It is March 18th and the beast known as winter still haunts the land. Despite the piercing cold of its jaws we must venture outside in search of trucks and heavy equipment. Below are the fruits of our labor.
I wouldn’t mind having this truck parked in my driveway. Here we have a 1941 Autocar model U20. At one time this unique truck belonged to the Pennsylvania Railroad. I’m guessing it was used by crews who maintained signals and overhead power lines.
Click the photo below to view an extra large version.
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Remember to stop by next Monday to see another photo from the archives!
Today we have new trucks on the way to their future homes. I assume the two Western Stars below are heading to the same owner based on their matching paint color. They are both 4900 models. If I remember correctly the truck doing the hauling is powered by a DD16. The truck being towed is a Set back axle with a reaaaaaaally long frame. It left the factory with a DD15. Both trucks are sporting some sort of Allison transmission. Sorry gear jamers.
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Also in the same parking lot was a group of new Peterbilts of the 337 variety.
I wanted to take a few moments and share with you a photo from the great collection of Joe Kelly.
Good stuff right? Well the photos get even better at his Flickr photostream. Not only does Joe have an impressive collection of photos but he has detailed information on each shot. Important facts like tuck model, engine type, years in service, modifications, driver, etc. I’m not sure how he does it but I am impressed. I think you will be to.
Don’t waste any more time. Check out the collection by clicking here.
Monsters Trucks. One of the most American inventions of all time. Enjoy this impressive collection of shots from the recent Monster Jam show in Syracuse, NY. Once again, Dan comes through with some amazing shots.
When you find a product that works you stick with it. When it comes to Ford the product in question was the C-Series. Introduced in the mid 50’s the C-Series was produced in some form or another for the next 30 years. The local Roadway terminal had one in use well into early 2002. I was always amazed when I saw it on the road because I thought it was from the 60’s. Now I know it was simply the design and not the truck that was dated. The C Cab was a very popular setup for rescue and fire trucks. Swing by your local VFDs and you will probably find one still in service.
This C-Series was spotted by Andy in the Croghan, NY area. The quad headlights date this truck to be of the 50’s variety. Nice catch Andy.
My normal drive to work carries me right past the Bristol-Myers Squibb “Site Transformation” on a daily basis. Each morning I am teased with rows of waiting scrap trucks and giant buildings becoming smaller and smaller with each passing moment. After visiting the site with Dan on Saturday I decided the time had finally come to stop by early in the morning when activity seemed to be highest. It would turn out to be the best decision made all week. Not a bad thing to happen on a Monday!
To start I was able to grab a few shots of waiting Empire Recycling trucks. Usually a side parking lot is filled with three or four trucks from various haulers at any one time. Some are hauling scrap metal while others load up with general demoliton waste. This morning it was just the two Empire trucks making a loop from site to scrap yard.
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I wandered up and down the sidewalk for two or three minutes aimlessly taking photos of passing truck traffic on Thompson Rd. Not much was happening that I hadn’t seen two days earlier. The Cat 973C was still busy preparing the ramp while a Bobcat raced back and forth looking for small bits of steel. Further down the street other machines sorted through a mountain of material looking for metal. I was starting to think my visit was going to be bust when workers began to spray down the ramp and surrounding area with fire hoses. Dust control! Moments later the largest excavator on site (A Case CX800) began moving toward the gashed open building. The operator spent a few minutes adding more material to his ramp while compacting down the existing fill with his bucket. Slowly moving to the edge he began poking at the building. The large bucket was able to knock loose a few bricks and other dangling bits but was ineffective for the most part. After toying around for a bit the Case spun around and drove out of view. It seems strange that a machine this large could disappear but there is a large trench that surrounds the building. From day one this has been a real PITA when it comes to grabbing photos and video. As quickly as the machine left it was back but this time with a new attachment. I’m not sure if this a home made piece or not but it was effective. For the lack of a better term I will call it the poking stick. The poking stick appeares to be nothing more than a flat piece of steel that is tapered in on both sides only to flare back out and form hooks. It reminds be a flat or thin hammer. The flat head allowed for the operator to break holes in the wall or tear down steel beams. It truly is a simple idea that allows for maximum versatility. Best of all it has no moving parts to service or fail.
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The dust was really starting to billow by this point despite two workers hosing down the buildings and machines. The poking stick was making short work of interior walls and a now exposed stairwell. It wasn’t long before the steel staircase smashed to earth with a satisfying crash. Attention could now be turned to a gashed open freight elevator shaft. Extending the boom to full length and moving closer to the end of the ramp the Case and its operator attempted to hook a corner of the exposed segment. They came close many times but the hook was failing to catch anything solid. From my view point it looked the machine was just a few feet too short but I was soon proved wrong. Finally the poking stick caught the corner of a beam and with slight tug a five story corner of the building tumbled to earth. The dust cloud that resulted was thick and brought work to a halt. *SIMPSONS REFERENCE* The water hoses. They do nothing! Eventually the dust drifted off to the west (passing me completely) and work resumed. By this time my watch was telling to hit the road so I snapped a few more shots and moved on to my day job.
Is that fog?
If you bothered to read the little story that preceded you can watch the video of the actual events in HD!
This weekend I spent some time truck hunting with DDD regular Dan. One of the locations we scouted was the ongoing demo project at the Bristol-Myers Squibb complex in East Syracuse, NY. Despite being a sunny Saturday afternoon we found a great deal activity. Scrap metal was being sorted and rubble was being formed into a ramp. Thanks to Dan for pointing this out as it led to some fantastic action shots two days later.
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The video below gives you a good idea of what we saw on Saturday. It was impressive to see so many types heavy equipment working in close proximity to each other while working on separate tasks. The Cat 973C track loader was busy creating a ramp with material supplied by a large Case excavator. Further down the site excavators with grapples and demolition shears sorted through mountains of steel and iron.
All of this activity was to prep the site for Monday when the ramp would be put to good use. Come back tomorrow to see the huge Case in action as it brings buildings tumbling to the ground.
I recently acquired a nice collection of Autocar truck photos produced from original factory negatives. Each Monday for the next seven weeks stop by this website for a new photo. A wide variety of models from the earlier 40’s to mid 60’s will be represented. You never know what may show up so remember to check back!
Up first is this Model DCS-10064 that once belonged to W.H. Findley of Oregon. The occupation of this truck is clear. Log hauling. It really would have been something to see this truck working the logging roads of the Oregon but until time travel becomes possible this picture is as good as it gets.
Upstate Medical University is currently in the process of adding a dedicated cancer treatment wing to the hospital. Raulli Ironworks is onsite to handle the steel fabrication with a Kobelco CK2000. This crane is capable of lifting 200 tons of steel 280 feet through the sun soaked skies of Syracuse.
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This shot gives you a better idea of how long the boom is.
