Ed came across this interesting photo recently of Saulsbury 2100 gallon pumper tanker rinding a 1983 Autocar AT64.
Manufacturered in Tully, NY the Saulsbury name was popular choice amoung fire departments across the Northeast and beyond. You can still see the old plant along I-81 right near the large Suit-Kote terminal. Saulsbury was purchased by E-One in the early 2000s and subsequently closed. If you cant beat…buy em and shut em down.
Recently this cover model resurfaced when it was put up for auction by its original owner the Watkins Glen Fire Department.
Selling through RTI Auctions the Autocar found a new home for 15,000 big ones. Anyone know where? Thanks for the tip Ed!
Do you know of an Autocar that should be featured on Autocar Mondays? Email eric@dailydieseldose.com today!
Construction of the Glenn Canon Dam took place from 1955 to 1966 and according to this film was built entirely with International Harvest trucks and construction equipment. A wise call. In the video below you’ll pretty much every vehicle offered by IH at work. The video has a lengthy introduction but around the eight minute mark it picks up with footage of Payhaulers being lowered to the canyon floor by a giant cable system that spanned the Glenn Canyon during construction. A particularly dramatic scene takes place around the thirteen minute mark as crews scramble to plug the Colorado river and force its historic path into the diversion tubes. Enjoy!
Well, there isn’t much going on around here worth talking about so let’s look at some plows. This past Sunday bands of lake effect passed through the region producing white out conditions one moment followed by blinding sun the next. I didn’t have much else going on so I took a cruise looking for something a little different. I happened by the airport just as a convoy of Oshkosh trucks with snow brooms began to clear a runway. I thought about getting closer to the fence but realized I’m on enough government lists as it is. Any thoughts on the make of that last rig?
Here we see one of the new International NYSDOT trucks at work. I’m glad to see the blue hood survives now that the flying T door logo has been done away with.
I’ve found another Detroit (presumably) powered parking lot warrior. This one is wearing the same Case imitation colors as the Trojan from a few weeks ago. I guess these must be the corporate colors of CNY Sealing and Plowing.
In the gallery below you’ll find truck 212 of the Syracuse DPW. Winter is about the only time this trucks make a public appearance. One of two, maybe more, this one is my favorite. I can tell because of the red cab corner clearance lights. Next is a Town of Salina truck loaded to the max with salt. Then, another CNY sealing machine. A Syracuse Airport Authority truck is next, barred from using chemicals on runways this truck makes sure that salt is still heavily used on terminal roads and parking lots. Finally we end with a NYSDOT Mack Granite shot.
Many consider the Golden Age of Hollywood to have taken place near the end of the silent era of films and continuing through to the early 1960’s. During this period of time some of the greatest actors and movies of all times graced the silver screen. When thinking about trucking films the golden age unquestionably took place in the 1970’s with an explosion of movies and television series. No doubt everyone is familiar with the truck used by the Snowman to carry a load of Coors across state lines. And who hasn’t looked in their rearview mirror to find nothing but truck bumper and immediately thought of Dennis Weaver being chased by a demonic Peterbilt. This past summer at the annual Southern Classic Truck show five of the most iconic trucks of yesterday came together to awe truck lovers of all ages.
Former American Trucker star Robb Mariani was on hand to document this historic occasion.
There once was a time when the future was envisioned as one in which nearly everything would be jet powered. Cars, buses, trains, and even lawnmowers were set to be powered by the engine of tomorrow.
As we all know by now that didn’t happen. We came close to a few vehicles being powered by gas fed turbine engines but the dream never fully took shape. The old internal combustion engine held on for victory and doesn’t appear ready to give up that tile any time soon. Oddly enough this old Pettibone speed swing loader with 2 stroke diesel has found a way to marry the two engine technologies together. Or, at the very least, place them in an uneasy alliance.
I prefer the looks of the Pettibone to the more typical track only mounted blower commonly seen at work on the local rail lines.
It takes a special set of skills to bring a 1940 Autocar U-10 back from the brink of extinction. Thankfully the crew at Eastern States Construction Service possessed these skills along with the desire and the vision to save this old rig from the scrap man.
The U-10 was found languishing in a Boston junkyard four years ago. At the time it had a small fuel oil tank out back and was rumored to have been used in the delivery of lamp and cooking oil. As with many trucks of this time the cab is a unique marriage of metal and wood. To restore the cab two shipwrights worked for a month and half removing all the sheet metal and replacing nearly half of the rotted wood supports.
