Fageol COE -- Well Maybe

I found this picture on the Just Old Trucks forum, and while I believe it may be a late 1930's Fageol COE I have never seen a Fageol COE of this period like this. The picture was taken in July 1938, and shows trucks of the BIGGE DRAYAGE CO. moving a 16 inch gun tube for a battery Townsley near Oakland, California.

Here is the picture enlarged for a better view of the lead truck --

Note that while the main cab screams out FAGEOL, the nose of this truck appears to be more along the lines of an early Peterbilt --- remember though that this picture was taken in 1939, the year Fageol was bought by Peterbilt.

Below is a picture of the "typical" Fageol COE that was being used by Consolidated Freightways around the same time ---

Right away, we can note the similarity of the main cab but certainly there is a difference in the nose. I have read that Freightways did some modifications to some 30 or more Fageols between 1937 -39 -- what were called "Monkey Ward" trucks. Could this be one of those that BIGGE got their hands on? Or could this be an unknown model that Fageol made late in their game?

What is your take on this?  Reply to my e-mail -- george@emurphey.com

UPDATE -- 3/16/13

It is indeed a FAGEOL ----

"The illustration shown on this page originally appeared in the November 1939 number of Diesel Power. Many inquiries were received from readers requesting information in regard to the operations pictured, as well as details of the types of equipment used. 

In response to these inquiries, Diesel Power is pleased to print the interesting story dealing with one of the largest hauling jobs undertaken in this country. 

When the Bigge Drayage Company of Oakland, California, recently hauled the barrels of two 16-in. coast defense guns, weighing 150 ton apiece, across the mountains to Fort Cronkite, two Diesel trucks played an important part in the operation. 

The guns, hauled separately, required six heavy-duty trucks. The important position of lead trucks was assigned to the Diesels, a Fageol chain-drive, cab-over-engine truck, and a Diesel-powered Autocar. Each of the Diesel units is powered with a Model HB-6, 6-cylinder Cummins engine developing 150 hp. at 1800 revolutions per minute. 

The moving of these guns was one of the heaviest truck operations ever performed in the San Francisco Bay area. In fact, there have been few heavier jobs in the entire country. 

Shipped to Waldo, in Marin County, from an Eastern arsenal, the 70-ft. barrels required a special 12-axle flatcar for the trip across the continent. Jacks and winches were used by a 12-man crew to snake the 16-in. barrels off the freight car and on the trucks, and special shoring was needed to strengthen the Sausalito lateral-underpass structure beneath the Golden Gate Bridge Highway over which the guns had to pass, en route to the fort. 

Unloading the barrels from the flatcar and hauling them eight miles up and down six per cent grades, required five days. The actual haul, however, took only six and one-half hours. 

Four trucks pulled the record load on the upgrades, and two pushed. On the downgrades, five trucks were shifted to the rear to act as a drag, and so prevent the possibility of 300,000 lb. of steel getting out of control and running wild. There were 40 wheels immediately beneath the load and a total of 90 wheels in all, for the six-truck-trailer fleet. 

In addition to the barrels, Bigge also hauled the breech and carriage mechanism for the two guns to the fort. These assemblies weigh 400 ton apiece, but are broken up into smaller, component parts. 

Commenting on the Diesel trucks, Henry Bigge said, at the completion of the job; "I am very well satisfied with the performance of the Diesels, and I plan to add several more to my fleet.""

One more for my friend, Bill Campbell

I knew this Autocar ad done by Bill back in 1943 existed in both the B&W version and color. This morning, I was lucky enough to find the rare color version --- I like it!!

What am I? or WAI -- A Place for Truck Nuts

If you are a Truck Nut like myself you will love the Truck Forum I just joined - a very informal joint called, JUST OLD TRUCKS. But if you really want to have some fun, and you think you know old trucks, consider Jeff Lakascyk's  WHAT AM I? or WAI? in case you didn't catch that first link.

So, how do you join in the fun? REGISTER!!! Become a member of this forum!!! How does the WAI? work? Well every day Jeff posts a different picture of an old or rare make truck for you to identify. He's pretty good at removing identifying marks.

Kind of like this ---

Todays truck is an oldie, can you name it? Bonus points for the tractor pulling it out of the ditch!

Now, Isn't this fun -- see you there!!!

William H. Campbell -- "The Autocar Truck Man" -- 1915-2012 --R.I.P.

