Circa 1890
TRIPLE WAGON

This kerosene wagon was built right around the beginning of the 20th. century.  The metal tank is likely a Butler tank with three compartments.  Each were filled with kerosene, gasoline, and heating oil.  The three tanks held around 300 gallons of liquid making a total of 900 gallons that could be transported on each trip.   This was the biggest fuel wagon available during this time period.  Due to its size, four Draft horses, weighing close to 1,400 pounds each, were used to pull this wagon.  The wagon would have been driven from a fuel fill up station at the town’s trainyard and taken around to the various farmers outside of the  town’s limits.  This was very similar to how milk used to be delivered to individual houses.  Fuel would have been dispensed via three different nozzles at the rear of the tanker.  The driver would take 5-gallon cans to dispense the fuel to the farmer’s tank. The farmers would use the fuel in a variety of ways, including running vehicles, tractors, power plants, lighting, and heating demands.  This wagon would have been heavily used until around the 1930s when fuel tanker trucks almost totally replaced the horse drawn fuel tankers.

Manufactured nearby in Moline, IL, this type of scale was advertised as a “Pitless Scale”, but also known at the time as a “Wagon Scale”.  Both farmers and small business owners would commonly use this type of scale to measure bushels of corn (and other products) carried on the back of a wagon, truck, or steer.  The scale helped farmers and business owners alike determine the cash value of their product.  In the early 1900’s Railroads charged shipping fees by weight.  McDonald Scales were used to estimate how much a farmer or business owner could expect the shipping cost to be, and it helped prevent them from being overcharged for their shipments.

Only American made Saurer known to exist.  Saurers were first imported in 1908 from Switzerland.  U.S. assembly started in 1909 by the Quincy, Manchester & Sergent Company, Plainfield, NJ.

This truck was made in the first year that the model was in existence, and it was a cross over from the Touraine Company that made cars before the VIM trucks.  The Touraine Company was based in Philadelphia, PA and the chassis was manufactured by The Budd Company, also of Philadelphia.  This VIM Delivery Truck has a wheelbase that measures 89 inches with a 56 inch tread, and weighs about 800 pounds.  It is equipped with a bevel and chain drive differential and a sliding gear transmission.  This model has an open bed which was commonly used for hauling products like tool and packages.

Velie Motor Corporation was founded in 1908 by Moline-native Willard Velie, grandson of John Deere, and sold more than 1000 cars in its first three years of business.  In 1911, the company began production of trucks.  Velie decided to branch out even more and in 1927, He started manufacturing aircraft under the name Mono Aircraft Inc.  However, this venture was short-lived; the airplane company was sold off just 2 years later.  Velie automobile production also ended around that time after the passing of both the company’s founder and his succeeding son within a year of each other.  Part of the factory is still standing in Moline, Illinois.  This Velie 26 B 3.5-Ton was originally used in Silver City, New Mexico by T.C. Watkins to haul mining equipment and supplies along the Mogollon Rim. It is only one of five Velie trucks know to still exist.  Old work-horse trucks like this are rare.  Many were shipped to Europe by the Army during World War I.  It is a heavy truck; most were bought up for scrap and the metal was reused for tanks, bombs, torpedoes, and ships in WWII.  Its solid rubber tires weight 700 pounds each.  The truck has had much use as evidenced by the repaired and braced frame.  The engine mounts have even worn into the frame.  You can’t buy parts for these trucks anymore.  Its engine is obsolete and has been for years; we had completely rebuild it.  All trucks in the early days were the bare minimum when they came out of the factory unless a part was special ordered.  Dump beds could be provided by the factory, but they were expensive.  Some people just made their own.

This 1918 Independent is a local truck that was made in Davenport, Iowa.  This was the only truck brand manufactured in Davenport, Iowa and was made from 1918-1923. Two sizes were built under this name, a 1-tonand a 2-ton.  This is a 1-ton.  There is a glass windshield, but no wipers.  The front window opens partially which would be considered air conditioning back in the day.  Independent was one of the smaller truck brands that did not last very long.  It is an assembled truck as many were during that time.  Different parts were bought from various sources and put together into trucks which were then branded Independent.

This particular truck model was built by the VIM Motor Truck Co.  (formerly Touraine Company).  VIM Trucks ranged in price from $620 to $1050.   Cost was dependent upon the sizes of wagonettes, tires, canvas tops, or cabs.  The VIM Delivery Trucks covered greater distances, and did  more work in less time and at a lower cost than a horse and wagon could.  These trucks were advertised as sturdy dependable trucks which could stand up under the strain of strenuous commercial service.  The VIM Delivery Truck has a wheelbase that measures 89 inches with a 56 inch tread and wights about 1,575 pounds.  The 1918 model was the first year to feature electric lighting.

This is an all-electric truck and the electric engine is the  rear axle.  The truck is believed to have been used by Edison Electric Service.  There is a winch inside the box which was used to erect utility poles.  It is a line truck that was likely used in a city during the World War I time frame.  One of the downfalls of an electric vehicle is the weight of the batteries.  With an electric vehicle, the faster the speed, the faster the batteries are used up.  A driver would always need to be cognizant of their charge so they did not run out of battery.