end I’ve heard there was a button on the dash to engage the Huskidrive while other claim there was level on the shifter. This is my layman’s take on the matter and perhaps oversimplified. If you know…let the rest of us know.
And now you know where the Friday cruise found its name. Below, the rolling video.