Old Brockway Still Earns Its’ Keep

Bill Ammon of Hamilton, New York, has been around trucks since he was 14 and learned to drive a tractor-trailer when he was just 15 years old. In 1966 he started driving dump trucks and Walter SnoFighters for the Madison County (NY) Highway Department, and then retired in 1996 as a welder-mechanic and relief equipment operator. His family trucks include the 1976 Brockway dump truck/snow plow shown here. It was built in Cortland, New York, on January 20, 1976, and delivered to the Town of Vestal, New York, in June 1976. It was sold in 2001 to a collector in Binghamton who displayed it in Cortland at the 2002 Brockway Show, where Bill bought it in August 2002. He only made some minor repairs to the dump box before driving it to truck shows and parades around the area. As you can see from the photo, the truck still earns its keep by plowing a little local snow. The love for old trucks is a family affair. The Ammons also own a 1938 Sanford 538D custom pumper, built in Syracuse, New York, for the Pine Bush Fire Department in Pine Bush, NY. It was in service until 1969. His wife purchased the truck in August 1975, and then the family had it restored in 1976. Their third truck is a 1964 International CO-8190 with a Barton-American pump and body by American Fire Apparatus Corp. of Battle Creek, Michigan, which is now out of business. This truck has a more personal connection to Bill, as he was on the committee that drew up the specs for the pumper and went to Battle Creek to drive it home in June of 1964. It was in service in Hamilton, NY until November 1994. The Ammons bought it, and Bill drove it out of the station. Here’s wishing you all a safe and prosperous New Year – hopefully, you won’t see too many snow plows in your travels this winter, but if you do, they surely won’t be as cool as this one!