Semi Trucks of the American West
Semi Trucks of the American West
ITEM E516
By Ron Adams
Prior to the 1970s, when length laws were written to allow longer configurations to run on the national interstate highway system, you would only see a lot of these trucks west of the Mississippi. Configurations such as the Rocky Mountain Double were not allowed in many states.
Semi Trucks of the American West is the first book to showcase the unique truck/trailer combos and companies that worked the roads in the American West from the early 1900s thru the 1970s. Ron Adams has pulled 375 images from his vast collection to feature companies and truck makers, such as Navajo Freight Lines Inc.; Denver-Chicago Trucking Co. Inc.; Braswell Motor Freight Lines Inc.; Western Truck Lines Inc.; I.M.L. Freight Inc.; West Coast Fast Freight Inc.; Los Angeles-Seattle Motor Express Inc.; Garrett Freight Lines, Illinois-California Express Inc.; Ringsby Truck Lines Inc.; Watson Bros. Transportation Co. Inc.; Pacific Inter-Mountain Express; Transcon Lines Inc.; Big Sky Co-op of Montana; Garrison Fast Freight Inc.; Arrowhead Freight Lines Inc.; United Truck Lines Inc.; Strickland Transportation Co.; Peterbilt semi trucks; Sterling: International; Kenworth; White: Autocar trucks; GMC semi trucks; Fruehauf trailers; Mack semi trucks; Freightliner semi trucks. Trucks and companies from the following states are covered : California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Wyoming and Montana.
Softbound, 144 pages, 8.5x11 inches
Prolific truck photograph collector Ron Adams offers a look at the nation’s truck manufacturers and transportation companies operating in the “American West.” Adams devotes his Dedication page to reminders of days gone by when drivers loaded and unloaded their own cargo and roads were often dirt with lots of mud holes, ruts, and bumps. As he observes, trucks lacked the amenities drivers have come to expect—power steering, power brakes, and air conditioning. Adams explains that, “Way back in 1959, I started to write to the trucking companies, truck and trailer manufacturers, and other sources for pictures and photographs of their trucks.” Unfortunately, while young Adams received photographs, he too often failed to get information about the trucks or trailers shown. As a result, the black-and-white and color photographs in the book sometimes lack detailed captions. Devoting three photographs to a page, the usually at-work trucks, and their trailers offer a marvelous array of legendary truck and trailer brands. Along the way, the reader will enjoy the legendary cab-overs and conventionals from the likes of Autocar, Federal, Mack, Moreland, Fageol, GMC, Sterling, Stewart, Kenworth, Peterbilt, Freightliner, and Diamond T, as well as trailer manufacturers Highway, Trailmobile, and Fruehauf whose “doubles” defined Western trucking.
Book Review by Robert Gabrick
