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  1. other dog

    Back To Work

    By other dog,

    Well it's almost time for the holiday to end and get back to the real world.Gotta leave for Fremont in the morning. I got a letter from DMV this week,and I've got to get the mixer retitled,and pay another $50.My wife's name was on the title as co-owner and since their records indicated that one of the owners was deceased,I have to get a new title and tags. I don't see what difference it makes,but it makes them 50 more dollars. Nobody would have ever caught it ,but a few months ago DMV sent a form to everybody that owned a vehicle with antique tags on it.You had to fill it out and have it notarized before you sent it back,or they'd pull your tags.It just had questions about how you used the vehicle,and if you had another vehicle. Va. law restricts antique vehicle use to club activities,exhibits,tours,parades,test drives and so on,but you can't use it as a daily driver,or to and from work.A lot of people did abuse it,you see beat-up '71 pickups with antique plates on them all the time hauling firewood and beat-up '68 Biscaynes at the grocery store,vehicles people never had any intentions of restoring,or even fixing-vehicles with antique plates don't have to be inspected in Va. either. So,even though I'm good on the usage part,that's how they ran across the name on the title and hit me up for the " one time "$50 fee. again.
  2. other dog
    Crap!..This week STILL ain't going too good so far- I went to the doctor today and he told me to come back tomorrow (again!) so he could look at it and change the bandage (again!). Only tomorrow i've got to see him in Lynchburg. The doctor couldn't believe the amount of stuff that was still in there. He said "I think we've about got it!.. no, wait- spoke too soon." He said maybe tomorrow I would be good to go with just a band-aid. Same thing he said yesterday. And the day before...and the day before. Meanwhile, no income, and i'm getting crankier all the time. Had to pass up a load going to Fremont, Ohio today. I try to tell myself it's best to do what he says and not risk having even bigger problems with it, or having it get infected or something, but this is getting old fast. I feel fine, but he's had to work on it every day this week. Good thing I can't get to it, or I might monkey up
    And how about David Carradine (Kung-Fu)? Just saw where he had hanged himself in a motel room. So many people in the world struggling to live...and he kills himself.
  3. other dog
    So,as I was sayin' I went to Greensboro yesterday morning and came back and went to Dillwyn and picked up a load of kyanite going to Chester,W.V. I should have delivered it today,but Todd told me to go to the doctor and deliver it Monday. So I did,except for the going to the doctor part.I've had a sore throat on one side all week-hurts all the way from my ear to my neck on the left side. It hurts so bad when I swallow I couldn't even sleep Wednesday night.I went to the store and got some Sudafed,Sucrets,Chloraseptic and aspirin so I hope that'll get rid of it. My son,his wife,and Jeff all had a sore throat recently,so I don't know what's going on.
    Now,back to the jobsite adventure- 5 of us loaded 60' concrete bridge beams in Bristol,Tn. and took them to Surry Co.N.C, near Mount Airy. We got off of I-77 at exit 93,turned west,then turned on a little skinny road that was not big enough for a truck. Then we came to a dead end and had to turn right off of a narrow bridge onto an even smaller road. Followed that to another dead end and had to turn right,then back up almost a mile to the bridge job. Had to back across another bridge with a 90 degree turn as you come off it,then around a couple more curves before getting to the jobsite.Then we just backed onto a temporary bridge over the creek and got unloaded.The beams had to be set in sequence,so we unloaded in the same order we got loaded. I took some pictures of course...
    hope I get 'em in the right order,but here goes-1. waiting to get loaded, 2.coming to the first narrow bridge,where we had to turn right at the end, 3. the curve coming off the second narrow bridge that we had to back around, 4. still backing up, 5.still backing up 6.still backing up 7.waiting to unload-i'm first in line,which means I was last to unload 8.first truck empty,pulled around to front-notice how narrow the road is! 9.sitting on the temporary bridge,waiting to unload 10.the dead beaver in the mill pond,before we got back to the bridge where we had to make a hard left onto on the way out 11.turning onto the bridge 12.totally unrelated,but I liked it-this is on rt. 250 in W.V. somewhere south of Moundsville.
  4. other dog

    Time Marches On....

