FreightWaves Online Haul of Fame

FreightWaves Haul of Fame: Preston 151 Line grew and grew and grew…

A Preston Trucking Co. truck displays its "The 151 Line" motto. (Photo: Gary Morton Collection)

Known primarily on northeastern and midwestern highways by its iconic orange and white trucks, Preston Trucking Co. (The 151 Line) was founded in 1932 in the Chesapeake Bay town of Preston, Maryland. The company was started by a canned goods wholesaler, Albert W. Sisk and his sons, who had difficulty shipping small amounts of their products via rail routes. A.T. Blades, one of the company’s accountants, suggested that the company start its own small transportation division. 

With a $500 loan...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-haul-of-fame-preston-151-line-grew-and-grew-and-grew

FreightWaves Haul of Fame: Lynden International grew from its first horse-drawn wagon

In 1906, Ed Austin began hauling freight with a team of horses and an iron-wheeled wagon in Lynden, Washington. Austin named his company Lynden Transfer after the town. Lynden is about five miles south of the U.S.-Canada, and its population at that time was fewer than 1,150 people.

Twenty years later, in 1926, Austin purchased his first truck to haul cargo from Lynden to Seattle, a distance of about 105 miles and a journey that would take several hours because of the state of the roads at that...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-haul-of-fame-lynden-international-grew-from-its-first-horse-drawn-wagon

FreightWaves Haul of Fame: WTI Transport offers key flatbed services… and unique employee services as well

Several WTI Transport tractors sit ready for use.

WTI Transport was founded in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 1989 as Wellborn Transport Company by Stephen Rumsey and Miller Wellborn. The company began with a fleet of 12 trucks driven by owner-operators, as well as a card table and a ledger to keep track of financial transactions. Now, under the name WTI Transport, the company is one of the largest and most successful flatbed haulers in the Southeast.

Acquired by Boyd Brothers Transportation

In December 1997, Boyd Brothers Transportation acquired...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-haul-of-fame-wti-transport-offers-key-flatbed-services-and-unique-employee-services-as-well

FreightWaves Haul of Fame: Cole’s Express was Maine’s finest

A vintage Cole's Express truck. (Photo: Robert Gabrick)

The story of Cole’s Express is a classic American “rags to riches” tale. 

Allie Cole struck out on his own at the age of 10 when he was old enough to understand that his widowed mother could not support him and several sisters and brothers on what she earned as a washer-woman. After leaving Lowell, Maine, Cole supported himself through a series of jobs, including farm and stable work. In 1910, at the age of 17, he was working as a baggage and freight handler at the Enfield, Maine, railroad...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-haul-of-fame-coles-express-was-maines-finest

FreightWaves Classics: Trucking companies’ names range from A to Z (Chapter 11)

A Brakebush Transportation tractor-trailer delivering poultry products. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Deregulation of the U.S. trucking industry began in the late 1970s. Congress passed the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 and it was signed into law by President Carter on July 1, 1980. This ended 45 years of regulation by the federal Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC).

One of the most dramatic changes that occurred due to deregulation was the virtual explosion in the number of trucking firms. From 1980 to 1990, the number of licensed carriers doubled – from fewer than 20,000 to more than 40,000! 

Forty...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-classics-trucking-companies-names-range-from-a-to-z-chapter-11

FreightWaves Haul of Fame: Jim Palmer Trucking “pitched” winning trucking for decades

A Jim Palmer Trucking tractor-trailer roll down the highway on a beautiful day. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Jim Palmer Trucking was founded by Jim Palmer in Missoula, Montana in 1964 with one truck. The company began as a livestock and lumber hauler with intrastate authority. It was not until after deregulation of the trucking industry in 1980 that the trucking company began to branch out into other commodities. This also coincided with a slump in the timber/lumber industry and the closing of a number of sawmills across Montana. 

Deregulation was beneficial for the trucking industry overall....

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/freightwaves-haul-of-fame-jim-palmer-trucking-pitched-winning-trucking-for-decades

FreightWaves Classics: Trucking companies’ names range from A to Z (Chapter 10)

A Boparai Transport truck hauls freight for one of its customers. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Deregulation of the U.S. trucking industry began in the late 1970s. Congress passed the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 and it was signed into law by President Carter on July 1, 1980. This ended 45 years of onerous regulation by the federal Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC).

One of the most dramatic changes that occurred due to deregulation was the virtual explosion in the number of trucking firms. From 1980 to 1990, the number of licensed carriers doubled – from fewer than 20,000 to more than...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-classics-trucking-companies-names-range-from-a-to-z-chapter-10

FreightWaves Haul of Fame: There’s no freezer burn at pioneer Frozen Food Express

A Frozen Food Express tractor. (Craig Wendt Collection)

Cy Weller was an attorney who served in the U.S. Army during World War II. After being discharged in 1943, he returned home to San Antonio, Texas. The office space he had used previously was unavailable; instead of finding new offices and reestablishing his legal practice, he set the ball in motion for the formation of Frozen Food Express.  

Weller began purchasing and reselling surplus and/or salvaged military equipment. He sold surplus Army vehicles to trucking companies. While doing this, he...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-haul-of-fame-theres-no-freezer-burn-at-pioneer-frozen-food-express

FreightWaves Haul of Fame: For 60 years Campbell’s “66” Express was “Humpin’ to Please”

Campbell’s “66” Express, Inc. was founded by Franklin George Campbell in Springfield, Missouri, in 1926. The company was initially named Campbell Fuel and Transfer, but transitioned to trucking in 1933 when a banker asked Campbell if he would take over Rapid “66” Express, an ailing trucking company in the area. Rapid “66” Express operated from Springfield to St. Louis, Missouri along Route 66. Campbell agreed, and Campbell’s “66” Express was formed.

Campbell’s “66” Express was known throughout...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-haul-of-fame-for-60-years-campbells-66-express-was-humpin-to-please

FreightWaves Haul of Fame: Glenndenning Motorways operated for nearly 70 years

Glenndenning Motorways was founded in 1924 by W. Gordon and Louise Glendenning, a husband and wife team. The company was started initially to haul commodities from the communities around Minneapolis-Saint Paul and Roseville, Minnesota. These routes were soon expanded to include other metropolitan hubs such as Chicago. In fact, Glenndenning Motorways became one of the first motor carriers to expand its routes east, rather than west, from Minnesota. By the early 1930s, the company had expanded...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-haul-of-fame-glenndenning-motorways-operated-for-nearly-70-years

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