This past summer National Grid replaced a series of underground electrical vaults across the street from my office. After the electrical equipment was removed contractors spent a week chiseling the old vault away with a backhoe mounted jackhammer so new concrete walls could be poured. The final stage of the project called for the placement of a large precast box to be dropped snugly into the newly created hole in the ground. A crane like the one below was used. In fact, it probably was this crane seeing as it was Clark Rigging that was assigned to the heavy lifting that day. For some reason or another I never bothered to check back on the work despite it occurring right outside of my office door. Walking out for lunch I noticed an empty flatbed truck and the crane crew packing up to hit the road, it was then I remembered what was going on. D’oh!
But then Dan submitted these great shots so we can dream about what might have been. Thanks!
There is a local trade show in town this weekend dealing with snowmobiles, ATVs and all the other equipment that goes along with outdoor power sports. The tickets are $10 bucks a piece so I’ve probably seen all of the show that I am going to see by checking out the trucks parked on the street near the convention hall. One of the more interesting rigs was this Volvo for 509, a company that sells helmets, goggles and other “sled” wear. Who would have thought you could make a Volvo seem interesting!?
Click to Enlarge
I also liked the Kenworth hauling for Yamaha even though grabbing a shot of this truck across three lanes of busy morning traffic was a pain in the rear.
Have you ever exited the Interstate because you saw one of those blue information signs that promised a gas station or food only to find out the actual destination is miles away? I don’t know about you but it happens to me all the time. My trip to the Stadium International Binghamton branch was like this. I was returning from the ATCA Northeastern PA truck show when I noticed that Stadium International was listed as local attraction for the exit 2B region of 81. A truck dealer listed as an attraction? It’s about time this happened! Three miles later with 81 fading into the distance it was time to check out the local Southern Tier truck action.
Speaking to the strength of International in the municipal market the lot was jammed full with various county, town and state trucks. Much like this lime green Cortland County Workstar.
Cortland County International Workstar – Click to Enlarge
A few spots down was this Chenango County truck. Also a Workstar.
Chenango County International Workstar – Click to Enlarge
And from south of the border this Penndot Workstar.
Penn DOT International Workstar – Click to Enlarge
One big plus for truck spotters about this dealer location? No fenced in back lot. Everything hangs out right by the road. Oh yeah, a few Paystars were on hand but they will have to wait for another day.
About two weeks ago I received a private message through the message boards at brockwaytrucks.org from Klye, the owner of the 257 you see below. Turns out we had both attended the ATCA show in Harford, NY over the Labor Day weekend. I actually shot some video of his truck and being a fellow addict of any Youtube related truck videos he liked what he saw. He offered a ride along in his truck if I ever wanted to grab some in cab shots. I will admit that I am procrastinator but I knew I had to take him up on his offer sooner than later. We hashed out the details and met up this past Saturday to cruise the scenic countryside around Cayuga Lake.
Kyles truck is a 1965 Brockway 257 powered by a Detroit Diesel 6-71. An Eaton 5 speed with a two speed rear end helped propel the truck through the hillsides at a brisk but comfortable 55 mph. Klye grabbed this truck from it’s previous owner in Arizona. Currently the history of this truck is murky with the story of how it ended up in the American southwest a mystery. Rest assured, Brockway historians are researching as week speak. It’s possible the 6-71 is original to the truck but there is a distinct possibility that it was repowered sometime in the past 47 years.
Motoring through the hills along the lake the truck performed great. Naturally the Detroit was loud but it was not deafening while in the cab. While passing through the small towns of Aurora and Union Springs the truck turned its fair share of heads. Whether you like old trucks or not you can’t help but notice and hear this Brockway as it rolls down the road.
Do you remember how I passed on the opportunity to drive a Brockway wrecker at the ATHS show in Ballston Spa last week? Of course you do, it was a mortal sin. Fortunately Kyle offered redemption and allowed me to drive his truck back to our meeting spot about 20 miles down the road. The 5+2 gearbox/rear end was fun to handle and not that hard to pickup, even though I still need coaching from time to time.
