The United States is large and diverse country and I’m not talking about people, I’m talking about trucks. It’s no secret that trucks from the left coast have their own unique look. Peterbilt has always reigned supreme in these parts but plenty of other truck manufactures struck their claim with west coast specific models. Below, a needle nose Pete and International RDF “west coaster”. See what I mean?
Ryan shares with us these fantastic photos from the 2016 ATHS Central California chapter truck show. Simply put you won’t find a truck like this back east.
Thanks for the photos Ryan. We look forward to coverage from the national show!
That 1948 International KB-5 from the other day was a pretty cool truck. Back in the day in probably cost a pretty penny and was considered top of the line. Times sure have change since then. Below, the newest International Trucks of the Madison County fleet.
Foreground, a 2015 International WorkStar with a SCR enabled Maxxforce. In the background, a 2016 Workstar with the Navistar N13. Despite all the pictures I took last Saturday I never took a head on shot of the the ’16! D’oh. Oh well, it looks pretty nice from the rear.
A one way Viking plow and right side wing push effortlessly through the heaviest winter storms. On the material side of things a stainless steel dump body and fiberglass tub sit atop a Hendrickson suspension. According to the driver of this truck the 475HP N13 and Allison 4500RDS-P have performed flawlessly all winter long. When asked how this truck compares to the one it replaced, a 2000 Autocar ACL 64B, the following analogy was made. If the Autocar was a F-14 Tomcat than the International is a F-117 stealth. Get the picture?
Interesting note, truck 68 is the first 2016 WorkStar to roll of the production line. Madison County is also in possession of the last 2015 Workstar to be produced. Both trucks were moving down the line together when the line was drawn in the sand. Future collector items?
This past weekend Madison County (NY) held an open house of sorts for some of the various departments most often seen by the public. The idea is for people to learn more about the people and equipment used to plow roads, put out fires and patrol the streets. It’s a good idea and one that illustrates local government is mostly made of normal people like you and me. It’s also a perfect opportunity for truck fools like myself to openly take pictures without causing paranoia.
The Highway Department pulled out all the stops and brought an entire fleet of vehicles and heavy equipment. Despite being the smallest and not being painted bright orange this 1948 International KB-5 immediately caught my eye.
You’re looking at a truck the County has owned since new. Yes, this is a one owner gem right here. Originally this truck started its career as the welder’s rig, a job it carried out with ease for decades until 1971 when a dump body was sourced from an even older Chevy truck. Since that time the KB saw some light action hauling garbage from the Wampsville shop to the local landfill.
Inside and out this truck is mostly stock. Under the hood you’ll find 233 cu. in. six cylinder Green Diamond engine. Transfer of power takes place through a four speed gearbox connected to a 2 speed rear axle. On the dash a hand drawn tag remains indicating the shift pattern. That tag is as old as the truck itself! It’s faint but can still be seen.
One of 41,238 produced at the IHC Springfield plant in 1948, this old ‘binder now enjoys a relaxed life as display and parade unit. It’s a great piece of local trucking history. I commend the folks at the Madison County Highway Department for keeping this truck rolling after all these years.
Brothers sent to a different mother? Once again I was browsing through some older photos when I cam across this pair of near identical looking Autocars.
The longer you look the more you spot the differences between the two but the general paint scheme between the two trucks leads me to believe they once belonged the same company.
Details are scare with the first truck appearing at the 2007 ATHS Hudson Mohawk classic truck show in Ballston Spa, NY. Look closely in the background and you’ll see two vehicles that arrived to the show by riding in the dumpster. Cool way to get around town. The second truck was seen back in 2009 with a show registration sticker that simply read Autocar under the make. *eye roll*
The video below will give you a good idea how well the first truck can move through the gears when unload.
On the way home from work last week I spotted this Kenworth K100 unloading behind the neighborhood Lowes. I cried a little inside for a picture that I thought would never be. Today I saw the same truck at the same Lowes unloading more flowers and plants. This time I turned around and went back for a photo. I’m unsure of the year but square headlights up front probably put us in the neighborhood of the mid 80 to late 90’s. The addition of aerodyne sleeper puts this truck in an expensive class back in the day. Cabovers, once common, now rare.
