Road Trip - Part 2

 Continuing my northern mainland Nova Scotia jaunt from September 10, is a mixed bag of interesting or different vehicles.

Truro, NS is an important transportation hub on the Trans Canada Highway (designated Highway 104 in Nova Scotia) running from the New Brunswick border to North Sydney on Cape Breton Island. Nearby Onslow is the junction with Highway 102, which runs approximately 100 km to Halifax and is the busiest section of highway in Atlantic Canada.

It is not surprsing that Truro is home to two major truck dealers - one for Freightliner and one for Volvo/Mack. Both also operate large maintenance facilities. 

The Volvo / Mack dealer ( MacKay's - no relation) had some colourful equipment in its yard.

A couple of new Macks were lined up on display.

The owners of this new Volvo opted for high visibility.

Getting ready for winter, this Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Mack plow truck may also be getting ready for a new door label as the department has been renamed the Department of Public Works.

Several trucking companies make their homse in Truro sas well. One that is new to me is WMB Holdings Ltd, a transporter of commodities - I assume agriculture related. They run some big bulk hauling rigs such as this Kenworth. The tires on the fourth trailer axle are just slightly off the ground.

 Irving Oil's large truck stop is a convenient stopping off point for through traffic, and is a good place to see long haul trucks such as this Kenworth running for DFS Projects of Woodstock, ON.

The used Cat backhoe may be coming from or going to the nearby Ritchie Bros equipment auctioneers, whose facility at Debert, NS is another busy spot.

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Ford Country - Road Trip Report #1

 Truckfax has made very few road trips recently, so a brief loop through northern mainland Nova Scotia on September10 was the first in many months. The destination was Pictou County - noted for lots of trucks - and as it turned out, several vintage Fords. 

Ford L- series trucks, known as Louisvilles were produced from 1970 to 1998 and a surprising number are still around.

This unusual looking Louisville has an L9000 hood, but I suspect the rest of the truck is another model. The eggcrate grille last appeared in 1988, and I would be amazed to see a 1988 model with as little rust on the cab as this one.

 

The 9000s were more frequently tandems too, so this is likely a "composite".

The unusual white cab and blue frame may tell a story. The truck was spotted at the Kenworth dealer in Westville, NS.

Not far away in Stellarton, NS, MacCulloch's Truck Services has a few wreckers, but this "Draggin Wagon" probably doesn't see much action despite a heavy duty wrecker body.

 At the fishermen's dock in Caribou, NS, on the Northumberland Strait, this boom truck does useful work hauling gear on and off boats with its Pitman hydraulic boom.

An L7000 model,  with horizontal bars in the grille, it must be newer than 1988.

A little further along the way the Abercrombie Volunteer Fire Department has a splendid apparatus roster of four units, all maintained in spotless condition. They show no favourites for chassis providers with an International (Engine 1), Kenworth (Tanker 1), Freightliner (Rescue 1) and this 1996 Ford F-800 (Pumper 1).

The rig was built by Superior Emergency Vehicles of Red Deer, AB, (the Canadian arm of Emergency-One from 1991 to 2006). It pumps at 840 (Imperial) gpm, has a 1000 gallon tank and carries 30 gallons of foam.

Ford stopped producing the Louisville model in 1997 and sold the manufacturing facility to Daimler / Freightliner, who renamed it Sterling. They continued to produce essentially the same truck. Ford then concentrated on lighter duty "Class 7" trucks, using as many pickup truck components as they could. I suspect it would be no fun squeezing into an F-series cab while wearing full bunker gear!

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More Extra Axles

 

 If yesterday's post was not enough, here are some mpre extra axles spotted today. JNB Heavy Haul from Mitchell, ON (also represented in Halifax) is a specialist hauler with some big gear including this Western Star and lowboy trailer with two dollies.

 The rig's load was also a truck, a Sandvik Toro LH517i, a 17 tonne underground loader.

Depending on bucket size (the standard is 7 cubic meters capacity, but up to 9 cubic meters is available) the Sandvik has an operating weight of 46,500 kg and a load capacity of 17,100 kg. Sandvik mining vehicles are built in Sweden and arrive by ship in Halifax directly from Gothenburg.

Extra Axles

 Equipment Express from Ayr, ON has this interesting Western Star on the road. The set back front axle and three rear axles makes for an unusual looking truck.

It appears more than capable of hauling this big crate on a tri-axle trailer. It will look bettter when they pump up the air suspension.

Halifax based Atlantic Tiltload also has a tri-axle Western Star in its fleet.

 I grabbed this "through the windshield" shot as it was hauling a tri-axle tilt deck trailer.

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Hauling farm trailers in style

 Farm trailers, usually confined to fields and towed by farm tractors, are not seen on the highways. Unless that is they are imports and must be transported from the Port of Halifax to dealers in central Canada. In that case the are not towed on their own tires, but are lashed down on flatbeds, such as the ones I saw today, September 1.

Fliegl trailers are built in Germany, and this Taurus Fox model is getting the royal treatment with a tag axle equipped Western Star en route to Quebec. The driver was giving it a very careful height measurement.

Directly behind was a Freightliner (the view was blocked by other trailers) with a Smyth Field Master Hi-Speed 20 wagon, built in Ireland.

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Another Scania

I have spotted only a few Scanias over the years, and all of them from New Brunswick. The last two that I saw were in Nova Scotia, and today I added a third.

Today's rig appears to be owned by Kooiker Transport from Four Falls, NB and is running for Walmac Transportation of Quispamsis, N B. It was hauling a triple axle Lode King step deck trailer.

I would like to have heard from those straight pipes, but he get away very quietly moments after I took these pics.

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Classics on the Move

 There is a significant trade in used cars leaving Halifax by ship. They arrive from the used car lots and auctions each week by the dozens - most are just barely running. There are also a few trucks from time to time. Last week (August 16)  I spotted this interesting trio:

 

The R model Mack dumper was the first to catch my eye, as that particular model was discontinued in 2004. But of course Macks are rugged so there are still lots on the road. The newer model Mack highway tractor, with some damage, was loaded on the trailer incurring some more damage by the look of it.

I was not quick enough to get a clear shot of the hauler tractor,  a vintage GMC General day cab, which was likely not going overseas. It appeared to be in pristine condition. The General was produced from 1977 to 1987, so is a true classic.

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