  Fleet of three GMC/Packa-Vans and two Ford/Roto-Pacs at Youngstown, Ohio in 1956 CRT News Update, Winter 2008 WORLD'S OLDEST FRONT LOADERS? 
CRT contributor Bill Tetreault has outdone himself yet again, which is no small feat. He recently spent a day at the yard of Southern California Disposal and Recycling of Santa Monica, California. 
In this edition, Bill brings us tons of photographs of the two trucks shown above; a 1966 Bemars (left) and 1967 Bowles top-pack front loader owned by SCD. Though not currently in regular service, these trucks are fully operational and ready to work, making them perhaps the oldest such trucks in existence.
Beside their obvious longevity, these trucks have an interesting story as well, and the fine folks at SCD were kind enough to provide Bill with a full demonstration and access to the interior and packer mechanism of the Bemars. The Bowles is the first top-pack ever documented from that firm at CRT, and may be the only one ever built. Since these came in at right at "press" time, I can't fit them in the news pages. However, I have created a permanent album for SCD here at CRT, accessible from the main albums gallery. Click here to go directly to SCD Classics Album for more information. A LONG-STANDING MYSTERY SOLVED With this edition, I am happy to report having solved the identity of one of the longest-running "mystery trucks" ever featured here at CRT. The truck in question, was first shown on these pages way back in the fourth edition (December, 2004). I received many well-informed guesses regarding this unknown front loader; eastern firms Cobey and Paka-Van were proffered, but no concrete proof of identity was ever found. I searched patent records and found some good leads out of the midwest, but nothing ever came of them, and it seemed this one might never be known. Not surprisingly, when I recently found the missing link that cracked the case, all roads led back to Southern California, as is so often the case when discussing pioneering front loader designs. 
Going back in time to the 1950's, we would find backyard incinerators were once the most common method of disposal for combustible rubbish in the Los Angeles area. Their abolition due to smog regulations, and a burgeoning population undoubtedly sparked the "golden age" of the SoCal refuse disposal and truck body industries in the 1950's and 1960's. At the request of local smog-control authorities, the Truman Boyd Manor housing project in Long Beach stopped their practice of burning refuse in multiple incinerators. They chose the locally-built Towner system to provide refuse removal for the 1,000 families living there. One truck serviced 38 containers of 2-1/2 cubic yards capacity at the project. Looking at the photograph, The lift arms look conventional for their day, but the coupling method for the containers is unlike the fork designs which were far more common. This unusual (and incompatible) coupling method may explain why the Towner never 'broke through' in the competitive truck body market of the late 1950's and early 1960's. Towner Mfg, from what I have found so far, is better known for their farm tractor implements, most notably disc harrows, for which the firm held several patents. They were also known to be a contract supplier of these attachments for the Ford Motor Company, who manufactured compact tractors. With some of the largest orchards virtually in their own backyard, Towner was well positioned in their field. Their venture into building refuse bodies might seem unusual, except for the changing refuse disposal methods and population growth of Southern California that occurred after the second world war. As orchards and farms gave way to housing and businesses, switching to refuse trucks would seem like a good way to survive in changing times. What ever became of the Nu-Way System, or of Towner is not known. Looking at Google Maps, their factory at 2111 West 17th appears to be gone, replaced by apartments. Gone also are the orchards...and even the Santa Ana River is almost gone, having been reduced to a trickle by an upstream dam. However, they have a good claim to having built the first hydraulic-packing front loader, a true modern marvel and universal throughout the world. If this bears out, it would be no small achievement for a small implement manufacturer from "out in the sticks" of Orange County. 
However, I have recently become aware of another Dumpmaster with an honorable distiction: the first Dumpmaster in regular service. The Truck belonged to the City of Asheville, North Carolina, which lies about one hundred miles east of the Dempster Factory in Knoxville. 