I received a call from my friend Bruce Bentzman that our mutual friend Bill Campbell passed away during the evening of October 30th, 2012. I wonder if Bill would have appreciated the title I gave him, "THE AUTOCAR TRUCK MAN"? 

I first came to know of Bill because of the art work he did for what was then one of the biggest ad firms in the U.S., Grey & Rodgers of Philadelphia. It was while there that between 1943 -48 he produced  fifty-two ads depicting AUTOCAR TRUCKS and some of the old carriers. He also did the art work for twenty-seven "spots" that also appeared in those ads in TIME and LIFE magazines. This was all done the old fashioned way -- by the artist hand while trying to meet a deadline. I think Bill's work epitomized all of the truck ads of the 1940's.

I don't remember which one of these ads I first saw with the signature of "Campbell" or W. Campbell -- but I was hooked and knew I had to find more. And so it was that I would come to put together a video collage of those works that I had collected that also included some that I thought were his, but done by some of his contemporaries -- Chuck Allen, Frank Waltrich, and Otto Bauman. Billl's depictions of the trucks were done so well, that these latter ad artists tried to emulate his work. That was how I got to know Bill, finding out which ads were actually his and finally finding and cataloging all his works.

I was just getting to know Bill through our few conversations. I will miss his bright mind and our talks about his ads. It makes me wish that I had known him back in the day, and I could have looked over his shoulder and watched the master as he worked to finish one of his pieces.

Good bye my friend, thank you for your kindness and for those wonderful AUTOCAR ads---

If you haven't, please take a moment to view his works --
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb3yc4rj_gQ&feature=share&list=UUFzgtAWpZ9l1BK1o-LSk43g

Kenny's Kollection

Has anyone noticed that I haven't posted about any truck shows this year? Nada, zilch!!! That's because the truck shows I usually attend were preempted by a 40th wedding anniversary and my 60th birthday.

That does not mean however that there were no truck showings -- this post is about one of those.

We were on our way to Cayuga Lake State Park for my 60th, and had just come into Watkins Glen when I spotted this GORGEOUS Mack LFT dump truck parked in a lot preparing to pick up a flatbed trailer. Of course this prompted an immediate stop by me and a camera.

As I approached the fella that owns this truck I asked if he would mind if I took some pictures.  He was most kind and I handed him my "I'm Liking Trucks" card. That was when I found out he was on his way to the Endless Mountain Truck show the following day (one I would miss) and that he lived near-by. I got a location and his name -- Kenny Bubacz. I promised I would look him up.

And so on the following Tuesday while out learning my bus route before school started, I found Kenny's abode and his collection. But more importantly I found a guy who loves trucks -- a kindred spirit. The Mack was parked in the driveway and Kenny was proud to share the details. He thinks he's had it for almost 20 years and he found it at The Endless Mountain Truck Show. It was an LFT that had once pulled trailers up and down from NY - Florida, and was then converted to a dump truck. It's original engine was a 510A which Ken said gave it a top speed of about 45. He swapped it out for a 707 with dual ignition -- now the truck will pull 70 all day long.

But what I like about this truck, as beautiful as it is, IT'S A WORKING TRUCK!!!! Ken still hauls gravel and dirt. You can't kill a Mack.

Oh, you remember I told you Kenny was picking up a flat bed trailer back in Watkins. That was so he could trailer this behind his 49 Mack --

Yep, that's a 49 Dodge Power Wagon!  But wait it gets better ---

What's that in the back of the Power Wagon -- no less than a 38 all original Harley Hog -- but this is a truck blog!!!

INSIDE THE POWER WAGON--

INSIDE THE MACK ---

Now I'm faced with a dilemma --- sometime before next years Endless Mountain Truck Show, I have to decide which one of these I want to ride in to the show?  Hey Kenny, any chance I could drive???

September 14th --- Happy Birthday William H. Campbell

I just received a note from Bill's friend Bruce that yesterday was Bill's 97th Birthday. So what better way to celebrate this mans life and contribution to the "world of trucks" than to take a look at what I believe represents the most complete collection of his Autocar Truck ads anywhere. Taken from LIFE, TIME, and BUSINESS WEEK, these ads appeared from 1943 - 48.

Here for you to enjoy --

AUTOCAR TRUCK ADS 1943-48 --WILLIAM CAMPBELL ARTWORK

William H. Campbell's LIFE MAGAZINE Autocar Ads

As you read in a previous post about the AUTOCAR illustrations of William H. Campbell, the first ad using his art work appeared in 1943, it was still rendered in B&W, and appeared in the August 23 issue of Life Magazine --

The first color ad by Bill appeared in the Oct 23, 1943 issue of Life and was also a war related illustration.