    By other dog,

    I heard that Paul Davis passed away this week...most people probably never heard of him,his biggest hit record was "I Go Crazy" but he had several more. I remembered him because he had a song out around 1975 called "Ride 'em Cowboy".Can't really explain it,but but it always made me cry when I heard it. I mean,there I was,19 years old,riding around in my souped up '72 Rally Nova with an AM radio and when Paul Davis came on and sang "Ride 'em Cowboy" i'd cry like a baby. So obviously i'd change the station if anybody was with me,otherwise i'd listen and cry.
    I was sitting in the back yard earlier and got to thinking,after i'd planted some corn and beans.I went to youtube and listened to "Ride 'em Cowboy" for the first time in years...yeah,I couldn't help crying,but I didn't let Jobyna see me. Now i'm telling everybody how I cried...go figure.
    I once told a very dear friend of mine,whom I love like a son,right after his younger brother was killed in an accident that time heals all wounds,but nothing will ever be the same again. And that is still true-he didn't believe me of course,but I lost my best friend ever,David Elder (A.K.A. Travelin' Kid) and then as you know my wife died of multiple myloma,a form of cancer. I had never loved anyone like her,and never will again,but i'm OK-Jobyna is funny,and weird at times,( most of the time actually) and I love her too,but it's different. I know I carry on more nonsense here than anyone,but i've started now,so i'll continue . Someone once told me that when the Lord takes something away,he always gives you something back. So that gets me to the point that- I believe that's true. Ive met more people,and made new friends-even right here on BMT.Nocluejoe for example-he's got new twins,got laid off from his job,but if I was in trouble and needed him for something I feel like he'd find a way to get here.Big Jim,Paul,Bollweevil,and others are the same way. Right Paul?
    So... I don't know why this serious mood came over me,but i'll get over it. Anybody want me to scan more old pictures?
  5. other dog
    So, where was I? Oh, last week I went to Petersburg to load a 60' load going to Masury,Oh, but just as I was pulling off the scales I got a call from headquarters telling me not to load it because they didn't want it in Masury until the end of the week. I ended up taking a load to Piedmont,S.C. instead, then loaded a load of 60' re-bar in Darlington for Fredericksburg,Va. Had a flat on the way back with that load, had to call road service to bring me a steer tire. Then I went to Petersburg and loaded a 60' load for Masury,Oh. All on my 48' trailer. I like my trailer.Not as good as the old Ravens I used to pull though- cain't beat a Ravens. Everybody hates going to Masury, because you have to tarp the steel beams that are stored outside, and everyone who works there is an a-hole, from the people in the office to the guys on the floor. Just hateful for no apparent reason.
    But I survived and loaded at Brookfield for Roanoke. I unloaded there Monday and then went to Dillwyn and loaded for Fremont, Oh. Haven't been there for a long time, it's one of my favorite runs. Then I went back to Masury and loaded coils for Roanoke. Then to Petersburg and Wilmington,N.C. Then empty back to Lynchburg and picked up a Duluth,Ga. From there I went to Birmingham and picked up skidded coils ( good thing-I left my coil racks in the tool box on my trailer in Lynchburg) to unload in LaCrosse, Va. Monday. I ran over 3,000 miles from Monday 'til Friday.
    Then I made some of the best chili ever today, even cooked some pasketti noodles and served it Cincinnati style-very delicious. And of course I took a roll of film to Wal-Mart, only to find they don't do 1 hour phtos any more! Had to go to CVS, but I got 'em.
    A nice looking Argosy Freightliner from Canada,loading in Petersburg.
    Colorful leaves in West Virginia
    Colorful leaves in West Virginia
    Coloful leaves in West Virginia
    wtf?!! looks like the truck ain't setting level...
    oh...tire's flat-time to get my air hose out-maybe I can pump it up
    Jeff's other truck, W900 Kenworth, on the scales in Petersbug
    ...uh...thumbnail's too small for me to identify it yet,must it must be something important-ok,a neat looking old building in downtown Gormania,W.V.
    Rt. 220 in W.V.- Used to have to keep straight here and cross this old iron bridge
    either the first snow of the year, or a cotton field in South Carolina-can't remember which
    Superliner Mack
    Superliner Mack
  6. other dog

