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My 1950 Ford F-1 pickup [Double Clutch cover, January-February 2002] has been to a lot of places over the nine years since it was restored and put back on the road. I think there is a good possibility that it is the most driven restored antique vehicle anywhere. Most years it has gone about 5,000 miles, making trips from Choptank, MD to Hershey, Altoona, and Strasburg, PA, Wilmington, DE, and Hot Springs, VA, for various events, most of which have a rail history theme. Last month I made my longest trip to date, driving it to Cincinnati, via Pittsburgh, and back. Over a span of 7 days I put an additional 1282 miles on the odometer, putting it over 38,000 miles since the restoration was completed in 1995.

Cincinnati was the site of the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society . I have always been interested in the Pennsy, and for 17 years I worked for the successor companies, Penn Central, Conrail, and Amtrak. I have belonged to the Society since 1974, and have attended most of the annual meetings since 1995, always driving my truck to the meeting for display. This was to be the first meeting to be held in the Lines West (of Pittsburgh) territory, and I was determined to go.

In preparation for the trip I had planned to make some "improvements". Back on February 15^th I headed for Chuck’s Trucks, in Hamden, CT (near New Haven). Chuck Mantiglia is an expert on 1948-51 Ford trucks. He is the person who had made my truck as good as it is, following a disastrous experience with another restoration shop. I set off at 8:00 pm and drove all night, checking in to a Days Inn about a mile from the shop at 3:30 in the morning. Snow had been predicted, but I managed to stay ahead of it. While I slept, the snow caught up to me. When I awoke, about 9:00 am, I saw several inches on the ground, and my truck was covered with it . I was sure that the salt trucks would be out, so for 50 bucks, I had a roll-back take it the rest of the way to the shop.

The improvements provided by Chuck were intended to make the truck safer and easier to drive. They included a fitted cab interior lining made of foil backed fiberglass. This would make it much quieter to ride in, an important consideration when driving long distances. While he was at it, a new interior was installed. The old headliner had been lined up incorrectly by the first shop, and while it was out, it made sense to go with a new one. The seat springs and padding were rebuilt, and the home-made upholstery, also installed by the first shop, was replaced by a correct reproduction. Seat belts and turn signals were installed, using an original 1950 turn signal switch. An original accessory brass fire extinguisher, complete with a FORD oval logo, was mounted in the correct position on the cab floor.

Two new tires also were installed. Having replaced two last spring, I have now worn out a set of tires since the initial restoration was completed. How many antique vehicle owners can make that statement?

The most important improvement was a new transmission . Chuck installed a 4-speed, with overdrive, from a circa-1988 Ford F-150. He modified the rest of the drive train to accept it, and the results are astounding. I used to drive the truck at speeds up to 65 mph reluctantly, trying to keep it around 60. Now I do 70 for miles and miles. Furthermore, I no longer have to deal with an unsynchronized first gear. I’m not exactly driving a Lincoln here, but with the overdrive 4^th gear and the other changes, particularly the insulated interior, it is a far more civilized driving experience than it used to be. The "tin can" effect is gone!

On Sunday, April 25, I picked up the truck at Chuck’s and drove it back to Choptank. There I picked up some things and drove to DC. The total distance for the day was 410 miles.

The following Tuesday, April 25^th, I set off for Cincinnati, leaving downtown DC after lunch and heading up I-270 to Frederick, MD. My ambition was to generally follow the route of the PRR as much as I practically could. Along the way I would visit some of the sites with remaining PRR structures and photograph the truck with them. I continued west on I-70 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76) and wound up at a Howard Johnson’s at New Stanton, where I-70 diverges from the Turnpike.

Getting there was a "chilling" experience. Everything went fine until I got through the Allegheny Tunnel. Just west of there I pulled into a rest stop to refill my coffee mug. As I got out of the truck I noticed a few large snowflakes swirling around. In the time it took me to get coffee, pay for it and return to the truck, I found the running board and fenders covered with snow . It was a scary dilemma. I didn’t want to wait out the storm because I assumed the salt trucks would come out, and the last thing I wanted to do was drive the truck in that mess. On the other hand, those 6.50X16 bias-ply tires aren’t the best for traction. I decided to take a chance, and get to a lower altitude.

Driving down the mountain was a real "white-knuckle" experience. I held my speed to about 45 mph, and stayed in the right lane. The truck was completely covered with snow, and that little wiper just barely kept up with it (There is none on the right side.). When the accumulation got too heavy, I was able to reach out the side window and pull the build-up of slush off the windshield with my fingers. Fortunately, because of the extensive reconstruction that always seems to be going on along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the big trucks were restricted to the left lane. Although this seemed odd, it made sense because it kept them away from the work, and the posted speed limit was reduced anyway. They sped by me continuously. The snow continued for a good 35 miles before it finally tapered off. Along the way I was relieved to not see any salt trucks.

Shortly after the snow ended I came upon New Stanton. By then it was approaching 7:00 pm, and I had had enough of the "joys of motoring" for one day! There was a cluster of motels to choose from, and I picked the Ho Jo’s, a nicely maintained 1960’s former Holiday Inn, with a room for less than $50 bucks. There was a decent Italian restaurant within walking distance, and a giant Sheetz next door. These days, you can’t ask for much more than that!

