Classic Refuse Trucks

OCTOBER, 2004 UPDATE
It has been a busy month at CRT, with the transfer to World Wide Web as well as preparing new and updated material. I realize that many of the photo albums posted initially are sparsely populated. Time and material permitting, I hope to update them over the coming weeks. Be sure to check here in the NEWS section to see what's changed. I will endeavor to add something at least once per month, with a bulletin posted here during the first week. This is a one-horse operation, but outside submissions are always welcome and will be fully credited if used. I do reserve the right to edit material as I see fit within this website. If you have a question or comment, feel free to contact CRT.

NEW FOR OCTOBER- The Gar Wood photo album has been completely revised, with detailed descriptions of the packing mechanisms and many new photos and illustrations. A new article on the rare LP-300 has been added as well.

Meanwhile, Brian Carpenter from England was kind enough to have sent in an excellent article outlining the history of Shelvoke & Drewry, which has been added in its entirety to the Photo Albums section. Click on Shelvoke & Drewry to view.

Brian has an entire website devoted to all things related to SD, which you won't want to miss. The site is linked at the end of the article, and you may also click here to go directly to The Unofficial Shelvoke & Drewry Site. SD was much more than a truck body builder. Catering almost exclusively to municipalities and the refuse industry, they engineered and built their own cabs, chassis and even engines to the highest standards of quality and durability.

In replica news, Walter Lewellen from Florida sent word of a new diecast refuse truck from First Gear. The new model is a McNeilus rear loader on an International chassis. It is decked out in Waste Management green and white, but look for other variations in the future as happened with FG's successful Wittke front loader replica. Availability: November or December 2004.

INDUSTRY NEWS: LEACH TO CEASE U.S. PRODUCTION- It is now official that after 73 years of building refuse bodies, the last Leach will be built at Oshkosh, Wisconsin sometime next year. Owner Federal Signal Corporation confirmed that Leach production will move to Medicine Hat, Alberta, where their Wittke division currently builds front load refuse bodies.

The announcement of a possible move was actually made last summer, but has recently been confirmed by Federal Signal. Though parts, sales, marketing and distribution will remain at Oshkosh, 190 manufacturing jobs will be eliminated. This is in addition to 49 positions previously eliminated in 2002 when Federal Signal purchased Leach, ending 115 years of family ownership.

Established in 1887, Leach entered the refuse body business in 1932, with a simple bucket loader called the Refuse Getter. Having survived the Great Depression, and then fulfilled government contracts during World War II, Leach introduced two designs that dramatically influenced refuse body design to this very day. Their most influential design, the 2R Packmaster, has been in continuous production since 1959. Leach has been intimately associated with the City of Oshkosh, and has never had another assembly plant. Every Leach body ever built was built at Oshkosh. It is unfortunate that when the 2R celebrates 50 years in 2009, the anniversary models will come off a Canadian assembly line. (This is not a swipe at my neighbors north of the border, I merely wish to point out the tradition lost by the move)

Full text articles from the Oshkosh Northwestern are available online at:
Oshkosh Northwestern, July 1st Article Oshkosh Northwestern, September 25th Article

Finally, a belated tribute to my friend Professor Donald F. Wood, who passed away on March 8, 2003 at age 68. Don was Professor of Marketing at San Francisco State University and author of 28 books. Truck history enthusiasts may recognize his name from the many books he authored on transportation history, as well as several magazine articles.

Most of all, his 1989 Waste Age article "Photo Parade of Old Trucks" was to re-kindle my interest in the subject. Though we never met in person, Don was kind enough to correspond with me and we had an informal exchange program, sharing truck literature through the U.S. Mail. Some of the information I obtained has been invaluable to this website. Don's work documenting truck history will serve as a lasting tribute. He will be missed, but not forgotten.

Eric Voytko
October 3, 2004