    Saturday Again

    By other dog,

    Made the trip to Nazareth,Pa. I passed right by the Nazareth Speedway going in,never seen that before. I drove the truck to Rockingham,N.C. to races a couple of times,and stopped and looked at the race tracks in Daytona,Talledega, and Darlington,and have passed by Bristol,Dover,North Wilkesboro,Atlanta,Michigan, maybe a couple more. Used to go to Charlotte,Richmond,and Martinsville every year,but it just got so expensive,and the traffic got so bad,and the cops in N.C. got so hateful I quit going. Nazareth looked kind of grown over,even for the off-season. I don't know if they still have races there or not,it might have gone the way of North Wilkesboro and Rockingham. I know they didn't have cup races there anyway,but didn't they run Busch races there at one time? I don't remember what kind of races they have there.
    Anyway, back in the real world I went down to Baltimore from Nazareth and loaded coils at Worthington Steel for Metalsa in Roanoke-the truck frame plant.Then over to Moneta and picked up treated lumber going to Fairmont,W.V. It rained in West Virginia Tuesday night. It was about 38-40 degrees went I went to bed.But Wednesday morning in Fairmont it was well below freezing,and the parking lot at 84 Lumber was like a skating rink,completely glazed over with a sheet of ice. I couldn't get turned around and backed in the gate 'til about 10 or 10:30 I think it was.When I finally got unloaded I had to go to Pittsburgh to load,so I just stayed on U.S.rt. 19 North thru town until I got back to I-79 at Morgantown. I saw several old trucks going that way,some old Autocars,and one place where you could look down below you and see lots of old iron,including at least one H-model in the woods. The road through there is narrow anyway,and there's no place to pull over and look,or take pictures,but i'd like to.I wish I could take a picture of every old truck I see. Kinda makes ya wonder just what might still be found parked in the woods to rust across the country,and forgotten.
    But,back to the real world,it's work,work,work.I loaded in Pittsburgh for Franklin,Va. It was an N.B.Handy load,but it went straight to the customer.Should have been on a straight truck,their yard was so tiny. When I got that off Thursday morning I went to Dillwyn and picked up a load of Kyanite going to Orville,Oh.It was bright and sunny when I left the shop,but by the time I got to Lewisburg,W.V. it was snowing so hard you couldn't see. I was pretty much out of the snow by the time I got to Charleston,but it was about 2 degrees in Orville Friday morning.Folding tarps is about like trying to fold a piece of plywood when it's that cold. Then over to Macedonia to reload coils at I.D.S. for Metalsa in Roanoke. Unloaded there this morning,and got home around lunch time. I see I got a "Wheels of Time" and a "Double Clutch" this week,so it's time to check them out now. Hmm...used to be that would be the first thing I checked out,wonder what's up with that?
  7. other dog

    I Love My Job

    By other dog,

    Had a long week this week,driving in snow for most of it. I left last Sunday for Orville,Ohio and when I unloaded Monday morning it was snowing and the radio said the wind was gusting to 50 mph.When I took the straps off of one side of the tarp it blew off and over the trailer and was flapping like a flag,still holding on by the straps on the other side.I finally got it detatched and it blew up under a trailer parked beside me.I struggled with it for a while and decided I was never going to get it folded,so I was waiting to get unloaded so I could just get it up on the trailer somehow and get it strapped down. When the truck at the dock beside me pulled out I grabbed a corner of the tarp and dragged it up to the dock and stuffed it under the door.Then I went inside and pulled it in and got it folded and rolled up with no problem,then did the other one the same way. All this titanic struggle with my tarps probably took 30 minutes,and the tarp was winning the battle until I outsmarted it. Went from there over to Sharon,Pa. and loaded up 2 coils and back to Lynchburg.The crane was broken at N.B.Handy,so I had to take them to the shop where they unloaded them with the forklift.Then on to Dillwyn to load a Fremont,Oh. I knew they were calling for more snow in Ohio Tuesday night,so that motivated me to get all the way to Fremont,trying to beat it. It started snowing about the time I got there,around midnight. Wednesday morning it was still coming down,with about 3 inches on top of the tarps.I had to get a broom and get up on top and sweep the snow off before I could pull them off,because it was so heavy. Again,I had much difficulty trying to fold them,not because of wind this time,but the snow.I had to fold them on the ground in the snow,and when I got finished they were about the size of a Volkswagon beetle,and weighed about 1400 lbs each ( that's just a guess ) so I had to get Troy to put them on the trailer with the forklift. Then I had to go to Macedonia to load coils for Roanoke.It was still snowing,but the roads were in good shape,plenty of salt. Ohio does a good job on the roads,they were putting brine on them from the time I crossed the state line at Marietta Tuesday night,long before the snow started falling.That's key,getting an early start on them instead of waiting until they're covered and people start wrecking,like they do in West Virginia. I made it all the way to Beckley with no problems,but when I got on I-64 and headed east it looked like they had used up all the salt allotment for the year,or they forgot 64 was even there. It was completely snow covered and I was a little nervous starting down Sandstone mountain...OK,I was a LOT nervous! I mentioned Sandstone before,if you haven't been across there it's a 5 mile 7% grade,speed limit is 45 mph for trucks,and it has 2 runaway ramps on it.I was easing down in the low side until about halfway to the first runaway ramp when it appeared to have been salted and you could see the pavement again.It was clear the rest of the way down,across the flat,and about 3 quarters of the way up the other side,then it was back to completely covered. When I got to the top there was a truck jackknifed on the westbound side,a pickup in the ditch on my side,and a car in the median in a distance of about a mile. I was trying to get to exit 161 where I was planning to stop for the night anyway.The ramp is at the bottom of a hill so I was still taking it pretty easy,running about 35 mph. A car was ahead of me about half a mile,so I wanted to keep plenty of distance in case I had to stop if he decided to slam the brakes on to see if the road was slick. Right about the top of the hill a Swift truck went by in the left lane and he must have been doing 60 mph.That's fine if you're by yourself,the hill was straight down and straight back up,but if something were to happen unexpectedly in front of him,like that car spinning out on the bridge at the bottom of the hill,there's no way he could have gotten stopped. So I finally made it into the fuel stop and parked.From Beckley to there I saw just one truck salting the road. I went on to Roanoke and unloaded Thursday morning,then by the shop for fuel,and went to Petersburg and loaded some beams going to Carnegie,Pa. Got up there Friday morning,and yep,snowing like he....uh,heck,snowing like heck. Took a long time to get unloaded because the forklift was spinning in the snow and he could barely get up to the trailer. Once he got a lift of beams picked up it was all right,then he could hardly get back from where he was putting them on the ground back to the trailer to get another lift. I finally did get unloaded of course,then went over to Galv-Tech in Pittsburgh to load coils for Handy,and by the time I left there it had warmed up and the roads were just wet,so I hammered down to Lynchburg,dropped the load at N.B.Handy about 9:30 last night and bobtailed home.Got the Cumberland County Christmas Parade Sunday. It's the longest trip of the year for the mixer,about 55 miles one way. At least they're calling for nice weather,with temperatures in the 50's!
  8. other dog