The next day I took my time departing, spending most of the morning cleaning off the road dirt and wondering how the weather would turn out. Weather wise, I experienced the best day of the whole trip. The sun shone, and there was a clear blue sky all day.

My first stop was nearby Youngwood, where a small PRR station has been maintained as a museum. The truck was posed in front of it, and I continued north to Greensburg, where a larger, more interesting station had recently been restored . Hard as it may be to believe, the photos I took at Youngwood and Greensburg were taken on the day after the snow. What a difference a little less altitude makes!

As I drove into Greensburg I stumbled across the freight station of the West Penn System. It had a remarkable sign made of terra cotta panels built into the yellow brick façade that included the West Penn logo, with "light, power, and railways" in the three sides of a triangle. The West Penn System, the local power company, once operated a long abandoned series of southwestern Pennsylvania electric interurban lines (much like heavy-duty, long distance streetcars). They connected the many mining towns in the region, reaching as far as Connellsville and into West Virginia. The freight station now belongs to the town, and is well maintained. While I was there I asked a friendly policeman where the PRR station was, and he was gracious enough to lead me there. It was a handsome, elaborate structure, with an imposing tower . Beautifully restored, it now houses a brew pub, as well as the Amtrak station, with some small offices in the adjacent baggage/express building. Taking advantage of perfect weather, with the sun at a perfect angle, I took a number of shots, and headed west.

My next target was the George Westinghouse Bridge, an imposing concrete arch bridge, built in the 1930’s, that carries the Lincoln Highway high above the Turtle Creek Valley and the PRR Main Line. I spent entirely too much time finding the bridge, and more time finding a decent location to photograph it .

Along the way I wandered through the East Pittsburgh works of Westinghouse. The Works is a fascinating array of 19^th and early 20^th century industrial buildings, accompanied by the archetypal hillside factory town, with the requisite onion-domed churches. As I entered the Works, the guard at the gate gave me a big smile and a wave as I passed by. With a truck like this, you can go most anywhere!

My next stop was Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Station, designed by the famous architect, Daniel Burnham. The building has many nice features, but sadly, the individual parts are better than the whole. A huge, impressive four-sided open rotunda is placed in front a clunky 12 story office tower . The rotunda is the grand entrance and the tower houses the waiting room. It’s a practical combination, but the two just don’t seem to work together visually. A few years ago, the station was restored, becoming luxury apartments. The exterior was cleaned, and a grimy black accumulation was removed, revealing pink granite. It looks a whole lot better than it used to. Again the weather was perfect, and thanks to all the time wasted at the bridge, the sun had moved to a decent angle for a photo at the station. I got a good one, and waited while several bystanders took theirs. It happens when you cruise around in a truck like this!

I then rushed out of town, hoping to beat the rush hour traffic. I managed to do that, but the tradeoff was a poor decision of where to go. There were a number of locations to check out in this part of Pennsylvania, but I thought I needed to put some miles behind me. I headed south on I-79 to reach I-70. The primary result of this was a lost hubcap, probably due to a pothole. Driving at higher speeds, thanks to the new transmission, raises issues never encountered before! I made a phone call to Chuck, and received a replacement at the hotel the next day.

Reluctantly, I passed by Wheeling. A shot with the 1849 Roebling Suspension Bridge was tempting, but it would take too much time to find the right location.

As I moved into Ohio, I began to think about where to regain the Panhandle Route, as the PRR line to St. Louis was known, and where to tie up for the night. Another problem with my route decision was that I was well south of the line. I needed to turn back about 50 miles to the north to reach it. I probably did better coming this way, in terms of time because I bypassed a lot of suburban Pittsburgh stop-and-go traffic. But I missed Dennison, OH, which I later learned, has a really nice depot that is beautifully restored. I worked my way back up to the Panhandle at Newcomerstown, and head for Coshocton, where I knew there was a station.

Approaching West Lafayette I came upon a private museum calling itself "Unusual Junction" . It had a varied collection of 1930’s and -40’s passenger cars and a frame station that was oddly situated on the north side of the highway, with the railroad some distance to the south. It was one of those places that would take a while to see properly, while appearing to be a widely varying assortment with no focus. I took a quick shot of the truck with the station, and moved on. My goal for the day was to get to Coshocton with enough daylight to look it over, and find a place to stay.

Arriving in Coshocton, I found the station with little trouble. It was a nice brick structure that currently houses the offices of the Ohio Central Railroad, the current operator of this segment of the Panhandle Route. The station was relatively new, having been opened in 1930 as a replacement for the 1903 station, which burned to the ground in 1928. I got a nice shot in the low evening sun. Next, I turned my attention to the freight house across the street, an older (1917) structure with some interesting brick work. With a little careful maneuvering I managed to back the truck down alongside the track for a shot.

With the daylight fading, I ran off to the south to get one more shot, this time for my wife, Sally. As a long-time Kraft Foods employee, she had visited Coshocton several times because it is the location of the Oscar Mayer bacon plant. I managed to get there in time to pose the truck in front of the Kraft sign , before the light was gone.

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