Teaser solved

I hinted on October 13 about the truck in the background of a White 7000.

If you said Diamond T - you win the prize. It is indeed a Diamond T, using essentially the same cab as the International "Fort Wayne" also featured here before. (June 27, 2010)

Diamond T was always noted for mid-size trucks, not just big highway tractors. In the days when they had their own cabs, they had a very distinctive and stylish full fendered conventional truck, with a low roof. It was favoured by soft drink, beer and meat delivery companies. When it became outmoded, Diamond T got new cabs from International. (Or from the same supplier as International. FWD got cabs there too as did several others such as Canada Diesel.)

Diamond T never had a tilt cab of their own, and their post war cab-forward model was too dated, and lacked the convenience of the tilt feature, introduced (in mass production) by the White 3000. In 1953 Diamond T began to use the "Fort Wayne" tilt cab, in order to maintain market share in that area.

Thames Valley Brick & Building Material of Chatham, ON had this Diamond T running in May 1966 (a year before Diamond T was taken over by White.) It was a straight truck, with a stake bed to carry brick, block and farm tile. It was not new in 1966, and probably dated to the early 1960s. It was quite a sleek looking job, and its white paint and green trim were always kept well washed.

The Internationals of the era had quad headlights for a time, but Diamond T kept the singles.

Random Shot #45

It's...a... Ford.

No...it's...a.. Sterling.

No - aw come on it's not a Chev!

Maritime Rail Maintenance of New Glasgow obviously has a Chev fan in its midst. Since Chev no longer builds class 8 trucks, what can he do?

He sticks some Chev logos on the nose and on the fenders, and pretends he doesn't have to drive a Sterling, with a second generation Ford Louisville cab. This rig has been parked on the Africville Road for the past couple of days. MRM does rail construction and repair work for CN under contract.

White 7000

1. Garage Charlevoix Enr. of Baie St-Paul, QC used their White 7000 for medium duty work. They kept an Autocar for the big stuff. Not sure if they towed any bicycles for the neighbour. July 7, 1987.

2. Thames Valley Brick of Chatham, ON had a 7000 as pride of their fleet. They hauled brick and concrete block with this rig in May 1966.

3. The truck was plated for Ontario and Michigan. It was painted white, with green trim. [Hint for vehicle on the right - it may not be what you think it is]

4. The basic construction of the cab was brightened up a bit with some "speed bars" which didn't line up too well between cowl and door. The truck cost $27,000 when new in 1966.

While putting together my Freightliner COE tribute the other day I remembered that in the 1960s, at the same time that White was marketing the White Freightliner, they were also producing their own COE called the White 7000.

It was known in those politically incorrect times as a Jap Freightliner. Meaning that it was a cheap knock-off (how times have changed!)

The 7000 series was certainly several notches below the Freightliner, and was in league with the GMC crackerbox Jimmy COE and trucks of that ilk. Dodge's COE of the era was a far superior unit and Ford had their H series, which was a high mounted C cab and was also viewed as a low cost truck.

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Mills, Western Star and Komatsu- again.

Mills Heavy Hauling Western Star, another Komatsu, and a different trailer.

In contrast to my early morning shot of April 22, this was taken at sunset this evening at the other end of the port at Fairview. Just in off the highway with the escort truck in attendance, the big rig is getting ready to drop the trailer.

Western Star sleepers

1. Owner/Operator Tim Dolliver of Halifax runs this Western Star with Stratosphere sleeper for Jardine Transport Ltd of Fredericton, NB.

2. Lockhart's have this 2011 Model 4900FA on the lot.

3. It has a more modest 40 inch sleeper, but still with a big window on the passenger side only.

4. The wind is blowing - the truck is standing still.

When Western Star introduced the Stratosphere Star Light sleeper, complete with picture window and sloped walls, we forgot that other sleeper options are available.

Jardine Transport has the typical long haul highway rig with sleeper, taking a Thanksgiving Monday rest in Burnside. It runs to Ontario and the US where a roomy sleeper is a necessity.

Down the road at Lockhart Truck Center, the Western Star dealer, they were promoting a 2011 - 4900A with a 40 inch sleeper. A much more modest affair, with a big window on one side only. Incidentally it has a 500hp Cummins ISX and 18 speed transmission, so is meant for some heavy work, such as flat bed and heavy hauls where the aerodynamics are not as important.

Kenwoth COE Tribute

Second part of my COE tribute, is of course for Kenworth - the grand daddy of COEs, and known as the Cadillac of the semis.

1. Tri-State of Springfiled IL, ran this superclean COE, with its winter jacket over the grille to conserve some heat in the cab.

2. Farmer's Produce Trucking of Orland, FL and Westfield ME, had a load of produce for O'Brien's Wholesalers at the corner of Barrington and Hollis. A woman co-driver was rare in the 1980s. (That is she across Barrington) The double wide sleeper was also a rarity at the time.

3. Hoopers Moving & Stg of Cal Alberta were very economical of stick-on letters for the driver's door, but somewhat less stingy with headlights. This much used long wheelbase and drom unit was spotted in Quebec September 5, 1987.

4. Ken Giberson Transport Ltd of Newcastle, NB ran a KW Aerodyne. The pioneering streamlined high top sleeper was introduced by KW and was unique. Giberson (now of the amalgamated Miramichi City, NB) still runs some KWs, but all conventionals.

Rivière-du-Loup, QC, July 3, 1992.

5. The Aerodyne, long chassis with drom had a lot of miles under its belt. Polaris Moving & Storage of Whitehorse, Yukon, but taken in Halifax June 27, 1987. He's also got the second set of headlights lower to the road.

6. Maritime-Ontario Freight Lines Ltd operated the sharpest looking trucks on the road. This flat top double sleeper has quite an array of plates and a "#1 Kenworth" plaque up front.

This is a newer model with square headlights and a flatter top to the traditional tombstone grille. Dartmouth,. NS August 20, 1989.

7. CRS (Choice Reefer Systems) had this clean Aerodyne B-Train reefer on the road with Manitoba main plates, but an array of others. Quebec, July 1992. [No relation to CRST = Cedar Rapids Steel Transport, now CRST-Malone]

8. Brookville Transport of Woodstock, NB had this unique Aerodyne on the waterfront in Halifax. It has a triple wide sleeper, and four stacks. Sorry I didn't look to see how many mufflers there were! September 21, 2005.

9. Latter day KW Aerodyne with set-back front axle, nice and clean despite winter conditions (see the KW conventional right behind with a good salt cover) Midland Transport had this one on lease from K&G Transport of Dartmouth, NS, February 12, 1994.

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Questionable Visibility Award

This month's questionable visibility award goes to...

Drum Roll.......

The envelope please................

This Chev 5500/ Starcraft XLT is the hands down winner. The duct tape on the fender faring tells it all.

See http://www.starcraftbus.com/ for the much better looking International version.

Prince Edward Tours of Charlottetown, PE operates this coach but it carries Nova Scotia plates - the mysteries of bus licensing deepen.