    Good Week

    By other dog,

    Since I was here last i've unloaded the lumber in Moneta,been to Petersburg and got a load of beams and delivered them in Garden City,Ga, and picked up another load of lumber in Estill,S.C. Got 8' 6x6s this time,but I didn't have any trouble with it sliding. This and the pipe to Weaverville from last week should give me a pretty good week for the first time in a long time. And if I go out tomorrow I should have 2 loads on next week's check. It's about time to make a pickup payment,the electric bill's laying here,and gotta pay my real estate taxes-there's never a shortage of something to pay.
  9. other dog

    Cats

    By other dog,

    At least besides the aching tooth and a heat wave that leaves me drenched in sweat every time I chain down A load or tarp A load,and the fact that it's so dry here -my garden just withered away,and I've only cut the grass A couple of times,last time a couple of months ago-I have A little good news.I left the truck at the Cat shop in Lynchburg last night so they can turn the horsepower up from 475 to 550.You would think it'd make A world of difference,but it's hard to say.The last Cat I drove was A 435 and when it was turned up to A 475 you couldn't tell A lot of difference.I know that's not near as big A jump,but I've taken A truck in to be worked on before,they'll put it on the dyno and check it, get you 20 more horsepower and it was like driving A different truck. I hope that's the case this time-it's A big ol' pretty truck,but it lays down like A big ol' dog when it sees A hill.
  10. other dog
    Man, look at that Peterbilt...sure is clean! Figured i'd take it's picture...who knows when it'll be that clean again!
    And some random photos of an old GMC I saw on rt. 220 in West Virginia, between Franklin and Petersburg and the view from the mountain on rt.33 after you cross into West Virginia,west of Harrisonburg,Va. I erroneously said it was on rt. 42 near Mt. Storm,and the views are similar, but noted West Virginia highway and byway expert Big Jim noticed that there was a climbing lane coming up,which Scherr mtn. doesn't have, and the mountain at Scherr is 10%, not nine.
    What a clean Pete....oh, and I put another video on youtube today, pulling out after i'd gotten loaded at Sharon Coatings (formerly Winner Steel) in Sharon,Pa.
  11. other dog
    A few more random photos from the road...the very narrow street in Wheeling,W.V. I delivered a load of 60' beams on, a big Mack truck, Summit racing in Tallmadge,Oh, a B-model near Zelienople,Pa, A yellow fire truck near Sharon,Pa. (it's for sale!), a huge oversize load, a Swift truck that pulled over on the shoulder-except there was no shoulder there, and the old KB-5 that sat in front of the truckstop in Hubbard,Oh. Now it's parked across the road with a "for sale" sign in the window-$7500.
  12. other dog

