Thank You NKP Guy
Yes 40 qts probably worked pretty hard in those sizeable diesels.
Guess I didn't think too much what I was asking....Kinda funny...I go back a ways. Born in '31 so I do have memory of before the Turnpike. Lots of memory in watching some of the construction. First rode on it about a week after it opened which was Oct. 1940...We rode from Somerset to Donegal. That way we got to go thru a tunnel. Laural Hill Tunnel....One of the longer of the 7 original ones when the first section was built. You know I slipped in here to do a quick email and figured I'd check out the Trains. forum...and now look at the time....I'll try to visit more often....Nice to converse with you.
Quentin
We're all glad to see you back, Modelcar.
First off, to remember anything from before the Penna. Turnpike was opened is certainly rare these days! I can't say I recall Horton or Koontz trucks specifically, but I do remember the days when truckers were often the knights of the highway, and in Pennsylvania they had some challenging roads to drive. How I hated following a truck up a mountain that state!
Second, in the summer of 1966 I worked as a mechanic for the Cleveland & Buffalo Transit Company. This was a truck company whose roots lay in operating steam ships on Lake Erie between the two eponymous cities. The company couldn't operate ships in the winter ice, so it began a trucking company to keep its freight customers. By 1966 the ships were long gone; the C&B truck company component was sold to Morrison Motor Freight about 1968 or so. I got to know a number of truckers and their culture, for which I'm grateful. For example, they had a great cafe on St. Clair Ave. called the Fifth Wheel; typical truck-stop food and delicious hot coffee.
Remember Spector-Mid States trucking? Pacific Intermountain Express? I used to like seeing the logo of the Preston Trucking Company ("the 151 Line"), and another company whose logo was a camel ("Humpin' to Please"). Today I see trucks from A. Duie Pyle and Englander truck companies.
Those truck tractors I greased and oiled that summer were Whites and Diamond REO's. Do you know they took 40 quarts of oil?
Does anyone remember the truck line that was running before WWII named "Horton".....It appeared to be first class equipment. Believe orange and black were the colors...and some stainless steel trailers started to work into the fleet...{At least it appeared as stainless does now}....My point of viewing them on a regular basis was in Pennsylvania in Somerset Co. running east /west on Highway route 30. That was before the Pennsy Turnpike was put thru.....So 30 was the main route thru that area. Also at the same time, another one comes to mind....Koontz Motor Freight. Equipment not as first class and most tractors, were smaller units...Fords....Might even have been GMC or Chevy....Believe they were a dull red on paint scheme....
Jones Motor Co.. they've been going since 1894. You can read about their history at www.jonesmotor.com
Could be UPS in 1907 but the oldest is a flatbed steel hauler out of Cleveland Kaplan Trucking http://www.kaplantrucking.com/map.html which got its ICC number in 1934. Saint Johnsbury Trucking Company was 72 years old in 1993 before it went under. Red Ball Moving has been around since 1919-- Here is a rich history of them-http://www.redball.com/long-distance-moving-company/our-rich-history/ Main Problem was that untill the 1940s most US Routes were not even paved yet outside of metropoliton areas.
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