This front loader was mounted on a 20 yard Packa-Van body built by Brown Truck and Trailer Company (Charlotte, NC) and was in service as early as August of 1955. This truck (shown at left) serviced 36 two-yard containers throughout town. The dump time per box was claimed to one minute. On its 30 mile route, the truck collected 20 boxes in 3-1/2 hours with a maximum payload of 28 boxes. The city reported being quite pleased with their Dumpmaster and had on order more boxes of 1-1/2 at 3 yards capacity. The Packa-Van was a full travel side loader, their earliest known model dating to 1953. It is similar to the old MB Packer, having a packer plate traversing the body which was powered by a winch and cable arrangement. Packa-Vans used an electric clutch to connect the winch to the truck powerplant, which is somewhat unique, and claimed 35,000 pounds packer plate force.
To what extent these were modified by Dempster is not fully known, though the top door arrangement for this application is one obvious difference. Not much else is known about Packa-Van, and whether the firm ever made a hydraulic version. Another company, Marion Metal Products had been building a hydraulic side loader, the Hydropaka, since the 1940's, which could potentially have been coupled to a Dumpmaster. This seems unlikely though, since barring major modifications, the Marion body height was probably way too low for a front loader application. The arrival of the Hydro E-Z Pack in 1956 would spell the decline of the old mechanical packers, most of which had vanished by the early 1960's.
SUPER COLLECTORS ITEMS 
There is earlier precedent for these demonstrator models. The fantastic specimen pictured at left was offered on Ebay in March, 2005. It is a working, hand-built model of a 1930's enclosed bucket loader. It is almost three feet long, and is powered by an electric motor (under the hood) that operates the bucket through a clutch and driveshafts.
This model appears to be a replica of the truck described in the patent (US 1945533) of one Henry C. Lima, of Stamford, Connecticut, which was filed in 1931. This may have been created to sell the finished product to municipal officials and haulers. However, I can find no evidence that this truck was ever produced, so it is perhaps more likely that the inventor himself built this model to try and sell his idea to truck body builders of day. 
This enclosed-body loader is obviously a product of its day, when ash was such a large part of the waste stream that it often warranted separate collection. Airborne dust was always a nuisance in ash collection and thus there was considerable interest in controlling it, or eliminating it altogether. Europeans, and Jacob Ochsner of Switzerland in particular, would have for more success selling city officials on the concept of "dustless" loading than we ever saw here in America. Furthermore, the complex truck envisioned by Lima would have been difficult at best to maintain in the harsh environment in which it would have had to work. All things considered, I would have to rate this the most valuable refuse truck collectors item potentially available, unless something else surfaces in the future. The seller received a high bid of $1750.00 USD at the time, well below the $2950.00 reserve price, and this models current whereabouts are not known. For more on collectibles, see the latest edition of the CRT Collectors Corner for highlights of interesting Ebay auctions from the latter part of 2007. And you won't believe your eyes when you see what Dana Gregory has built from scratch.... CRT STORE OPEN 
In the process of producing the website over the years, I have gone through stacks of periodicals. In some cases, I have accrued multiple copies of vintage refuse truck advertisements. For those of you interested in such things, I have created the CRT Store where you will find several hundred of these ads for sale. Best of all, I am offering them at rock-bottom prices with fair shipping rates. Most ads are only $2.50 each, and some less than that.