Track geometry derailments are the leading cause of derailments nation wide. Did you know this? I’m just making stuff if you can’t tell. This fun looking rail car is part of the Federal Railroad Administration fleet that travels the country test over 40,000 miles of mainline track each year. The GRMV vehicle operates in self propelled mode or tow mode, as seen here. It’s packed with all sorts of equipment and sensors to test track for weak ties and fasteners that could lead to rail track shifting in unwanted ways, track geometry in a nutshell. For a detailed explanation click visit the FRA website by clicking here.
When spotted, DOTX-218 was being towed by CSX 3290, a GE ET44AH that appears to be a rather new unit. The fun looking presidential looking car out back is DOTX-220, it’s also jammed full of sensors including a vehicle track interaction (VTI) system to measure truck and car body forces in g’s. That’s some Top Gun stuff right there.
Now here’s a beefy looking fire truck in the form of a 1957 Oshkosh W616. Owned by Mike Blais of Springfield, VT this truck is original as they day it was delivered from the Pirsch factory….if you excluded one repaint. After 41 years of service with the Springfield Fire Department Mike was able to obtain the truck he first saw as a child.
Outside of airport crash trucks I can’t recall seeing to many Oshkosh based fire trucks so this one is a real treat to behold. Below, the truck as it appeared in ’57.
If you would like to see this truck in person you’re in luck. Mike plans on taking the W616 to ATCA Western Mass Chapter truck show this coming Sunday May 1, 2016. See flyer below for details.
Thanks for the great photos Mike! Safe travels to the show.
There has been a whoooolllleee lot of Brockway action happening around thing site recently. That’s a good thing. This truck, despite what the door reads, is not located in West Virginia but Homer, NY. Practically spitting distance from the CNY Living History Center and the Brockway Museum. I don’t know too much about this truck but I’m sure that will change. It looks like the roof has experienced some root (surprise!) up by the windshield but otherwise all required pieces seem to be intact and present. The box on this truck seems tough enough but a tad short for coal hauling as one would suspect from the Mountain State. Do you know anything about this rig? Please leave a comment below.
Are you ready to test your Autocar model knowledge? I hope you’ve been hitting the books because this is tough one.
I last saw this truck at the 2010 Empire State Antique Truck Association show in Batavia, NY. At the time I had no idea of the exact model but figured it was a common place model. The DK style cab and the one piece ACL style hood lulled me into a false sense of late model security. After combing through piles of Commercial Truck Trader photos and page after page of google image results (poor me) I began to loose hope of accurately labeling this truck. I just about tossed my computer out the window when I saw someone selling this style truck as a AT64F model. Then I found a thread at the ATHS forums and the answer was provided.
You are looking at an Autocar DS, a truck marketed as a light weight alternative for urban job sites.
Clearly this was a look at things to come. In the literature linked above the trucks all have round headlights while this model sports square sealed beams that very much resemble the long lived ACL model. A heavy looking dump body rested behind the cab.
I know the air cleaner claims to “see ya” but passing large trucks on the right is a dangerous situation.
Usually videos from seven years ago didn’t turn out that well but this one is solid from start to finish.
If you want to find cool old trucks head to the back roads. Even in California, the land of CARB and other oppressive government agencies polluting classic trucks can still be found. Presumably in operating condition and not requiring the posting of a one million dollar bond to coverage potential ecological damage.
I’m sure this classic couple will peak the attention of many. The Peterbilt goes without saying, slap a pair of dual headlights on a round fender and you have people beating down your door. My eye however was drawn to the Mack F700, it appears in near pristine shape. If forced to choose one my vote would go with this International Paystar for no particular reason other than I am an IHC homer.
Ryan did a great job scoping these trucks out. There are hiding gems like these all across the country. Which ones have you seen? Please feel free to share. eric@dailydieseldose.com
