Truck

Truck, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

We've visited these old relics a few times, but here's another view.

Hidden

Faded, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

One thing that never ceases to surprise me when I'm out driving around is what's hiding behind the trees. For instance, I was driving through a small town in Illinois, and stopped to look at an eclectic collection of tractors parked in front of an old garage. The neighbors said it was okay if I looked around, and as I went around the side of this building, I saw a couple of old trucks. And two more. Then about four more. Plus some more tractors. And an old Oldsmobile. And a few sixties Cub Cadets. And other stuff I can't even remember. Anyway, other than those initial implements, this whole thing was hidden from the road by a line of trees.

I've visited this site a few times now, and it always throws up something new, hidden in that shady grove.

Corner Station

Corner Station, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

A 1950-ish hot rod Chevrolet pickup truck. It's signwritten for a fake garage (note the "KL5" phone number: it translates to "555"). It's parked in front of an old filling station that now sells vintage gas pumps and other petroliana. The owner parks it out front to draw attention to his business-and it works pretty well.

The Big E

Big E, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

We've talked about the Edsel before, so I won't go into the history of the marque again, except to say that I've always had a soft spot for these underdogs.

This Edsel hood ornament would usually be in the center of the hood, but this car was pretty heavily customized and featured one on each fender. How heavily customized? The front clip was all Edsel, and from the windscreen back it was all Ford Ranchero.

The owner called it a "Fordsel".

Out to Pasture

Out to Pasture, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

I've show you this truck before but I keep returning to it. As it sits it's just a fantastic sculpture.

Chevrolet

Chevrolet, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

My first post of the new year, from one of my last photos of the old. This Chevy truck sits disused and abandoned, surrounded by old trucks and tractors in various states of disrepair. Many of them, like this one-tonnner complete with shelling apparatus on the flatbed, look like they were parked when the owner retired. Others look like they suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure and were towed to a far corner and left for dead. All of them are classics, the newest being a mid sixties pickup.

SHerwood 2-2296

SHerwood 2-2296, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

I love finding alphanumeric phone numbers still in situ. They turn up all over the place sometimes-old business cards or matchbooks, old ashtrays, old signs, old boxes and sometimes, old trucks.

Pleasantly, this truck hasn't strayed too far from it's home in Elgin, either.

Kitchen Made Pies

Kitchen Made Pies, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Vintage trailer from the Kitchen Made Pies company. Best I can tell, this was a regional bakery from the 50's through to the 80's, at which point the company went out of business. A friend of mine came up with a bunch of mentions of this firm in various business case studies, so whatever they did it must have been noteworthy, at least at the time.

I would guess this trailer is from the sixties-it has that really old look to it. Spotted in the town of Towanda, Illinois, along old Route 66.

SHerwood 2-2296

SHerwood 2-2296, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

It's been a sort of a trend in old car circles to paint up trucks in old, flat, faded paint, with artificially worn signwriting on the sides. I kind of like it-usually such paint jobs are fun and don't take themselves too seriously.

This one, though, is the real deal. It's a 1960's International Harvester Metro step van, formerly in the stable of the M.C. Lohbauer heating repair company. Note the genuine old phone number (a real number, in fact), and the old Republic sticker. A really neat piece of local history.

Chevrolet

Chevrolet, originally uploaded by William 74.

There is something a little sad about an abandoned car or truck, particularly one that's still in someone's yard. I can't help but wonder why they're in the state they're in. Did it simply wear out? Some sort of catastrophic mechanical problem? And why are they still sitting there-was there a never-realized plan to fix it?

This is an old Chevrolet truck, and I found it on a farm surrounded by a couple of others of similar vintage. All long disused, all rusty, all sinking into the ground.

Chilly Dog

Chilly Dog, originally uploaded by William 74.

The iconic Mack bulldog, a face only a trucker could love.

This one is a B-61 tractor, probably a late fifties example if I'm not mistaken. I like the B series trucks-they have a really nice, late 40's style to them, with lots of nice brightwork. The cab is also quite small by modern standards-about the size of a pickup cab-and it's quite Spartan inside, with plain vinyl trim and lots of painted meta, all in traditional Mack green. The outside's orange, and pretty faded, but the truck does run. I'd love to see it restored again.