wreckers

[HATCHEQUIP]

If anyone happens to be in the chattanooge TN area they might want to check out the tow truck museum at the foot of Lookout Mt. awfully nice assortment of old old and old newer and pretty big collection

 

[LowBoy]

That sounds like a good stop-off when passing through choo-choo...I'll keep that on the back burner HATCHQUIP, thanks!

 

[HATCHEQUIP]

one of the old boys that runs the place asked me if I was a wrecker operator and I told him no just a mechanic. he wanted to know because if you are you get a discount and while I was in there I would get down on my knees looking at how they made them work underneath the rigs and he asked me when I left if I was sure I wasn't a operator and told him no just liked to see how they were making them do what they did with them back then, its pretty amazing what they could come up with. they have one military wrecker that I think there was only 2 built I think it was 40s something and had huge open gears like you would find on a crane. just a good way to spend a couple hours some of the stuf is what I call trailer queens and some of it has pans and oil dry under them to catch the drips that could still go out and do a job but the wrecker itself would cause a jam up from people looking at that old wrecker and its all :usa

 

[willie59]

You must be in northern GA if you frequent Lookout Mountain.

 

[HATCHEQUIP]

Villanow GA between Dalton and Lafayette about 30 miles south of Chattanooge one of these days im going to stop in when im up your way and see if your in and buy ya a coke

 

[LowBoy]

one of the old boys that runs the place asked me if I was a wrecker operator and I told him no just a mechanic. he wanted to know because if you are you get a discount and while I was in there I would get down on my knees looking at how they made them work underneath the rigs and he asked me when I left if I was sure I wasn't a operator and told him no just liked to see how they were making them do what they did with them back then, its pretty amazing what they could come up with. they have one military wrecker that I think there was only 2 built I think it was 40s something and had huge open gears like you would find on a crane. just a good way to spend a couple hours some of the stuf is what I call trailer queens and some of it has pans and oil dry under them to catch the drips that could still go out and do a job but the wrecker itself would cause a jam up from people looking at that old wrecker and its all :usa

It amazes me too, the engineering that they had back in the day. Lots of good thinkers laid the foundations for today's machinery.

Old Bucyrus Erie, Northwest, Lima and other branded cranes are another facination of mine. The gear sets, etc. are unreal.

There is a nice article about a man and his 1940's Sterling wrecker his dad bought from a Navy auction down in NC, that is in Wheels of Time magazine (you can buy at Tractor Supply, or join ATHS club and get them.) That old truck did more work than the average newer style rotator will ever dream of, like pulling several commercial airliners back onto the tarmack that ran off it at Charlotte Airport, etc. All done by tripling up lines, rigging, thinking...I love it. I'll have to dig that out and try and scan and post it here.

 

[willie59]

Villanow GA between Dalton and Lafayette about 30 miles south of Chattanooge one of these days im going to stop in when im up your way and see if your in and buy ya a coke

I see. I'm in Choo Choo from time to time, don't get across the line much aside from an occasional trip to Mashburn in Ringgold. If you get up this way, if the red truck is there, I'm there, if not...gone. :drinkup