The last of three ads using Bill's art in 1943 appeared in the Dec. 20, 1943 LIFE issue --

1944 was the best year as far as Bill's Autocar ads were concerned, the first showing up amongst the pages of LIFE in the January 4, 1944 issue --

The next ad is from Feb. 28, 1944 --

This comes from March 20, 1944 ---

This ad is one of my favorites from the May 15, 1944 issue --

The next ad from 1944 is from the June 12 issue --

Then July 3, 1944, this was the ad for Autocar --

Followed by the ad for the week of August 14, 1944 --

LIFE would not carry any more of Bill's ads in 1944, using other artists, until 1945. The first of Bill's works to show up in 1945 was in the Jan. 22, 1945 issue --

The first ad not to use a war theme appeared in the Feb. 12, 1944 weekly --

Then came this Autocar ad for 1945 in the March 5, 1945 LIFE --

The next ad would come in the LIFE of May 14, 1945 --

The last ad of 1945 was this one from the June 4, 1945 LIFE -- Autocar continue to run other ads, but did not use Bill's works.

Bill's final piece that I could find in the pages of LIFE MAGAZINE was this from the week of March 4, 1946. Although LIFE did not carry more of his works, such magazines as TIME, COLLIERS and LOOK Magazine did --- that will be the subject of another post as I try to document the works of William H. Campbell.

THE TRIPPER'S Already Mix for Mixerologist

During the 1960's my dad formed a construction company called EYbuilders Construction Co. It's purpose was to build concrete pools, basements, foundations and other concrete based things. He utilized a forming system called the Gates System which was a system of wire ties, 3/4" x 4' x 8' plywood, and various sizes of steel 1/2" round steel rod that ran through the ties to hold the plywood forms.

So what does this have to do with trucks you ask? EVERYTHING!! Some call them Concrete Trucks, some call them Cement Mixers, my friend Ryan Pedone refers to them as Ready-Mix trucks. These trucks were the beasts that hauled the concrete, cement, or ready-mix that my dad needed. His preferred company was out of Ithaca, NY and was known as RUMSEY ITHACA -- and how I loved those old Brockways and Macks!!!

RUMSEY ITHACA BROCKWAY DOING THE COMMONS IN ITHACA

Well I got an email from my friend Ryan Pedone aka Plowchaser stating that he was helping with a web site about "READY-MIX" Trucks. It's a great site if you are a "MIXEROLOGIST" and love "READY-MIX" trucks.

Here you will find all kinds of trucks from Autocar to White.

Check them out, here's the link ---- THE TRIPPERS Already Mix for Mixeroligist --

You got to love those trucks --if not, maybe you can cement yourself to a new relationship!!!

William H. Campbell, Artist, Illustrator --- Autocar Truck Ads of the 1940's

Normally when I write about trucks, it is to highlight the truck. However, this post will be a little different in that it highlights an artist who promotes the truck through his art. During the mid 1940's and into the early 1950's no artist did this better in my humble opinion than William H. Campbell.

A few weeks ago I received an email from a friend of Bill's named Bruce Bentzman. He informed me that he had seen a video collage that I had made of William Campbell's illustrations done for the AUTOCAR TRUCK company. He also stated that Bill was alive and well at 96. But what blew my mind is that he wanted to show Bill the video I had done.

What came about from this showing is that I had made some errors in that first video, by including some illustrations that I had thought were Bill's but that were actually done by some of the colleagues and friends he introduced to AUTOCAR such as Frank Waltrich, Oto Bauman, and Chuck Allen. They say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, thus is was with Bill's works that many tried to emulate his style.

FRANK WALTRICH -- AUTOCAR AD

OTO BAUMAN ---- AUTOCAR

CHUCK ALLEN (C.ALLEN) --- AUTOCAR

One can certainly see the influence that Campbell had on his fellow Autocar artists.

William H. Campbell was born in 1915 in Philadelphia, Pa. and has lived his life there. He received his art education between 1933 and 1937 attending many fine art schools in and near Philadelphia. While he is best known in art circles for his wonderful abstracts, during the 1940's he worked as a freelance artist for Gray & Rogers of Philadelphia, an advertising agency that did work for AUTOCAR. One of Bill's complaints about this arrangement was that AUTOCAR would send him photographs to work with. He often found these photos to be ordinary and inexpressive -- not capturing the essence of the truck. Many times Bill would travel at his own expense to sketch the truck Autocar had in mind. In his illustrations and artwork, Bill made sure the trucks were in context, always telling a story. He would pay attention to small details like bolts, suspensions, and AUTOCAR'S radiator grill to give the truck it's "manhood". And his art sold trucks!!!