    Pc Problems

    By other dog,

    Well,I was gonna try another video,but the PC is still defragmenting. I think something's wrong-it said it could take from a few minutes to a few hours,but it ran all yesterday afternoon and all night so it should be done by now! I might call old Bill back. I thought my Norton 360 did it automatically,it's set to,but Bill said Norton was nothing but trouble,and there are better free programs available when the Norton expires.It was preloaded on my computer when I bought it. My skype and eyeball chat were both working slow yesterday,with about a 20 second delay,so he called on the phone and helped me with this defragmenting process. Found out it was last done in September. I might just need to shut down and restart,but I don't want to undo anything i've already done,so i'd better ask somebody that knows what's going on.
  13. other dog
    I unloaded a load of lumber at Byesville, Ohio Monday morning and deadheaded home-after sitting all day Monday and most of the day yesterday. First time ever there wasn't a load to be found. Another truck was in Hubbard, Oh. and one was sitting at Dallas Pike,W.V. and everybody came back empty. Todd said "if you're gonna sit, you might as well sit at home". I said "yeah, at least I can watch tv until they cut the lights off".
    I took a few pictures while I was parked at the Go-Mart truckstop- nice looking Lonestar International, some oversize loads, a cabover Pete, a polar bear (I think), a colorful Pete, nice looking old KW. Never seen a truckstop so empty this time of day!
  14. other dog
    OK,the title is overhyped. Got my last roll of film developed yesterday, and some were taken so long ago I don't remember what they were, or where I took them, but here's some of them for your enjoyment anyway.
    Been very busy this week, felt much better after finding out Big Tail was gonna be all right. I went to Orchard Park Monday, then to Brookfield to Roanoke, then from Lynchburg to Orlando, then loaded 60' beams at Nucor in Huger, S.C. going to Fort Washington, Md.( D.C. area ). When we got to Fort Washington Friday I thought we were at the wrong address, but unfortunately we were not. It was at an apartment complex, and we couldn't figure any reason for 60' beams to be there in the first place. Turns out there was a large sink hole behind the very back building, and that's where the steel was going. We had to blind side back in off the street into the apartment complex, then back about a quarter of a mile, including 3 sharp bends, to get back to where we unloaded. There were cars parked on both sides too, to make it more interesting. I only took the one picture of this site, after I'd gotten unloaded. When we backed in there was a white Ford pickup parked in the spot just to the left of the dumpster in the picture, so that was the tightest spot to get around. They unloaded us with a boom truck, ( there was three of us ) and it was an all day job. Billy Bob and myself left there at 4:30 pm, right on time for the worst of Washington D.C. rush hour Friday evening traffic.
    Now, what you've all been waiting for- pictures...and my comments, best I can recollect- and sorry, I forgot to resize the ones I took here with the digital camera.
    a salmon fillet I smoked on the grill,indirect heat on both sides, strip of bacon on top, with pans of water underneath to keep it from being completely dried out.
    the home made hot sauce I made today and put in recycled bottles. All the peppers came from my garden- and Jo's happy, because when I do this stuff I don't make a mess!
    the Fort Washington apartment complex.
    going over a boat on rt. 526 in CharlestoN, S.C.
    a girl I saw lying in a field getting a tan in Florida.
    ...yes, there really are Piggly Wigglys, Jeff Foxworthy didn't just make it up.
    and sometimes I don't mind having to stop in construction zones, you just sit there and enjoy the view!
    might as well include my favorite billboard ever, Jacksonville,Fl. This billboard's been there a long time.
    my mixer truck, after a wax job.
    I must be off now, Joe's sending an IM.
  15. other dog