If you’re lucky enough to drive this classic you’ll be sitting on top of a Hercules gas engine connected to a Warner four speed transmission. A Schramm air compressor hangs over the rear axle now and is powered by a 4 cylinder gas diesel engine. No, that is not a mistype. The large engine is started on a gas and then switched over to diesel at the appointed time. Too cool.
A huge thanks to Stephen and the folks at Eastern States Construction Service for keeping this Autocar rolling!
Got an Autocar you think should be featured on Autocar Mondays? Send in your photos to eric@dailydieseldose.com
Few heavy truck manufactures recouped their cab development and tooling cost like Ford Motor Company when they introduced the C-Cab styled trucks in 1957.
For over three decades Ford produced the C-Series for a variety of trucking vocations. The model was particularly popular among fire departments and inner city delivery companies as the cab over style allowed for easy driving in tight urban areas. As late as 2001 I can recall the local Roadway terminal still employing a C machine as local runner! If only I had taken a picture. Thankfully Zach of Refuse Truck Media and Consulting wasn’t as foolish as me when he came across this ’86 model of Royal Refuse Service.
This truck still enjoys regular use as a yard dog while spotting various bins around the Royal yard in Eugene, Oregon. Over the years the C-Series remained largely unchanged in outward appearance undergoing cosmetic changes only when mandated by law. Early year C’s sported quad-style headlights but after that change in 1960’s the details became more subtle.
Above you see what is reported to be a ’69 model. If you look closely you’ll see that the side reflective markers and emblems are missing (mandated in 1968) while an empty trapezoid stained space on the front suggests a gear and lighting bolt emblem that was in use until replacement by the iconic blue oval in 1967. When it comes to old trucks who can tell what has happened over the years. Sometimes to keep these old rigs running you have to steal from an decade you can to make a complete truck. This could explain the discrepancies in trim pieces that point to a different time period.
Various engines of both the gas and diesel variety could be found under the floor of C-Series. Take a listen to this old gal in action and see if you can figure it out.
Among the famous cabs of years gone by the C-Series ranks right up there with the Mack R-Model and the Kenworth W series in life span. Once found on the highways of this great nation in prodigious numbers the C-Series is now rarely found outside of books in your local library. Thanks for the share Zach!
You have probably seen a dump truck from the side. And you probably have seen a dump truck from the rear. But have you ever seen a dump truck from above?
Last year I shot some footage of trucks rolling through the airlock of the Carrier Dome during preparations for Monster Jam. Over 425 loads of stockpiled soil was hauled by Riccelli Enterprises to help construct the ramps and jumps that make up a Monster Jam show. At the time I didn’t feel the footage was all that good but now in the starving days of winter it seems down right amazing! The video begins with Big Red Towing hauling in some rental equipment from Milton Cat.
By the way, Monster Jam Syracuse has been pushed back until April 8th this year. Considered this your first and final warning.
While stalking the plows of many CNY shopping centers I also spent some time looking for the normal variety that we all know and love. I came across this older Freightliner FL for the Town of Dewitt as large lake effect snow began to fall. While it looks ominous in the photo it never really amounted to much as the day went on. What a shame.
This season I’ve started a project to collect plow action via dashcam. Right now I’m thinking the video might be ready toward the end of winter but if I come across enough footage there might be two films. The other day I came across truck 158 of the Onondaga County DOT as it was cleaning shoulders. I figured this truck would be a perfect addition to the dashcam project once a single pickup moved out of the way. To make a long story short the pickup did eventually get out of the way but replaced by a car, a van, a van with a mobile lift and pickup. Better luck next time kid. I caught up later with the truck while the crew was taking a well deserved break.
Did you ever think you would see the day when NYS ran “murdered out” plows? In case you can’t tell murdering a vehicle occurs when every piece is painted black leaving no chrome pieces visible. Usually the windows are heavily tinted but we’ll look past that fact for the moment. No word on if the bulldog on the hood received the same treatment. The other day Seth happened across this truck about 45 minutes outside of NYC. Wearing MTA license plates this rig is one of thirty former NYSDOT trucks spared from the surplus lots and given a second life as barrier trucks for high profile public gatherings. Usually filled with sand these trucks are lined nose to end across streets to prevent attackers from driving vehicles into crowds. It appears that NYS now has a permanent fleet of dedicated barrier trucks for the never ending spectacle that is the Big Apple. Great catch by Seth with this one. Make sure to check out his website, x635photos.com for more!
In the gallery below we have a shot of some plows from the Syracuse DPW, another shot of the OCDOT 158 truck from above and a rear end shot of OCDOT truck 114 that happens to be an International 2574 still soldiering on. Love that Pimp My Ride bumper sticker.