Now let me say that my intention here is not to start some PBS-style beg-a-thon; the future of CRT definitely does not depend on me selling ads. I simply have all these doubles which I don't need, so I am offering them for sale. I had been selling many of these on Ebay in the past, but managing all those auctions is too time consuming, and the fees charged by Ebay make it impractical to sell anything at these prices. Therefore, I am offering them direct through the store, on a first come-first served basis at fixed prices. I do accept Paypal, but will pass on whatever their transaction fee is (what they charge me to accept a Paypal Payment) to the buyer. I will limit new additions to the store to Sundays, and label them with a 'new' icon . These can be fun to collect, or just to hang on your wall if you have one particular favorite. Even if you don't wish to purchase any, stop by anyway for an interesting walk through refuse truck advertising history. The store can be accessed through a button on the navigation bar found throughout most pages here at CRT. REFUSE TRUCKS ON FILM The CRT Films Page celebrates its third anniversary this month, and kicks off with a whole slew of new titles and videos. From a list of ten or so titles in 2005, the list has mushroomed to well over one hundred, many with links to video clips. In December, the page was dealt a severe blow when the Travis Giles collection was lost temporarily. In addition to providing many of the titles, Travis is a video clip hound who has tracked down some of the most obscure videos and provided our list with the majority of its film clips. Fortunately, Travis worked at a breakneck pace to restore every clip, and got them back up in a 48 hour marathon. Our sincere thanks to Travis for all the hard work! Because of this, the list links all had to be repaired, so an early update of the FILMS page was done on December 15th. At that time I added several new titles and clips, including the long awaited Getaway in which Steve McQueen gets crushed in a vintage Bemars front loader. Other highlights include Gone In 60 Seconds where an ancient Packmaster is sadly destroyed, Move Over Darling in which Doris Day nearly collides with a Bowles front loader, and an outstanding Dirty Jobs episode that takes a in-depth look at Norcal's San Francisco transfer station. Ralph Driscoll provided four new titles for the list; Maximum Overdrive, World Party/Ship of Fools, Dirty Jobs 150th Anniversary Special, and Most Shocking Police Chases 2. The latter, which airs periodically on tru.tv, features someone attempting to elude police in Florida....in a twenty-five yard 2R-II! Brad Newsome (E-Z Pack LLC) forwarded the new movie Live Free or Die Hard, in which one of his company's front loaders is featured. And thanks to Bruce Polit, who reminded me to link to the 1970 Sesame Street video, which shows some great scenes of a Loadmaster LM-320 back when New York City was still using those trucks. I should mention also that Travis has many videos posted in a wider view on MegaUpload.com, at least temporarily. A complete list of these titles is available at the CRT Film Titles Only page. And thanks to all of you who contributed to this page over the last three years. You have made the page an entertaining part of this site. NEW REFUSE TRUCK BOOK! I received word from author Tony O'Conner of a new book he has published in the UK, about companies involved in transporting Londons refuse. From Dawn 'Til Dust contains over 400 photos! Frequent CRT contributor Tim Byrne has seen the book and has recommended it. You can read Tim's review of this new title at the CRT Books List. The hardcover edition of the book has actually sold out but, Tony informs us that new softback editions will be available at 19.99 GBP plus postage. Visit the order page for details at tipperlorries.com The awesome-looking Scapa Gar Wood front loader shown below is in the book, and let me tell you I was tempted to hold this one back as a 'featured truck' here at CRT in the future. However, like most of what Tim sends me, I can't resist immediately running this, and since we're going nuts with front loaders this edition, why not go with the flow... 
Tim also corrects my earlier writing regarding Gar Wood in the UK; Scapa Engineering Co., Blackpool, Lancashire, actually produced these independently until 1985 when the line was taken over by Aspinall Engineering. Aspinall went into liquidation in 1993, but production resumed at Laird the following year. Laird was in turn absorbed by the German-based FAUN in 1995, which was already building the Gar Wood-designed front and rear loaders on the continent. With the FAUN takeover of Laird, The Gar Wood name no longer graced these products. And don't worry, there's much more on the way from Tim on page three of the update. CALIFORNIA MICRO BUILDERS With all the interest in California micro-builders, I thought it fitting to pass along some recollections sent to me by CRT contributor Scott Blake. Scott was in the refuse industry in Los Angeles during the heyday of the micro-builders, and provides some interesting information on some trucks of the past, many of which have long faded away. Most of these will relate directly to questions posed in the feature on micro-builders, which appeared in the Fall 2007 news update: Medallion Truck Body John (?) 