Merry Christmas from Truckfax

November 24, 1979. A White COE operated by Ray Merlin Trucking is about to set out for the United States with a load of Nova Scotia balsam fir Christmas trees.

The old auto rack trailer has been "customized" to carry the seasonal cargo.

.

Maritime-Ontario - back then - a round up

I have pretty much exhausted my Maritime-Ontario photo collection, so this is definitely the last installment -  - Part 7 of 5!
M-O had nearly every truck brand imaginable in its stable at one time or another, so here is a round up of those not previously shown, starting off with Ford. It was not until 1970 that Ford really entered the heavy truck  field, with the Louisville series, and then the LTL 9000 with the option of Cat of Cummins engines under a big fibreglass tilt hood aimed at long haul trucking.

 This basic LTL-900 and sleeper was heading out of Fredericton in the pre-bypass days of 1988.

MO # 570, reefer # 5570

Another basic Ford at the Dartmouth terminal.

MO # 524

There were also Fords with really big sleepers, styled somewhat after the KW Aerodyne.

Glenn Peddle O/O

MO # 678 and reefer trailer # 5678

Same style, different truck, this one on the mail haul.

MO # 571 trailer #3484

Ford also got into the streamliner race with the Aeromax L9000, which also had a set back front axle and a sleeper that may or may not fill up all the space behind the deflector. 

MO # 821, trailer # 3506

International made some sharp looking trucks, particularly the TransStar Eagle, with a wide cab and the unique stacked headlights. This un-numbered unit also has the big mid-rise sleeper that all brands eventually came up with. Trailer # 5560

I think the flat top sleepers were the sharpest however, and this one, with an old fashioned stake side trailer and tarp top, was particularly fine, thanks to the continuation of the stripes.

Dale Forsythe of Centreville, NB was the O/O.

MO # 655

One more Mack Superliner to round out the series. A plain jane mid-rise sleeper and simple colour scheme gives this un-numbered rig a very business-like look.

The bug deflector behind the golden bulldog says "Family Tradition".

Finale

A nice KW in the back frames this terrific looking rig. The full width cab, low rise  integral sleeper and tombstone rad made the best looking White ever made. Unfortunately this look was not for long. White and GMC were merged under Volvo ownership, and the diagonal bar (from Volvo) was the first outward sign. GMC was soon added to the badge, but this was still a White, at least in name.

Full width cabs and integral sleepers became the industry standard, but this was the first.

MO # 648 trailer # 5648

.

Postscript: As mentioned before, the colour fade on print film has resulted in very washed out photos in this last secvtion. Regretably most of my truck pix or on print film. However I will delve back into the slides for the next series. 

White - still going strong

1. Good for getting into tight plasces, this White Road Boss LCF had just delivered asphalt directly to spreader. 

2. Short wheelbase, and set back axle, but still a good sized dump body.

The late lamented White Motor Co has not been producing trucks for a long time. Even after the merger with GMC in 1987 and then takeover by Volvo the name lived on for a time as White/GMC, but to see a truck with the White only badge is certainly a rarity amongst working trucks these days.
The Xpeditor line was developed by White as a lower cost alternative to its more costly Autocar line (thus effectively competing with itself) and produced both conventionals and Low Cab Fowards (LCFs). The Road Boss line were also lighter weight, using a lot of fibreglass components, and also had an LCF, but it was considered to be heavy duty. The White and Autocar shared the LCF cab and were usually seen as trash compactor trucks, but the White Road Boss I saw yesterday has a dump body, and a very short wheelbase for a tandem. It was being used by Ocean Construction in a paving job, and was hauling asphalt. It did look a little out of place with Ocean's usually pristine Volvos.
The White and Autocar LCFs shared the same cab, and it was eventually sold off as the Autocar line by Volvo in 2000 and is still produced by the now independent Autocar LLC.

3. Ocean's usual shiny Volvo is a much bigger truck.

4. Asphalt can be delivered through small pocket doors or the whole tailgate, into the spreader seen in the background.

Hope you enjoy a White Christmas

Here are a few snowy Whites for Christmas:
1. Just what Santa needs for those large deliveries. The Onslow Belmont Fire Brigade had just retired this White 3000 tanker in 1984.

2. A new Road Boss conventional and new COE glider await delivery in 1977.

3. Just in off the snowy roads, a Maritime Ontario White has the rad and the a/c blanketed for winter 1978. A bit of road grime doesn't detract from the solid good looks of this one.

3. A White Freightliner COE and a White Western Star, and a glider are also in the cue for delivery in 1976.

4. A nice long wheelbase White Western Star has a fancy paint job in 1976.

5. Just what Santa ordered, a white White 3000 on a pedestal.

.

Last Gasp for the White Motor Co

In September 1980 the White Motor Co was bankrupt. It took eleven months until Volvo AB picked up the US pieces and continued production under the "White" badge (and Autocar too - but we've already done that) but with the Volvo diagonal on the rad.
In 1987 Volvo bought General Motors Corp's heavy truck division and changed the badge to "White/GMC."
But before that happened there was a six year period when there were still new White trucks on the road. Here is a sampling:
1. Sandwiched between a 'binder and a Louis, this White from Victoria Van & Storage was a long way from home in Kentville, NS 1988-07-09. It was no doubt involved in the huge annual military re-posting exercises, which moves families from one coast to the other.

