Road Trip Report - plus

Sad to say my recent road trip didn't turn up much trucking of interest. Perhaps it is the uniformity and lack of originality in modern day trucks or perhaps they just weren't where I was. I certainly saw very few old trucks in Maine - which used to be famous for them.

Always on the lookout however I did spot some COEs, both Freightliners:

This dandy with a large drom was spotted in Quebec. Bearing British Columbia plates, it was obviously westbound, due to the concentration of New Brunswick bug life plastered to the front. Movers still like the long chassis COE to maximize the cubic carrying capacity.

Later on at one of the fish plants on the Portland, ME waterfront, this classic Freightliner with reefer box on a tandem straight chassis was getting ready to roll. Much favoured to carry fish, they are easy to maneuver into tight places, like most wholesale fish markets, and they carry relatively small quantities of high value product.

I was hoping to see some classic pinstriped trucks in Boston, but was only able to catch one:

This Mack on transit mix duty, carries on the long tradition of heavily pinstriped vehicles in what are now called vocational trucks - dumpers, mixers, and refuse - a Boston trademark. Once seen lavished on Autocars, Brockways and Macks, they are now few and far between.

In 1978 L-J Transport of Dartmouth, NS was running three similar Autocars, all imported from New England.

 By 1980 Harnum Transport Ltd of Dartmouth, NS was the successor to L-J, and although they ran R model Macks they were also pinstriped, and probably came in from the US too.

 

Owen Davis from Lower Sackville, NS was an Autocar man, and he made sure this pinstriped unit  advertised Owen Davis Trucking in the 1983 Natal Day parade in Halifax.

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