From 1943 - 1950 Bill states he produced eighty different illustrations for AUTOCAR ( I have found about 27). His works were the first color illustrations used by AUTOCAR in their ad campaigns and were done by Bill on a tissue layout and then in opaque watercolors -- similar to today's acrylics. Sadly, those pieces of work became the property of AUTOCAR or the ad agency. One of the few mementos Bill has of this period is a photo AUTOCAR sent him of a truck with him in it, that is what he did the picture of himself from. He is standing next to an orange AUTOCAR in a suit and fedora. That picture is shown at the beginning of this piece.

Artist's Statement:

Bill Campbell is both a realistic and abstract painter, experimenting with dimension, texture, and color, evolving to non-objective painting.

Selected Collections:

- National Museum of American Art, Washington DC

- The American College, Bryn Mawr PA

- Bryn Athyn College, Bryn Athyn PA

- University of Delaware, Newark DE

- Harcum College, Bryn Mawr PA

- Duke University Museum of Art, Durham NC

- Ursinus College, Collegeville PA

- Fellowship of The Pennsylvania Academy, Philadelphia

- Independence Seaport Museum, Philadelphia

- Woodmere Museum of Art, Philadelphia

- The Plastic Club, Philadelphia

- The Philadelphia Sketch Club

- McCann School of Art, Petersburg, PA

- Jefferson University and Hospital, Philadelphia

Selected Solo Exhibitions:

- 60 Years of Abstract Art, Raab Gallery, Philadelphia PA

- The Plastic Club

- The Philadelphia Sketch Club

- Woodmere Art Museum

- Philadelphia Art Alliance

- "Bill Campbell at 90," Hand Impressions Gallery, Philadelphia, 2005

Selected Group Exhibitions:

- Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia PA

- Berman Museum., Ursinus College, Collegeville PA

- American College, Bryn Mawr PA

- National Academy of Design, New York NY

- National Arts Club, New York NY

- Philadelphia Watercolor Annual, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia PA

Awards:

- The Plastic Club - Gold Medal - Philadelphia PA

- The Philadelphia Sketch Club - Mackenzie Medal - Philadelphia PA

- Acrylic Society, New York, NY - 1984 and 1985

- Charles Frith Award of the Fellowship of the Pennsylvania Academy, 2008

Professional Activity:

- Pennsylvania Railroad, Philadelphia: Art Director

- Who Was Who in American Art, 1564-1975

- 400 Years of Artists in America

- Who's Who in American Art

- A founder of the Main Point, Bryn Mawr, PA, 1963-1970

- Curated 9 exhibitions, 1982 to 1997

Selected Teaching Experience:

- The University of the Arts, Philadelphia PA: 1972-90

- Moore College of Art and Design, Philadelphia PA

- Philadelphia College of Art (University of the Arts), Philadelphia PA

- Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia PA

Education:

- La France Art Institute, Philadelphia PA

- Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia PA

- Philadelphia College of Art (University of the Arts), Philadelphia PA

- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA

- Earl Horter's Summer School, Rockport MA

But sadly, his AUTOCAR pieces are harder to find as the old magazines from the 40's become more scarce.

My thanks to Bruce Bentzman and William Campbell for providing the information in this post!!!

And here for your enjoyment -- The AUTOCAR TRUCKS of WILLIAM H. CAMPBELL --

Also want to add these sent to me 6/2/12 by the artist himself --

1943 Color Poster -- RARE -- Tankers Aweigh

Also from 1943 ---

More Brockways --- The trucks of Barney & Dickenson, Vestal, New York

     I found out about this amazing collection of old Brockways through a post on THE BROCKWAY TRUCKS MESSAGE BOARD, and could not resist the opportunity to go down the road to Vestal, New York to photograph the collection myself.  And so after a call to BARNEY & DICKENSON to gain access to where these great old Husky's a resting, I set our date for 4/13/12 -- Friday the 13th.

     It was to be the best Friday the 13th ever -- more about that in a latter post. So here for your viewing pleasure are not only the photos I took, but also some photos found on the net showing those Brockways in their hay day ----





    What a great day!!!!