Starting a fleet of Semi’s Big trucks

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Starting a fleet of Semi’s Big trucks and trains just go together on industrial layout building truck kits from George Barrett of Sheepscot Scale Models A couple of the trucks in this scene are Freightliners by Athearn Several trucks are needed to compliment a “Truck Stop” scene now in the planning stages. We will show you how to make a highway scene along old route US 66 with our scenery products. For now, the tractors are lined up waiting for their load assignments at the Santa Fe Piggy Back terminal. The scene now has tractors from the ’50s/60’s era with more to come. This Piggy Back facility is a model of a Santa Fe operation in Wichita Kansas as an experiment of loading and hauling truck trailers on flat cars. My model was built from an article in a Kalmbach book, called “Bridges and Buildings” published in 1973.

When I was shopping for semi-trucks for the layout there weren’t any old Kenworths or Peterbuilts to be found. The truck below is one I had for several decades so I know they existed as models in the past. This is an Ulrich Kenworth model not available anymore. I cleaned it up and applied new paint and then added the “West Coast” mirrors and other details. The truck featured below is the same kind that the modeler had in his pictures in the Bridges and Buildings article mentioned above. At left is an Ulrich cab over with sleeper metal die-cast kit that is easy to put together. The kit even includes a chain to hang from brackets on the fuel tank.

Two International “High Binders” from Sheepscot with sleeper cabs are set up with dual aluminum fuel tanks, West Coast mirrors, air filter, exhaust stack, fifth wheel, and mud flaps. I chose these models over some others because they’re designed as a western set up for long hauls that would be seen along Route 66. The green Highbinder was painted with a Floquile paint that looked like a flat finish, so I brushed on Floquile “Glaze” to shine it up.

A pair of Autocar three-axle tractors From Sheepscot Models. Two axle tractors would be more appropriate for the local delivery of these short trailers.

Classic Metal Works has ready to go models like this 1954 International R-190 two-axle tractor for only $11.00 as an easy way to go.

Semi-trucks in town the weekend of April 24th to 27th, we were in Winslow AZ for a holiday and train show. Saturday noon, the Interstate was closed west of town as a result of a massive dust storm in the area of Tucker Flats. By mid-afternoon, a thousand trucks were waiting it out on the East side of town by the Flying J truck stop, and every vacant lot was packed. This allowed me to see how various truck equipment was set up. Flatbeds, vans, and Reefer trailers all had different requirements.

The other end of town has some new arrivals from Mini Metals except for the two Freightliner cabs. If the dust storm wasn’t bad enough, the diesel smoke from the semi’s was beginning to choke the town. I was never much of an International fan, but it came lettered with the “Navajo” trucking company name, so I bought it. The Navajo trucking company was a primary carrier in the Southwest in the 50′ and ’60s, and they’re still at it. I recall a lot of “White” tractors hauling freight like this 50’s model pulling the Del Monte covered gondola trailer. The Santa Fe trailers came as a pair, and the style is “Aero-Van” from the 50’s also with their 32-foot length. Theirs pulled with White/Freightliners, which was an invention of Consolidated Freight Ways; they just had White build them. By the early ’60s, there were hoards of them on the highways.

Creating the last of my semi truck fleet

Building the last of my semi truck fleet In the background are two trailers from Sheepscot Scale models. The Republic truck is made up of Sheepscot parts as well as the two REA trucks. On the highway are tractors from Sylvan Scale Models that finish up my truck project. This now gives me at least one each of the available truck types that were used in the 50, 60’s era.