Found A'nother one

You can't keep your Autocars hidden much longer - I will seek them out and photograph them. I spotted this late model 'car in Kentville yesterday, hidden at the end of a dead end road in an industrial park. Clever place to put it, but not quite clever enough.

Coming soon to a street near me

One of the last places on earth where the ubiquitous brown UPS trucks are never seen is the Atlantic region of Canada. The four provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia , Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland get UPS service, but it is provided under contract by Purolator (which in turn is owned by Canada Post - a competitor.)
UPS has announced that in the new year it will terminate the contract with Purolator for the three Maritime Provinces, leaving Newfoundland to carry on as is.
That will mean we will be seeing the the famous brown trucks here soon.
Because the UPS used to obliterate all reference to any maker, it was virtually impossible to tell who made the trucks. Sometimes there was a makers logo in the steering wheel, but that was about it.
Purolator of course made a big splash with their Utilimaster hybrids, which they introduced here last year. There will still be many of those on the road, but it will be interesting to see what UPS brings in.
Odd as it may seem I have never taken a photo of a UPS truck. Fortunately I was able to grab this dandy today-which I am sure is no indication of what we might seeing in 2012.
1. UPS is a proud sponsor of the Metro Food Bank Society, but this well worn GMC is likely not an example of their typical truck.

2. Purolator's Utilimaster hybrids (with their very distinctive sound) deliver UPS stuff on contract for now. Will UPS step up the plate with comparable environment savers?

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Pairs day

It was pairs day in Halifax (see also following post) but not twin or even matched sets.
D.A.LePage of Brantford, ON had a pair of Peterbilts in town, but aside from the manufacturer and owner there wasn't much else in common.
1. The bright red Pete is a 386 model, which has aerodynamic features, but retains the classic cab.

2. The dark red Pete is an older 388 or 389 model, exhibiting the distinctive classic Peterbilt look.

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A pair of wide loads arrive in style

A pair of big crates bound for England arrived in style today.

1. The lead truck is the International Lone Star with special moose bar to match the unique configuration of the truck's nose.

2. The second unit is a well travelled Pete. Note the extra width mirrors on both trucks.

They are operated for T-Lane Transportation & Logistics of Mission, BC. They also had escort vehicles in company.

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Big crane takes a ride

Delway Enterprises Ltd of Miramichi, NB, brought their classic Freighltiner set-back axle daycab and Etnyre trailer to Halifax to load a big crane truck. It will take at least three more truck loads to get the crane body itself, its counterweight, and some boom sections on the road to northern New Brunswick.

Delway is a demolition and trucking company with a nice website: http://www.delway.ca/index.html

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Swap Meet

Two big KWs hand over to to two Big W'Stars.
The two big Kenworths from Transport Watson Montreal brought a pair of crates to the Fairview Cove container pier parking lot. There they dropped the trailers for Mills Heavy Hauling's two Western Stars.
Mills then took the crates to the Halterm container pier at the south end of town (and though city traffic.)
Waiting for the Watson trucks were two travelling girder cranes, already on trailers, just in from Europe and ready to go.
A neatly done swap.
1. Watson KW #895 has stacks ahead of the sleeper (which also has a side window).

2. Watson KW #898 has stacks behind sleeper, and larger fuel tanks. The third axles appear to be removable tag axles.

3. Watson's return loads are these generously sized crane beams. They are to be accompanied by an escort vehicle on their return trip.

4. Mills W'Star has made it through Halifax traffic to the other end of town. His extra axle is ahead of the drivers and is an air lift.

5. The other Mills 'Star is also lined and ready to get clearance into the terminal. The trailers had Ontario plates.
Transport Watson's website is worth a peak:

http://www.transportwatson.com/

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Another import from Japan

1. All the gear for off road work. 2. Flush side on what is now the curb side. 3. Self defense mirrors on the "off" side of a right hand drive vehicle.

4. The Salvador Dali ladder requires explanation.

Small Japanese (right had drive) trucks and vans are spreading across the continent. Yesterday's sighting was this Mitsubishi Delica 4WD, with the Crystal Lite Roof and full off road package of winch, push bar, fog lights, miniature roo bars, etc.,

These vehicles are becoming so common now that there is a Canadian Delica owner's club and several dealers are bringing them into the country.

"Delica" apparently comes from the contraction of DELIvery CAR.

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No Dinky Toy

Used to be the only hope of seeing a Foden in Canada was to buy one of the excellent diecast Dinky Toys made by Meccano Ltd. Not so now.

Schlumberger, the world wide drilling services company, has a fleet of wireline and data logging Fodens. These trucks are fitted with electrical wires which are lowered in to wells to measure, record and then transmit data (by satellite.) The Schlumberger brothers invented wireline data collection in 1927 and have developed it to the curent state of the art.

For pure Foden fans, I should acknowledge that as with some North American truck brands the name can be misleading (OK I will only mention Autocar in passing.)

Foden, the venerable British truck manufacturer from Sandbach, Cheshire, fell on hard times in the 1970s and despite government bailouts went into receivership in 1980 and was snapped up by the deep pocketed PACCAR (Pacific Car and Foundry) the makers of Kenworth and Peterbilt.

PACCAR then proceeded to buy DAF in the Netherlands in 1996, then Leyland trucks in the UK in 1998.

Shortly thereafter the Leyland factory started to produce DAFs that were badged as Foden, and independent Foden production ceased. By 2006 the sham was given up and the Foden name was retired. Nothing against DAFs, they are fine trucks I am sure, but the Foden history was just not enough to justify a free standing brand, and now PACCAR produces only DAFs in the UK.

The Schlumberger truck pictured is interesting though, because it not only has a DAF cab, with Foden badge, but also carries Kenworth on its doors. These particular trucks are often shipped all over the work to work where needed, and so perhaps the Kenworth name is more recognizable in the oil fields.

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