    Another Long Week

    By other dog,

    Just got home about 7:30 this morning.Could've been in about midnight,but I ran out of power and had to take a nap. The power plant load kinda sucked-it's near Fremont,where I deliver Kyanite regularly, and it paid about $100 more dollars than a Fremont,but when you consider that I had to go to Richmond to load,then go through two separate security checks when I got there-they looked under the hood,in the sideboxes,all the tool boxes on the truck and trailer,in the cab,in the sleeper, then after I went through 2 security gates where you pull in and a gate closes behind you before the one in front opens,they did the complete search all over again-it's just not worth the hassle. I know they're just doing their job too,but since i'm not a criminal it's kind of offensive when they get up inside the cab and sleeper and go through everything...twice.
    Then I went to Masury,Oh. Thursday with a load of beams. Everybody hates to go to Masury because the load has to be tarped,winter or summer,even though the beams are stored outside on the ground at Petersburg where we load them. Apparently it somehow gets wetter if it's on a trailer,and it's hard to tarp beams without tearing the tarps up. I didn't cover the ends and still tore several holes in the tarps. After I'd been there about an hour and a half they decided to unload me,and I went on down to Galv-Tech in Pittsburgh and loaded up 5 coils for Handy in Lynchburg and dropped the trailer there this morning. Now i'm home raking leaves...well,i'm going to in a minute...maybe.
  16. other dog
    ...well,it's different from "Saturday" anyway. It's someone else's turn to use that anyhow.
    I took a load of piling to Point Marion, Pa. Monday. It's on rt.88 just across the Pa. line a little ways from W.V.,near Morgantown. Yeah,one of THOSE jobsites-you had to pull down there,back down a hill to the crane right on the riverbank,then since there was ankle-deep mud everywhere they had to pull you out with another truck after you got unloaded,then you had to back up another hill and onto the bridge while they stopped traffic for you to get out. I had to go from there to Macedonia to load,so I went up rt.88 north to rt.21,then west on 21 into West Virginia. 21 is a pretty good road across there. It runs into 250 and I took 250 to Moundsville,then rt.2 north to the interstate. First time i'd been on that part of rt.250 in years-about 27 or 28 in fact. I saw the "Thelma and Louise" turn I mentioned before was a 15 mph curve and the grade was 11%. The curve has been widened since then,i'm pretty sure. And I don't think the guardrail was there. And I know the trees weren't up over the guardrail then because it just looked like open spaces ahead when you were coming up to the curve,and the road just looked like it ended,right there. And I think it was at least a 20% grade then...and I don't think it was paved ( now i'm kidding ) I took a picture of the curve with my 35mm I keep in the truck,but haven't got it developed yet.Hope to do that today and get the picture on here.I don't have my scanner hooked up,but I can take a picture of the picture with the webcam.
    After that journey I went to Triadelphia,W.V. with a load of beams. Delivered to the West Virginia department of highways shop. After I got unloaded I asked the guy that signed the bills if they ever went down rt.250,like from Moundsville to Fairmont. "Oh yeah,all the time" he said."They didn't send you that way did they? If they did,boy you got *%#@ed! That's not a good way to go in a car,much less a tractor and trailer...'course we go on lot's of worse roads than that,-"(he liked to talk,wish I'd had longer to chat with him) . I said "oh no,I didn't come that way-I went across there in 1980 or '81 and said I wouldn't go back across there bobtailing- I was just wondering if it was still bad and those tight turns were still in Cameron and Littleton,turns I could barely make with a short wheelbase cabover Mack with a 42' trailer". He said one town,Cameron I think,had changed things and he wasn't sure about the other.I only remembered the one town,and don't even remember the name of it,but like Bollweevil said it took all the room that was there to make that turn. I came into town going south,and to stay on rt.250 I had to make a left turn right in town and the road (street) was narrow,pole on every corner it seemed,cars parked on all sides it seems. He said " well ,you must remember the hard right turn onto the bridge at the bottom of the mountain,that was a hard turn to make,a 90 dgree right onto a narrow bridge at the bottom of about a 2 or 2 and a half mile downgrade-lot of trucks wrecked right there.Lot of truck drivers got killed on that road-looks like a short cut on the map,or their dispatchers would send them that way". No,I didn't remember that turn onto the bridge at all.The two things that stuck with me was the curve coming out of Moundsville and that left turn in that town. I mean '80 or '81-that's 27 or 28 years ago any way you look at it,and it's hard for me to remember what I did last week sometimes.The road atlas shows 250 as a designated truck route today, but unless something's changed I just don't think I could get across there if I wanted to now,driving a 42' long Peterbilt pulling a 48' spread axle trailer.
    These pictures (pretty bad-I really need to hook my scanner back up,but I usually use the digital camera ) show the curve going north on rt.250 heading towards Moundsville,the 11% 1 mile sign,Moundsville down below after the sharp curve,and a load of the coils I load at I.D.S. in Macedonia,Oh. all the time for Roanoke,Va.
    As with the steepness of a hill,the pictures don't really show how steeply the road drops away to the left in the pictures-I was going to take a picture of the septic tank truck in front of me after he went around the curve to show it,but he pulled over right in the curve and stopped,so I went around him.
    I did look at this spot on Google Earth and it shows everthing very well,especially if you rotate it around until you're looking at it from the north,then tilt it towards you-awesome!
  17. other dog

    Cheswick

    By other dog,

    Cheswick,Pa.-that's where I went. I remember now,since I've already been there and back. I called Tina,one of our drivers who had been to this jobsite before, and after I talked to her I was beginning to regret taking this load instead of the pipe going to Anderson,S.C. She said it was very cramped,they sat all day waiting to get unloaded because they were pouring concrete,and concrete trucks were in and out all day until 5 o'clock that evening.She also said you had to go down a steep hill and drive onto a barge to get to the island where they were unloading,then they had to be pushed back up the hill,and they had to pick the back of their trailers up with a crane and move them over to make the turn through the gate at the railroad tracks to get out. Geez,what have I gotten myself into here? Usually if you're expecting the worst,it's never that bad. I made it in,you had to cross the tracks and make a hard left after you crossed the tracks but you couldn't pull very far forward through the gate because a crane was set up there,then hug the chain link fence on the left,because then you had to make a hard right to go down the steep cut they had made in the bank,but again you couldn't pull very far forward to make the turn because of a pile of stuff they had on the ground,and there was a little green thing on the right-looked like a gas meter or something-that you had to clear before you turned. I had dumped the trailer air on the back axle and locked the power divider in at first,and made all the turns with inches to spare.When I got down the hill I had to get over as close to the air compressor parked on the right at the bottom to make the hard left onto the "bridge" which was actually barges side by side across the river.When I talked to Tina I thought they put the truck on a barge and floated over to the island,and I wasn't too sure about all that! But I felt pretty good about the bridge when I saw them drive a bulldozer across it before I went across. So I made it onto the bridge and went across and got unloaded,turned around,and went back up the hill OK,and made it back through the gate without having to pick the trailer up and move it over. I should mention that I had a 48' trailer,and the others had 53s, and like I said I had only inches to spare on all the turns,including getting onto the bridge. I reloaded at Macedonia,Oh. for Roanoke and unloaded there Thursday night. Yesterday morning back at the shop Todd gave me a choice of another load of piling to Cheswick or kyanite going to Orrville,Oh. I went with the Orrville.
  18. other dog

