Classic Pete for the Big Orange

Day & Ross, the trucking arm of the McCain foods organization, was long known as the Big Orange, for its distinctive black over orange colour scheme. The Big Orange name, eventually used by the company after many years as an informal nickname, was quietly retired. As the company kept building their fleet (like many others) with plane jane factory white painted trucks, the only orange showed up on door stickers.

Long a major user of owner-operators, it required that the trucks be painted in company colours. This classic Pete with Newfoundland plates is pretty obviously an owner-operator. To go with its classic look, it is good to see the classic Big Orange paint scheme today in Burnside.

.

Tradition lives on- for now.

1. Fastrax division - in traditional "big orange" colour scheme.

2. M-O with traditional blue, but plainer than the old days.

A while back I decried the current trend to take trucks in factory white and run 'em like that! Day & Ross has apparently forsaken its famous "big orange" scheme and I have seen numerous others, who I won't embarrass by naming - but you know who you are!

I was therefore celebrating in my usual mild mannered way the sighting of two traditional colour schemes today.

Maritime-Ontario, once the holder of the official Truckfax best looking trucks award (they never actually received it, I know, but I still made the award) has gone into intermodal in a big way, but they still do have a few trucks on the road and they look better than decent. They also still sport the legendary blue paint job. There is a lot less originality in it than there once was but at least it ain't white.

Day & Ross still has orange and black trucks, but I guess not new ones. Today I spotted one of their Fastrax Division Western Stars in a traditional paint job. Unlike M-O, D&R never got very fancy, they just kept the basic black and orange, but they do look sharp.

.

Because both of these trucks are Western Stars, I suspect that they are owner/ operator vehicles. Also neither one is new- the M-O admits to being a 2001 - that's pretty good going, and still looking good.

.

I promise a few from the shoebox from both of theese companies in the near future, so we can compare the glorious paint jobs of yore!

.

Random Shot #37 - the Big Orange No More?

Day & Ross, that hard charging trucking subsidiary of the McCain french fry potato empire, has jumped onto the highway doubles band wagon. As one of the biggest shippers around (they claim 1,000 tractors in their ads) exceeding the size of Midland, Sunbury and Armour, it is hardly surprising that they would do so. They move a lot of freight besides french fries.

What is surprising is that they seem to have forsaken their trademark "Big Orange" colour scheme in the process. Their famous orange and black scheme identified them from miles off - even with such recent interlopers as Skelton and Schneider.

Now here they are in plane jane, factory vanilla -too bad.

The predictable Freightliner Columbia also puts then on the boring list. [Correction Cascadia - brain fog again!]

This shot was taken this afternoon in Burnside at the doubles terminal, not at the usual D&R terminal.

Post script

After my comments a while back on on the 25 meter length limit in Nova Scotia, it should be pointed out that Long Combination Vehicles (such as shown above and in the masthead) are allowed by special permit only, and only on designated roads. A 40m length limit for A-train or B-train configuration is allowed-which permits two 53 foot trailers, but leaves room for only a day cab. The designated roads are divided highways and certain approach roads. For more see:

www.gov.ns.ca/tran/trucking/LCVGuidelines.pdf