2. A Moncton O/O ran this White for Jumbo Motor Express 1988-03-26. He might need the second fog light in that weather.

3. Big Wheels Transport & Leasing of Kensington, PEI (as with Jumbo, no longer with us) always ran sharp looking black rigs with multi-coloured stripe. 1991-06-28.

3. Colemans/ Mackie ran the more traditional White, with the squared off rad - the best looking White ever. 2011-07-01, Lower Debert, NS.

4. Same model, but with non-factory sleeper added to day cab, on this B-train at Notre Dame-du-Lac, QC, 1991-08-03.

5. Single screw version of the same carried the fleet brand "Mega" in place of White. The truck was leased to Klaussner Furniture Industries Inc of Asheville, NC. Halifax 1991-09-29.

6. Groupe Canam of St-Gédéon-de-Beauce QC built Canam-Manac trailers, but is also a large structural steel fabricator. They had their own fleet of trucks to carry the steel all over eastern North America, including this White - which also had the White GMC badge on the lower side of the rad. Soon the White name would be gone and only the White GMC would remain.

More of those another time.

.

Autocar Custom Driver Cabs

One of the great benefits to the White Motor Co when they acquired Autocar in 1953 was the Autocar Custom Driver Cab. White's standard cab, dating back to the 1930s, was SMALL! It was also narrow and as engines increased in size wider cab firewalls were needed.

There was also the issue of driver comfort. Most Whites were fleet trucks, the operators were not overly concerned about such matters, but there must have been some demand for better accommodation.

White used the Acar cab for many many years, and it also migrated to Western Star, Diamond T (which morphed in to Diamond Reo.) They discontinued the smaller cab in a few years, but did use the similarly sized Reo cab for vocational trucks.

Regrettably I do not have an interior view of an Autocar Custom Driver Cab, but I do have a shot of the old White cab.

1. Interior of the White cab. Based on a 1930s design, it was still in production in the 1950s. Stylish, but basic.

2. The White Super Power, gas engine tractor. Charron Transport, Chatham, ON, May 1966.

3. The tiny rear window was a trademark of the Super Power's cab.

4. Bigger gas engines demanded bigger hood, as in the White Mustang. Charron Transport, September 1975 had this one semi-retired.

5. The Autocar cab was put to use in several of White's trucks including the Diamond T (later the Diamond Reo) and the White Western Star. Seen here on the dealer's lot in Dartmouth, NS in 1977.

6. White diesel engined trucks really need a bigger cab! This old cab model was still running for Charron Transport in 1975.

7. A short hood, short wheelbase White Diesel bit well into the drivers leg room. 1966.

8. The Autocar Custom Driver Cab must have seemed like a living room by comparison. 1966.

9. A front end view of Charron 126- same hood and fenders as the White Mustang and earlier White Diesels. 1966.

10. Thames Valley Brick ran this White Diesel from Chatham, ON in 1966.

11. Connelly Transports Ltd of Chatham and London, ON ran a pair of White Diesels with Autocar cabs for St.Lawrence Cement. 1966.

.

Are You For Reo?

I am for Reo! This is a little reminder that these vehicles were always called Reo (pronounced Rio) never R.E.O. Despite the fact that the company was formed by Ransom E. Olds and used his initials. Olds had previously founded the Olds Motor Works, which built the Oldsmobile car. He sold his interest in that company and it eventually became part of GM. In 1904 he started the new company REO Motor Car Company, in Lansing, MI, to produce cars and trucks. He used his initials, to overcome objections from his prior company to the use of family name. REO built quality cars and began producing trucks in St. Catharines, ON in 1910. And yes, they did produce a truck called the REO Speedwagon.
A famous cross country trip from Halifax to Vancouver (with a slight detour through Washington State) in 1912 helped to establish Reo as a quality car manufacturer.
The Great Depression was not kind to Reo, and the company never really recovered. They stopped producing cars in 1936, and after bankruptcy and new owners took over they struggled until 1957 when they sold Reo to the White Motor Company. White used the Lansing-built Reo cab on their "vocational" trucks, but the brand did not flourish. In 1967 it was merged with another White subsidiary, Diamond T, forming Diamond Reo. Eventually in 1975 even that brand was liquidated. Executives went on to form Spartan Motors in Lansing-it is still going strong.
The best remembered Reo for me was the early 1950s model with distinctive radiator and Gold Comet engine. There were highway tractors but probably more straight trucks. The same hood and chassis was used for school buses,
1. Classic Reo from the early 1950s, seen in Fredericton, NB June 20. Something odd about the frame at the rear axles, but the front end is the Reo thing!

2. Bob and Marguerite drove this from Oklahoma to a square dance convention in Halifax in 1979.

3. It is a rear engined Reo chassis with a much modified urban bus body.

4. Under White ownership the cab remained in use for many years. Kaiser Construction and Services of Halifax were using this Reo in 1981. Hood and fenders are essentially White, but it still carries the Reo V8 engine symbol.

Reos are long gone now, although they are favourites among collectors because of their distinctive styling, and that is why I am for Reo.