ATCA Northeastern PA Classic Truck Show – The Videos

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Eric

So last night I’m feverishly working away on getting these videos ready and it hits me. I have waaaaaay to much footage to get this done in one evening. I’ve learned over the years that you can’t rush quality and you can’t fight city hall so this is going to take a few more days at least. Starting last year I began arriving early and leaving late to this wonderful truck show. This strategy has allowed me to catch most of the trucks coming and going. Trucks like this very nice 1973 Brockway 361 powered by a Detroit 8V71. What a sharp looking rig this is.

The owner of this truck has a few ride along videos on his two Youtube channels. Check them out by click here or here. Well worth the visit.

Keeping with the Husky theme here is the runner up of the slow truck race, another 361 but this time powered by a 250 Cummins with the infamous 5&4 two stick transmission. I love that this truck still looks as it did the day it finished working for the Town of Culvert. It was a pleasure to see this piece of NYS history.

Plenty more to come in the following days!

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September Plow Update

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Eric

I still need a little more time to finish up the ATCA Harford videos from this past weekend so in the meantime we’ll have to make due with the DDD classic..SNOW PLOWS! I know some of you are chomping at the bit to get back to work pushing snow but I haven’t reached that point yet. It has been a mild summer so far and I haven’t become burned out from constant humidity or dry air conditioned air like I usually am by the first week of September. That being said I know it’s only a matter of time before these trucks hit the road again. Let’s start off by looking at the future of the plow trucks for the New York State Thruway, the Western Star 4700.

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I’ve been tracking these trucks for awhile. The 4700s first arrived up at the local Western Star dealer last fall. They appeared two a time until the total number eventually reached around two dozen trucks or so…and then they disappeared. Occasionally two or three trickled back to the dealer over the months with just the plow mounts until three weeks ago the finished product arrived near the thruway maintenance shop in Syracuse, NY. I don’t know where these trucks go to be upfitted as I can’t find any markings on the head gear or dump beds to indicated the manufacturer. Under the hood you will find DD13 engines connected to automatic transmissions. The future is now.

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Check back later in the week for part two of the September Plow Update for a bad ass looking AWD Mack, a couple Oshkosh’s and the regular grab bag of random rigs.

*UPDATE* Multiple sources here and at the facebook DOT Plow group have confirmed these trucks to be sporting Viking-Cives plow equipment.

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2014 ATCA Northeastern PA Truck Show

Posted on September 1, 2014 by Eric

It’s hard to believe but another edition of the ATCA Northeastern PA truck show has come and gone. Yesterday as I stood outside the fair grounds watching the trucks leave I heard the announcer closing the show up for another year and almost couldn’t believe my ears. It seemed like only yesterday that it was 2013 and I was standing in the same spot watching the action. Time marches on.

Despite the poor weather more than 100 trucks made the trip to the Endless Mountains region of Pennsylvania for all to enjoy. That tells you something about the popularity of this show. A constant drizzle all morning did nothing to slow the trucks or the fans. Each year this show manages to draw a great variety of classics and working rigs. Some I have seen before. Others I have not. I think this is a big reason why so many people attend year after year. The ATCA club members that host the show are also very friendly, well organized and accommodating. Good people and good trucks appears to be the recipe to success. But enough of this blubbering. To the trucks!

This year I took more photographs than any other in recent memory. It only seemed right to expose my camera to the constant drizzle and humidity in the air. At least I didn’t have to worry about the position of the sun! Plenty of rigs caught my eye but the 1976 Mack DMM 685 set up as tractor was a special one. Can’t you just imagine it hooked to a lowboy pulling some massive dozer? This bulldog won the slow truck race with ease.

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This 2015 Peterbilt provided a glimpse of what I would see if I ever attend the diesel nationals at Englishtown.

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And you can’t talk about a truck show in Harford without talking about Brockways. I refer to this show as Cortland part II based on the sheer number of Huskies who make up the show field year in and year out. This old plow truck was the runner up in the slow truck race.

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2014 was another fantastic show. I have plenty of video of trucks coming and going to share with you in the coming days. Until then, please enjoy footage of your slow truck champion.

