 
OCTOBER, 2005 UPDATE A special thank you goes out this month to Scott Blake of California, who has provided a wealth of information and material, including the October "Truck of the Month". Though currently in broadcasting, Scott was formerly involved in the hauling business in the Los Angeles area, and still maintains an interest in the subject. He once owned a classic 1958 Leach Packmaster (a former City of Los Angeles unit ) during the 1970's. For some time now I had hoped to create a CRT feature article on front-loading refuse trucks, but had lacked critical information on the early pioneers in the field, many of whom were based in southern California and are not well known east of the Rockies. Thanks in great part to Scott's knowledge of these firms, as well as the material provided, the front loader article will be a reality soon. Look for more from The Scott Blake Collection here at CRT in the future ! NEW PHOTO ALBUM Speaking of front loaders, I have added a short album this month for CDE (Capital Disposal Equipment), a smaller Canadian manufacturer who produced an unusual unit. I have very little on this make; what you see on this one page is pretty much all of it, and includes the QX40 front loader that was formerly the September, 2004 Truck of the Month SHOW PICTURES-SD VEHICLES AT BIGGLESWADE Eight vehicles were present for the Shelvoke & Drewry get-together at Old Warden Park last month, and for those of us who couldn't be there, we can a least see the pictures online now at Shaun Taylor's website, The SD Fan Group. Included this year was Steve Jones' 1982 PN Revopak, sure to be a favorite classic for years to come, and there are some great close-up shots of this impressive machine. Also, look for an upcoming article at Brian Carpenter's Unofficial Shelvoke and Drewry Site in the near future. Refuse truck enthusiasts are indeed fortunate in that there exists at least one preserved example of nearly every major SD refuse truck group: the Freighter, Fore & Aft tipper, Pakamatic and Revopak. We are also fortunate to have these two excellent websites devoted to SD. MEMBERS AREA AT MSN The membership is now at fifty, and I would like to thank all of you who contribute each and every month to the Members Area, the interactive part of Classic Refuse Trucks. I continue to be impressed with the high degree of enthusiasm from our European members, with one of our newest members from Germany single-handedly identifying seven trucks in the Unsolved Mysteries section this week. Anyone with a question about refuse equipment is encouraged to join and post on the message board, and you will usually find someone with the answer. Not only is browsing the Members Area thoroughly enjoyable, it is also a tremendous source of information. Thanks for all your efforts, and keep up the good work ! LINKS OF INTEREST-REFUSE TRUCK SOUNDS Also by way of the MSN Members Area comes a new link, courtesy of Kev, called Sounddogs.com. This is a "sound effects" site where one can download or just listen to lots of audio, including refuse trucks ! To make things easier, Kev has provided an easy link to the garbage truck sounds category, so be sure to give a listen. And of course, the Links of Interest page is easily accessible by using the navigation bar at left. Located ten minutes from I-265 in Louisville, Kentucky, this vintage refuse truck (body only) still needs a home. For more information, see the August, 2005 Update at CRT Archives or contact CRT. 
Thanks again to all of you for interest and contributions to this site. As a result of going online a little over a year ago, I have had contact from nearly one hundred individuals interested in classic refuse equipment. Also, and this is most encouraging, no less than twelve preserved vintage refuse trucks are known to be in existence worldwide. There is a small but growing presence of vintage refuse trucks on the web. This has been extremely beneficial for the casual enthusiast as well as those interested in the historical perspective, and CRT is proud to be part of this presence. October 2, 2005 Click here to return to the CRT Archives All Rights Reserved Logos shown are the trademarks of respective manufacturers Photos from factory brochures/trade advertisements except as noted |