    Saturday

    By other dog,

    Well,I was gonna leave Sunday,but ended up leaving Saturday anyway. Afterwards I was glad I did of course-I drove to Maysville,Ky. Saturday and when I left there Sunday morning I still had 600 miles to go to Endeavor,Wisconsin. It was a good load,paid me $760. After I unloaded Monday I went to Chicago to reload for Baltimore.That paid almost $300,so I had a pretty good week in by the time I unloaded in Baltimore Wednesday morning. Then I went across the Key Bridge to Sparrows Point and loaded a couple of coils for N.B.Handy in Lynchburg,dropped them at the shop Wednesday evening,then took a van load of Kyanite to Chester,W.V. and when I unloaded there Thursday morning I went down rt. 2 a little ways and reloaded at Follansbee for Richmond,Va. I was going to drop down I-79 to 68 and over to Hancock,but since the snow was up to the bumper and still coming down at a rate of 14" an hour ( note-I may not be totally accurate in my weather reports,but that's what it seemed like to me at the time,so i'm as accurate as memory allows me to be ) I just stayed on 70 to New Stanton and ran the turnpike to Breezewood,then dropped back down 70 and 17 to 95 to Richmond.Went from Richmond back to the shop in Concord Friday,dropped the van,then hooked back up to my flat and went back to Petersburg and loaded a load of piling going to Nazareth,Pa. for Monday delivery...whew!
  19. other dog
    I made it to Donora all right with that half a load of kyanite.Made up for the light load with the return load though-brought 5 coils back to Lynchburg that weighed 49,980. All 5 of them that is,not each. That's good,they pay by the weight and the load I took to Donora pays the same as a full load. Then I went to Orchard Park with kyanite,but I didn't have time to go to Fishers and do a surprise building inspection because I had to go to Brookfield,Oh. and load some coils for Metalsa in Roanoke. Dropped the trailer at Sonny Merryman's when I got unloaded so they can replace that dump valve.
    Then I came home and cut the grass-mower started on the first pull. Now i've got to go to the dentist today,try to get some parts for my old tiller so I can get to work on the garden,and probably go load somewhere to deliver Monday. So even if it seems like you get a day off,you really don't except for Saturday.
    And I learned something this week.I ran with Frankie to Orchard Park and back to Roanoke.Frankie who was complaining about his new Peterbilt.He was used to his high powered 550 Cat Western Star,the old single turbo 550. I never ran with the Western Star,but everybody said it was the pullingest truck in the fleet. I thought my truck was doing pretty good,but he outpulled me with the new truck. Same load,and he had a 53' trailer.I had a 48. Outpulled me. With a 485 hp ISX Cummins and 3.36 rears. At least now I don't feel bad about Jeff having one ordered.
  20. other dog
    Had another interesting week,and it's not even over yet. I went to Macon,Ga. with a load of pipes Sunday. Blew a trailer tire on the way down and had to wait 3 hours for a tire. I wasn't pulling my regular trailer,the new aluminum Fontaine.They were supposed to switch the load at the shop,but for some reason they never did so I had to pull the raggedy 53 footer it was loaded on.( I know-whine,whine,whine!) When I got to the jobsite Monday morning I ran by the road I was supposed to turn on.There was A Wal-Mart just a little ways past it,but it was on the left and I was in the right lane. So I just stayed on rt. 129 into Macon,finally got turned around and went back and turned on Graham road,like the directions said. Didn't see a jobsite anywhere,so I stopped in the road to ask a man that was walking across his yard to get his newspaper. Then a cop pulled up behind me so I said "well,gotta go,see ya,bye!" I followed Graham road all the way through to the end,and it made a big circle and came out further north on 129. So I went back to the other end again and turned,then I called the phone number on the bills. Guess I should have called at first,but I had directions-the guy at the jobsite said "you need to turn on Chrissy road,it's right past Graham rd." Well-how do you get there from here? "You can't" he said."you've got to turn off of 129". Great-after my first pass I knew there was nowhere to turn around,so I went all the way through again,and down 129 to Chrissy road.Only problem was,the way the road was angled I couldn't have made that turn if I was bob-tailing.So now that I was pretty familiar with the area since i'd been riding around for what seemed like half a day,I went to the Wal-Mart and turned around and came back to Chrissy road and turned in. They had just started unloading the TMC truck that was there,so I was still there in plenty of time.
    Then I went to Atlanta and picked up an empty 40' container and delivered it to Glade Spring,Va. Tuesday morning,then went down to Bristol,Tn. and loaded a 60' concrete bridge beam and took it to Surry county,N.C. Went back to Bristol and reloaded and did it again today.That was the great adventure,not the Macon,Ga. jobsite. But i'll finish that story later,and i'll have some pictures. It's about time to turn in,and i've got a van load of kyanite to deliver in Greensboro in the morning...I must be off.
  21. other dog

