 Fall 2007 New Update, Page Two Click the Button to return to Page One 
Among a broad range of refuse equipment, Western Body and Hoist of Los Angeles also produced one of the strangest looking front loaders with the introduction of the Jet in the mid 1960's. Starting with their Full-Pak front loader body, they added a custom cab and chassis built by Diamond Reo, division of White Motor Company, that allowed for the use of the unique lift arm system show here. This centered arrangement avoided the clearance issues associated with front loader arms, since they travelled between the twin telephone booth cabs. The Jet has been featured here in the Western album at CRT, and also in the City of Scottsdale article where the Jet was shown in its most radical form, the "Son of Godzilla" automated barrell snatcher. Dana Gregory was kind enough to pass along some scans of some old photos one of the behemoths from the 1970's. There are some detailed shots of the lift arms, so I've created an extra page in the Western album where they can be seen in greater detail than the news page will allow. I'm also adding some rare pictures of Western's top-pack front loader that Dana sent in awhile back, which where not available when the Western album was created. Many thanks to Dana for passing these along; I know our contingent of front loader fanatics will appreciate these. As mentioned earlier, the PDE Dempster featured on the home page was submitted by longtime CRT member Tim Byrne, CRT's dustman from Dudley, and avid refuse truck fan. He also sent along a gigantic array of of photos of UK refuse trucks from the 70's-80's-90's, far too numerous to publish here. Therefore I have been forced to select my favorites to present to you here in a "mini-album" of sorts. As for the rest, they can all be seen in Tim's UK Classics album at the CRT-MSN Archives, as well as a selection of his Corfu Landfill photos taken on holiday this year in Greece. Now, on with the show.... 
Phil Clifford has a Gar Wood UK album posted at the CRT-MSN Archives with some more interesting photos. (Note: I believe it was Dana Gregory who also passed on the news that Heil USA had briefly sold the FL-3000 in the early 1980's; more on that as information becomes available) 
YARDBIRD PICKUP; LOS ANGELES INNOVATORS In closing, I now share the recollections of Pete Block of Block Ink, McMinnville, Oregon. Although there are no photos, Pete was kind enough to put down on paper his memories of on an upstart hauler in the Los Angeles area who obviously had foresight into where equipment trends were heading. Pete writes: Shortly after the end of World War II, a group of veterns in West Los Angeles started a company called Yardbird pickup. Yardbird equipped a dump truck with a hydraulic accessory that sported two arms extending out from the front of the truck bed. Between the arms was a truck-width bin about two feet deep, which in the down position was just above the street. The company used real barrels about four feet tall (with wooden wheels) and painted grey for customers who signed up for weekly collection of yard waste. Barrels went to the curb one or two days a month ( I think, though it may have been more frequently). The crew consisted of a driver and two barrel chasers who rolled the barrels out to the truck and dumped the contents. When the bin was full, the driver could power it up and over the cab to dump the waste into the truck...a jury rigged front loader. At the time, the city garbage truck came by weekly with two workers who scooped up and dumped the wet garbage out of galvanized cans (neatly flipping off the lid as they picked it up, usually still slowly rolling by). Less frequently, cans and bottles were collected, also by a city truck with two outriders who hauled the container up and dumped it into the truck. Anything flammable was simply burned in a backyard incinerators, which were a fixture in every private home. Until Yardbird (which was a WWII Army term for the lowest rank, put to work policing the base for litter) there were no provisions for getting rid of yard waste. Homeowners used vacant lots, alleys, anywhere a lawnmower catcher full of grass or tree and hedge trimmings could be dumped. This company was not only a milestone, it was a success. I later drove by their yard and they had real front loaders, signage and containers. Not like todays, but not wooden barrels either. It was a genuine success story. I really do think that Yardbird was the forerunner of the wide variety of todays modern, container emptying vehicles on the neighborhood streets from coast to coast. Many thanks to Pete for providing this look back at the early days in Los Angeles. Indeed, the bucket loading dump truck was the forerunner of the modern front loader. As early as 1945, Western Industrial of Los Angeles was marketing a bucket loader attachment for refuse service, and in the east Brisson Brothers (Lodal) and the Ernest Holmes Company offered their own versions as well. There can be little doubt that its employment by haulers such as Yardbird inspired manufacturers to develop the concept into the dedicated refuse equipment we know today. If anyone knows more about Yardbird, or what ultimately became of of this outfit, please contact CRT. Eric Voytko, September 21, 2007 
© 2007 Eric Voytko All Rights Reserved Logos shown are the trademarks of respective manufacturers Photos from factory brochures/trade advertisements except as noted |