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The Aftermath

Posted on August 31, 2014 by Eric

Remember that windstorm that kicked the Village of East Syracuse right in the teeth back in early July? Of course you don’t! Unless you live her like I do. Anywaaay there were more than enough trucks and heavy equipment to help clean up the aftermath. Now that I am officially done mourning the loss of so many trees I can share these photos with you. This is a just a small selection of what could be found on the streets of East ‘Cuse on any giving day following the storm. Instead of covering the event of the summer I went to work instead because they had power and A/C. It was the right choice.

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A Land Where Man is Closer to His God

Posted on August 30, 2014 by Eric

The Distant Early Warning Line, or DEW Line was a system of radar and military installations constructed in the far reaches of the Arctic to provide early detection of invading Soviet Union bombers. Construction began in the mid 50’s and required an veritable army of men and machines to construct the necessary infrastructure in a part of the world that is less than forgiving. Dan sent me this great video detailing the odyssey of 11 Mack Model LRVSW trucks that were used to haul materials and manpower in what was the first of the ice road truckers. The video is 23 minutes in length but well worth every moment. Coverage begins with the trucks leaving the Allentown factory on their way to Seattle for the eventual trip north. A narrator is present for the majority of the film but he does fall silent for a moment so we can hear the massive 600HP diesels roar to life with the help of an air starter.

The only question I have after this film is what happened to this trucks? Read more about the DEW Line here. Thanks to Dan for bringing this jewel to my attention.

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CSX Trucks

Posted on August 29, 2014 by Eric

Another notch in the belt for my wife after you spotted this interesting looking Western Star for rail giant CSX. It is difficult to tell but there is a rail bogie hanging directly underneath the cab. This truck is ready to ride the rails at a moments notice.

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I’ve also included a few other CSX trucks in the gallery below including another Western Star we first saw back in May of 2012. Back then it was still new (presumably) and without its trailer. Since we are the topics of trains, what is the story with this guy?

LOSX 901 Train

I spotted this unit on the tracks outside of Minoa, NY. Google failed to provide and relevant information about the LOSX 901 abbreviation. Admittedly I didn’t try too hard to figure this out but then again I’m only a casual rail fain so I’m calling on the experts for this one.

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*UPDATE*

As Robert mentioned in the comments below LOSX is the reporting mark of Locomotive Specialists Inc, a specialized reseller of switcher units. Jason sent me an email a few days with even more information. The unit in question is a 1961 EMD SW900 originally built for the Reading Rail Road. Over the decades it passed through a few different hands including Conrail before it landed in CNY working near the steel and paper mills of Solvay, NY.

Thanks for the info guys!

Posted in On the Job | 2 Comments

NYS Fair 2014

Posted on August 28, 2014 by Eric

I went to the New York State Fair yesterday where I convinced my wife to run through a crowd of people to grab this shot. I think she did a fantastic job don’t you?

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That’s a nice horse hauler you have there Mr. E.H. Perkins.

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Still Working – Kenworth K100

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Eric

Recently Patrick was quick enough with his camera to catch a shot of this very nice Kenworth K100. The name and area code suggest this truck is from the Westchester County area of New York. I couldn’t find any more relevant information so I’m going to assume this rig belongs to an owner/operator living the dream. The only thing missing is a pet chimpanzee!

Kenworth K100 Semi

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Autocar Mondays – Midland Asphalt

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Eric

While the paint job may not be as shiny as their R-model Macks this Autocar tanker from Midland still has a job ready look about it. Having the winters off (free from salt) has really helped to preserve these trucks well.

Autocar ACL Tanker

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Coming and Going

Posted on August 24, 2014 by Eric

Awhile back I caught this Sennebogen 830 leaving Tracey Road Equipment on the back of their lowboy. It was close to being a great shot until a Chevy pickup decided to make a left turn in front of me.

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An hour later I found myself a mile down the road from Tracey’s when another Sennebogen passed me by presumably on its way to the dealership. No Chevys got in the way this time all though they the tried. I was able to fire off a shot before one entered the frame.

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