    #@%&! Taxes!

    By other dog,

    I'm off to Car Quest to see about getting a new line made.Just wrote a check to pay my real estate taxes- $239.00. I sold my house in Appomattox on 1 and 1/4 acres and bought this place,a single wide on .73 acres for $28,500 and now they've asessed it at $59,000 at tax time.I don't know whether to feel like I got a heckuva deal or if I got screwed big time. Gotta wait 'til later to pay the vehicle taxes-about $270.00.They asessed the mixer at less than half what I paid for it. I would take offense at that,but i'm afraid it would make my taxes go up. I must be off.
  22. other dog

    Haircut

    By other dog,

    what did I do?! I didn't know I had such a big fat head!..guess I won't be needing my comb for a while-oh well,I had to much stuff to carry around anyway
  23. other dog

    Happy New Year

    By other dog,

    I'm off until tomorrow,so today I had the traditional New Years meal of blackeyed peas and greens. They were mustard greens,but mustard,turnip,kale,they all taste about the same to me-I like'em all. Creeces are the best,but hard to come by. They say the greens are supposed to bring you money in the new year and the blackeyed peas bring you luck.You're supposed to have hog jowl too,but I skipped on that part. I don't know what the hog jowl is supposed to represent anyway,but money and good luck covers most things I guess. I'm also gonna try to quit smoking. I had quit for 10 years or more but started back just before my wife passed away. One of the more foolish things I've done-it's A hard habit to break.
  24. other dog

    Moping Around

    By other dog,

    I talked to Old Bill,the Diesel Gypsy, this morning on Skype so I feel a little better about not being in Winchester. The case of beer I bought didn't hurt either. Then I went over to Altavista to mail him the last "Ice Road Truckers" tape-I put the " Trick My Truck" B-model episode on it too. Also had a few extra copies of "Wheels of Time" and ''Old Time Trucks" to send,and it cost $14 and some change to mail it. And that was the cheapest way to mail it. The faster 'express mail' was 40-some dollars,so I told the guy at the post office to strap it on the mule's back and send it on it's way. Maybe it'll be there before Christmas! Then I stopped by Food Lion to pick up a few things,and almost kept it under $100-total came to $100.04. By the way,do any of you guys have Skype? Or as Paul Van Scott once said "It would be good to know if anyone's reading this"
  25. other dog
    Went back up the road to Orville,Oh. Thursday. Reloaded at Brookfield,Oh. to Roanoke and unloaded there tonight. Now i'm home.
    Here's a couple of pictures of one of the Freightliners I used to drive-one at home,the other is at Pharo's truckstop in Shippensburg,Pa. with a load of joists. I also ran across an old article about Jeff's beginning in the trucking business. He started out with a B-model I see. He's come a long way since then.
    Talked to Joe today about scrap metal,and what it's bringing. I have bought and driven cars for what they're getting for scrap prices now. That probably means old parts will be even harder to find because everybody will be digging their old stuff out of the woods and selling it for junk. I saw an old tractor on a trailer behind a ton truck headed to Shredded Products one day this week. I'm pretty sure the tractor was going to be scrapped too because the truck was piled up with junk and there was more junk around the tractor. The tractor was very old,but new enough to have rubber tires,completely rusty,but it appeared to have all the sheet metal and it didn't look beat up or dented at all. I don't know what kind of tractor it was but it was a tricycle type with the steering shaft going all the way down alongside the hood to the steering box right over the front wheels. Some of the old tractor restorers would probably have loved to have it just for the sheet metal if nothing else.
    ...shoulda' planted that corn last weekend...

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