But of course, why bother to read this account when there is video! I had a hard time deciding what to keep and what to toss. To start, I enjoyed every second of footage I shot, nearly 40+ minutes. But, I know that not everyone can sit still for that long so I cut it down to two videos about 9 minutes in length. Route 90 was a great choice for this truck. It had some hills, some nice flat spots and a great view of the country. So how can you lose? Historic truck, great weather, great views, great time.
Keep an eye for the large hill toward the end of the video, it makes a return in part 2!
Make sure you watch the end of this video to hear that awesome 6-71 as it echos off in the distance and for some great drive by shots.
Do you like Detroits? Do you like Brockways? Do you enjoy the scenic views of the Finger Lakes region? If you answered yes to any of those questions make sure to come back tomorrow to see what I have in store. Seriously, set an reminder on your phone. Tie a string around your finger. Whatever it takes. In the mean time, something to wet your appetite.
Ford trucks cost less because they are packed with dollar saving durability. Eatonite faced intake valves and forged crankshafts only begin to scratch the surface. I wonder if those snazy uniforms came with the truck?
So long Maxxforce 15, we hardly knew you. Yesterday Navistar announced plans to end production of their much malgined Maxxforce 15 engine in favor of the Cummins ISX 15. The writing has been on the wall for Navistar’s “big bore” engine for some time now following announcements that EGR efforts would be abandoned and a reconciliation with Cummins was under way. Senior VP of North American Sales, Jim Hebe, admits that he sad to see the big Maxxforce fade away saying “It’s a great engine but we can’t support it, the volumes are too small and we have to develop SCR on all our other engines.” So there you go, low volumes.
In other product news Navistar dealer personel from across the country have descended upon Salt Lake City for a bootcamp aimed to increase knowledge of how to sell new trucks and maintain marketshare in the current highly competive vocational market. The new tatic for International dealers will be to highlight the strengths of their trucks compaired to competitors with out resorting to bashing or trash talking. Jim Hebe explains.
We don’t just tell them ‘This is how you sell against this product,’ we tell them what’s good about it. If you can tell your customers something good about the competitor’s product – something that the competitive salesperson didn’t even know – that gains you instant credibility. We walk these guys through, teach them what’s good about their products and what’s good about our products.
Attendees were also presented with over 50 trucks to sample and drive including the new LoadStar and the sloped hood Workstar. For a gallery of photos from the event click here. Other changes mentioned were the availability of a 4×4 TerraStar, a revised ProStar, new and upgraded interiors and a time table for SCR on all International engines. For the full details click here.
Killed by a soda machine. Strangled to death by a walkman. The members of AC/DC (maybe) crashing off a drawbridge to their doom. This is just a small selection of the scenes that await the viewer of Maximum Overdrive, Stephen Kings only directorial effort. The general plot of the movie is this, inanimate objects come to life and kill their human owners. Toasters, lawn mowers, arcades games and of course, the humble semi truck. The movie features a variety of now classic rigs, here is a short list.
Mack Cruiseliner (at least seven!)
International Transtar
Brockway 400 Series C/O
Diamond Reo
White 9000
Autocar A64
The best part? The trucks are not static props in the background, they are used in nearly every scene to terrorize and at times kill their former human overlords. Click here for the listing of the diesel stars (with photos) from the movie. But of all the classic trucks from the movie perhaps none is more well known than the Western Star with the sinister green goblin on the grill.
Now I will admit, I haven’t seen this movie in a very, very, very, long time but when I saw this ’77 White Western Star arriving at the ATHS Hudson Mohawk truck show I new exactly where I had seen it before.
White Western Star – Click to Enlarge
Even without the goblin the look of this truck head-on is some what intimidating. *NOTE* This is not the actual truck from the movie, just a similar model.
White Western Star – Click to Enlarge
Thankfully, this truck didn’t become sentient while I was filming the video below.
Unless the machines rise up tonight expect more coverage of ATHS show from Ballston Spa tomorrow!
The other day I mentioned that the ATHS show in Ballston Spa had a heavy concentration of Mack trucks. You can take my world or enjoy the photos and video below. Once again, I was drawn to a former Mullins truck but was equally impressed by a very nice and very blue B-61 dump truck.
