On Tue, Oct 25, 2022 at 07:37 AM, Philip Dove wrote:

The truck in the foreground has been adapted to carry long timbers. What happened if the driver braked suddenly?

This arrangement was common on this side of the pond into the sixties on steel delivery trucks, since steel is typically sold in longer lengths than lumber The railroad museum I was active at years ago had a succession of these trucks that we used to haul donated rail; one was a Diamond T of early fifties vintage that had bi-fold doors, like on a phone booth, so the driver could enter the single seat cab, the other was a mid fifties International that had a roof hatch for access. We also had a '47 International fitted with a pole auger (for setting line poles) with a similar rack on the right side so it could carry the pole it was going to set. The load should stay if properly tied down, although I've heard this story:

Cop, "Why didn't you stop when the light turned red?"
Driver, "Well, it's like this. You could have had the truck go through the intersection with the rail on it, or the rail go through by itself."

The guy in a collar and tie  loading planks onto the trailer: is he unloading planks from a second line of cars hidden behind those photographed, or is he just posing in an impossible place? I can't believe a lumber door in the end of the car would allow enough room for such a long plank to be manouvered out between the cars. 

I also think this is a staged photo, and they wanted to show as muck of their equipment as would fit.

Dennis Storzek