Looked in my rearview mirror today on I-40 East about a mile from the TX/OK border and saw one of the weirdest vehicles I’ve ever seen riding a lowboy. Turns out it was a GM Futurliner, (1 of 12) built by GM in 1940 and sent out as part of a Parade Of Progress display during 1940/1941 and later in the 50’s. My wife managed 3 pics, but unfortunately they’re not good enough for posting (try taking a picture out the window at 70 mph). Here’s a link to pics taken by others. http://www.classiccarart.us/carsGMFUTURLINER.htm
Walthers really needs to come out with a model of these things. After all, there were 13 fewer of these bueilt than there were UP Big Boys. That alone should make them huge sellers.[(-D]
Andre - Temporarily enoying the hospitality of Oklahoma City
There was a FuturlIner auctioned off at the Barrett-Jackson Car Auction a few years ago at a price of over $4 million. GM used them to tour the country. One of them had a scale diorama of what our highways would be like by the 2000s. I am still waiting on a car that has glass dome and powered by a nuclear reactor.[sigh]
Andre, if you are traveling east through Oklahoma, you might want to continue on up to Tulsa and follow the famous Route 66. There is a park there that has a SLSF steam loco that was cosmetically restored and relocated a couple of years ago. If you continue on “The Mother Road” you might want to stop in Catoosa and visit the famous Blue Whale. As you continue further north you will end up in Claremore and see the Will Rogers Museum right across the street from the historic Rogers State University (my alma mater)
Anyways, I hope you enjoy some Oklahoma hospitality.
I like that beer truck. The Futurliner isn’t bad, but I’m more fond of GM’s Domeliner: the Train of Tomorrow. But there’s really nothing odd or distinct about it
Actually, we’re going to be holing up in Branson, MO, for a couple of days due to weather. We’re heading up I-44 towards Tulsa and will be taking 412 over towards Fayetteville, AR rather than I-44 towards Springfield and then down.
It looks like the Oscar Meyer wiener-mobile had a baby with an old hippie-age VW bus.
The Labatt truck is a 1948 White model WA122 COE (cab-over-engine) with a Fruehauf single-axle trailer. They were deseigned by Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky, and built by Smith Brothers Bodyworks Toronto, CAN. The truck was powered by a 135hp White “Mustang” 386 cu. in. straight six and 501-B five speed manual transmission. It as part of Labatts streamliner fleet during 1932-1955 used as promotional vehicles, but they did really use them to haul around beer.
I bet that was more than you wanted to know. My resource was “Trucking in America MOVING THE GOODS” by Ron Kowalke copywright 1995 by Krause Publications Inc. of Iola, WIS, pages 166 and 167.
There is also a nice black and white photo print of a 1949 Studebaker stake-bed truck parked in front of Alco/GE ‘Spirit of 1776’ PA #1776. The caption says “…locomotive was brought in to help promote Studebaker’s ‘modern’ design.”
I knew when I say that photo I’ve seen that streamliner rig before.