1970's, front loaders & roll-offs. We had one of these FL bodies, the majority of the welding, body panels, etc was Fleming Metal Works of Los Angeles. Another Bowles copy, somewhat crude controls, packer slow. A few were sold in the San Fernando Valley. The one we had ran (White RX chassis) until just a few years ago, the body severely bowed out all over. Cougar was the guy who worked with John of Medallion, who went out on his own and built a few FL bodies, pretty much the same as above. Spartan Truck Equipment was a Mr. Germain; Front loader bodies first, then roll-off only. At one time he had a yard full of trade-in trucks, including a Bowles unit on one of the rare Dodge cabover chassis. Forgot the model designation. Located in Sun Valley, I think still making roll-off frames. Standard Carriage Works, Los Angeles; I remember two of these FL bodies still in use in the SF Valley as late as 1978. They were early 60's chassis, another half-pack design except with 2-stage telescopic pack cylinder. They had an unusal "X" (fence gate?) bracing on the hopper sides. Also, I think they were associated with Perfection/Galion as a small plate was visable under many coats of paint referring to this name. [Ed.Note: Possibly a west coast division for E-Z Pack? Or perhaps they were using Galion hoists, building their own body on that platform.] Crown Coach Co., Los Angeles; I believe supplied some of the "Vic Tanney" garbage tank bodies to City Of Los Angeles in the early 50's. Also I think dead dog bodies. [Ed.Note: "Vic Tanney" describes a type of non-compaction SL body popular in southern California prior to the packer era. Undoubtedly, the term was derived from the famous 1920's era muscle-beach strong man of the same name] Stagg Body, Van Nuys seen these around for a few years, mostly for Burrtec Industries (Caleb Burr). I was told Burrtec builds, or built some their own front loaders. Scott continues, regarding the identity of the Local Rubbish FL mentioned in our last update: I am pretty sure the Local unit is of Spartan Mfg. John Germain was still building front loaders into the 80's, after Medallion and Cougar had gone out of business. [Ed. Note: Indeed, Kathleen from Local has mentioned that this truck was purchased used from Spartan, though the make/model was uncertain] Regarding the Cougars front loader pictured last month: The three-axle top pack on the WX chassis tells it all; the verticals on the body have the tell-tale rolled "rib", for lack of a better word, that was standard with the steel fabrications that Fleming Iron Works supplied to Medallion, and later Cougar. Medallion subbed-out the major weldments to Fleming, and when the former Medallion guy started up building bodies on his own [Cougars] , he too used Fleming for the major body weldments. I am pretty sure all these guys came from Bowles, Kouris [Bemars/ABC], or possibly Western, when the market broke open for low-cost front loaders and roll-offs Regarding the text ad for the mysterious "A&P Fist Packer" from the last edition: 
It has the address of Granada-Sanchez Disposal (Vince Sanchez) on Parthenia in Northridge. They were located here until maybe 1975 or so. This I know very well, as this is the time frame I was involved with hauling. At the time Vince was a Western customer, having a number of full packs on CO190 three-axle chassis, complete with Wisconsin auxiliary motors. We (Jim Fritz of Waste Control) bought one these used from Vince around 1973, and ran the hell out of it until it burned up one day! We then ended up with a 1963 IHC CO190 with a Dempster body, purchased from Western Waste as an insurance claim. This was the ugliest truck running in the SF valley for years!
The ugliest truck in the San Fernando Valley We bought the WRX (with Medallion FL body I mentioned before) in 1974, and like I said this thing ran routes I think until late 1990's when Jim sold out to the big boys. I also remember Jim discussing in 1974 or '75 the crossed packer cylinder idea with someone at Bemars. Jim was a layed-off EE from Marquart Aviation when he joined with his brother-in-law to start Waste Control of California, I think in 1969. Of course later, the packer cylinder arrangement showed up patented by the Ghibaudo Brothers [former Bemars employees, later formed AMREP and Edge]. Our sincere thanks to Scott for taking the time to help fill in some of the blanks, and provide some interesting insight into what was happening in southern California during the golden age of the independents. While we are on the subject of micro builders, check out this photo unearthed by Zach Geroux, from the photo-sharing site Flickr 
This burned-out hulk was a victim of wildfires in September 2005, exact location unknown. The packer body on this 70's era International Cargostar appears to be a Ray Gaskin 50 yarder. Images of the Gaskin-Built front loaders are difficult to find; this is only the third one I have ever run across. It appears to be identical to the Pasadena truck shown in the Gask album here at CRT. Could it be the same body, albeit on a later truck chassis? Flickr is a file sharing photo site, with an excellent selection of all types of photos. Using the search term "garbage truck" returned over 3000 results. I found many good images in wide format, including some excellent shots of Japanese trucks. I don't recall seeing many of the pictures on other search engines either. Many thanks to Zach for the picture, and for passing along the great site as well. The News Continues, Click the Button for Page Two 
© 2008 Eric Voytko All Rights Reserved Logos shown are the trademarks of respective manufacturers Photos from factory brochures/trade advertisements except as noted |