Friday, February 27, 2015

Friday Fun - Big Rig Playgrounds!

So it's Friday and I wanted to post something fun.  As I browsed around, I came across some interesting playground equipment that I know I would have loved to investigate as a kid.  (Heck let's face it, I'd love to play with them now too:) )

So enjoy your weekend, if you are at home and nearby any of these fun toys, check them out.





This one is located in Cook Forest, Pennsylvania, it's called the "Big Trucks-Big Fun Playground"



These photos below came from various vendor website, so just google them if you are interested in a big rig slide for your backyard and I'm sure you'll find a couple of websites of interest :)

 




Not technically playground equipment, but isn't this kite cool??? 


Have a fun weekend! Go find yourself a truck to play with =)

Thursday, February 26, 2015

TBT - Turbine-powered Kenworth-Boeing - 1950

In true social media style, I figure Thursdays should be about #tbt trucks. I love pics of old trucks, what better opportunity than to join the #tbt wave! :)

Today I went on the hunt for old Kenworth trucks, and I found this oddity that I figured I would re-post it.  There is no need for me to re-write history, so I'm just going to add the article below.

The theoretical advantage to gas turbines, besides their ability to swallow up a wide range of fuels, is their relative lightness and compactness compared to other internal combustion engines (gasoline, diesel) of the same output. Boeing decided to illustrate that advantage with this press photo we recently scrounged up, dated April 10, 1950, showing one of its 175hp gas turbines installed in a contemporary Kenworth conventional. The caption reads:


Gas Turbine and Diesel Truck Installations Show Vividly Simplicity of New Boeing Engine
Identical Kenworth Motor Truck Corporation units, powered by the new Boeing Airplane Company 175-horsepower gas turbine (left) and a diesel power plant of similar rating (right) are disclosed in this just-released photograph. The new Boeing gas turbine, which weighs only 200 pounds, has been undergoing road test near Seattle in the ten-ton truck for the past month. As installed experimentally, the Boeing turbine occupies only 13 percent of the space normally taken up by a conventional gasoline or diesel engine of equal power. The new engine operated on the same principle as the ship steam turbine and will burn kerosene, diesel oil or gasoline.
It’s no surprise Boeing chose to install the engine into a Kenworth: Both companies called the Seattle area home, and Kenworth was put to work building B-17s and B-29s during World War II. In his book on Kenworth history, Doug Siefkes noted that Boeing started to develop the engine to fulfill a Navy contract, and they subsequently suggested Kenworth give it a shot. The diesel, by comparison, weighed 2,700 pounds, so the turbine represented a significant weight savings.
To test it out, Kenworth sent the truck on a road trip from Canada to Mexico, then sent it on test runs from Seattle to Los Angeles, working with West Coast Fast Freight. According to Siefkes, the results were dismal:
The Seattle-Los Angeles run was taking four or five hours longer than usual. The turbine-equuipped truck put out too much exhaust, had poor acceleration, and was tough on clutches. Fuel economy, or lack of it, was another problem: The truck traveled only 1 mile per gallon. The project was scrapped.
Or, at least it was from the Kenworth side. Boeing continued to develop its gas-turbine engines over the next two decades and in 1961 even provided three 502-series gas-turbine engines to American-LaFrance for installation into its fire trucks.

Here are some other photos I found when searching for the Kenworth Boeing Turbine engine, these are 1952 KWs:





Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Trucker Heroes: Trucker Stops to Rescue Officer Being Strangled by Prisoner in Car

I spotted this article today online, and I thought, why not start posting some of these Trucker Hero stories.  There are plenty of those!



Today I'll post this one with a trucker from Kentucky who most likely saved a policeman's life

accident-on-highway-YouTube-Trucker-David-Fredericksen

A trucker hero from Kentucky who saved a law enforcement officer from being strangled was one of three finalists named this month by the Goodyear Tire Company for its 2014 Highway Hero Award.
Truck drivers are often the first responders to the scene of highway accidents and crimes. Clinton Blackburn, a driver from Morehead, put himself in harm’s way last March to help a jailer who had been transporting a prisoner.
Blackburn was driving near Elizabethtown, Ky., when he observed a sheriff’s cruiser lurch toward the highway median and abruptly stop. He pulled up to investigate and noticed that the car’s driver side door was open. Inside, Spencer County jailer Darrell Herndon was being choked from behind by a prisoner who was leaning through the glass from the back seat.
Blackburn ran to the car, reached into the vehicle through its driver side door, and began struggling with the prisoner in an effort to free Herndon. During the melee, the prisoner pulled Herndon’s gun from its holster. Blackburn grabbed the barrel of the gun and pointed it toward the car’s dashboard.trucker gets award-Goodyearphoto

“The prisoner then tried to point the gun at Blackburn, who turned the weapon around and aimed it at the prisoner,” reports Goodyear. Herndon finally regained his composure and helped to subdue the man.
You can read the story and watch more video interviews with our hero right here:

Friday, February 20, 2015

PACCAR Fundraiser for Page Ahead - Kenworth T880 Seattle Mariners Truck!

Ok so I'm an Angels fan, but I had to include this blog post about the Kenworth T880 that is all decked out in Seattle Mariners colors and logos for fundraising purposes.

This is an article I read that dates back to August 2014 so I don't know if these fundraising efforts are still going on, but I thought this was pretty cool.  This truck was parked outside SafeCo field where they were accepting donations and book for the Page Ahead Children's literacy program for at-risk children.

PACCAR partnered with Page Ahead in 2007.  For every run the Mariners batted in, PACCAR has made a donation to the Page Ahead program, and by the end of last season (2014), PACCAR had donated $600,000 to the charity.  In addition to this, PACCAR employees have purchased and donated more than 17,500 children's books to the program.

To read more about the Page Ahead program, visit www.pageahead.org

SO ........ They are using the Kenworth T880 (AD Commercial truck of the Year!) for their Seattle Mariners truck and HERE are the photos ..... no matter what team you're rooting for, this is a pretty badass truck!









Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Big Rig Tattoos - VIKING! :)

In a previous article, I had called out for more cool big rig tattoos to post on my blog, because when I searched for big rig tats, I only found a handful :)

Scott sent me a pic of his, done for him, his dad and brother! I'm very partial to this one as it says "Viking" and me being Norwegian and 100% Viking, how can I not love it! :)

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Monday, February 9, 2015