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| 1942 ex-Fire Tender, Edithburgh, York Peninsula, South Australia |
An interesting history will hold my
attention.
But it takes more than hue and back
story to boggle my mind!
And this ordinary looking 1942 truck
sitting inside an old shed behind a Yorke Peninsula country town
museum with magpies roosting on its rusting railing delivered that
boggle in spades.
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| Magpies at rest |
Because this ex-army, transport and
fire-tender vehicle has travelled 2 MILLION miles!
That's ROAD miles. And many of
those miles are DIRT miles – and the equivalent of crossing
Australia from east to west about 800 times!
Even Pilchard and I haven't covered
that distance on ANY sort of road in 21+ years of Australian
road tripping!
In manufacturing a vehicle capable of
such distances, has the International Truck Company (and the Gardner
LW4 Diesel Engine and David Brown 5 Speed Gearbox) succeeded where
other, more notable vehicle manufacturers have failed?
Because although I'm not a petrol-head,
I don't recall the 2,000,000 mile service ever coming up on any of
the vehicles I've owned …
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| 2,000,000 Million Miles later in the Edithburgh Historic Museum ... Yorke Peninsula, South Australia |
But also because I'm not a petrol-head,
I'm prepared to concede that it's just possible I'm the only person
in the known universe who thinks that a 2,000,000 miles on the road
is newsworthy!
SO … put me out of my misery! Can
YOU top this record? Tell me in the comments below!!
Wow, that is a lot of miles. It must have been a well made vehicle. Love the magpies. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteHello Red:
ReplyDeleteWe are sure that, in our minds, we travel at least 2 million miles daily!!!!!!
This is indeed an impressive record and, surely, car manufacturing world wide would have ceased decades ago if built in obsolescence had not been the order of the day for more ordinary vehicles.We love the colour too!
You are definitely not alone—that is mind boggling!
ReplyDeleteCynical as I am, I am terribly impressed by 2,000,000 miles. Tomorrow I will look at the town where this engine is based and verify the extraordinary mileage.
ReplyDeleteWhile maggies do swoop people, I just love them. What would Australia be without the sound of maggies in the morning.
Goodmorning Red - WOW, 2 Million miles is indeed a record. I think, through research there are other vehicles that might have done that, but I think they would be rare to come across. I do have friends that have had same motorcycles since 1950 and still working and being driven. We see them every year at local Motorbike Rallies. NEAT
ReplyDeleteI love the "Red" vehicle, the photos are just great and you, my dear have come with another "Red" post. Thanks a bunch, Eh n have a great day.
That is a heck of a lot of miles and although it looks in a little sad shape,... I would have expected it to look a lot worse for all the wear and tear.
ReplyDeleteNope, I'm as impressed as you and remember visiting that very same museum myself :)
ReplyDeleteMy odometer only has 5 digits..... should I be worried?
ReplyDeleteWow! TWO million miles! What an amazing feat. I would be exhausted if I had driven so far. I would need a lot of baked goods to shore up my energy!
ReplyDeleteYour magpies are awesome!!!! That a lot of travel. I don't know if I'd have the energy to endure that many miles:)
ReplyDeleteTerrific images. We don't get to see those kind of crows here.
ReplyDeleteWow, no, don´t come even near, I guess...
ReplyDeleteOh, I so love Magpies, such cute birds! Once one went around our car twice, "inspecting" it and us, so cute! The bird stopped here and there, lay it´s head to the side, and went on again.
Then it slowly left, walking.
A funny fellow!
So sad we don´t have them here!
But at times I hear ravens, sounding like the typical Aussie-ones.
2 million miles has got to be a record! What a performance.
ReplyDelete@Iris Flavia, magpies look cute, but beware of them at nesting time. They will dive bomb your head, swooping very, very close and sometimes actually pecking you.
2 million miles? Sounds a bit like the story of the 120 year old axe, which has only had one new axehead and four new handles.
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, read a biography of Tom Kruse the Birdsville mailman, and all but four sentences were about how he fixed this or that mechanical doohickey in his truck. And farmers... they spend all day every day doing nothing but fixing things and hey presto before you know it they have a bumper wheat crop.
Looooove the shot of the maggies!
@eileeninmd - They don't make them like they used to!! HHHMMMmmm... when I was younger, I swore I'd never say that!!!
ReplyDelete@Jane & Lance - Virtual travel doesn't count!!! Car manufacturers will one day return to quality workmanship - but it's a shame it will probably take the downfall of civilisation through resource destruction to do it!
@Hilda - What a relief!! I was afraid my ignorance about all things mechanical was a problem!
@Andrew - I suspect there may not be too much of the original vehicle mechanics left ... but what would I know?? The Australian magpie's call is one of the most beautiful sounds I've heard anywhere! Maybe we should market a relaxation download based on it? I'll split you 50/50!
@Saucy Kod - I'd be interested to find out how far a 1950's motorbike would have travelled! Hope your weekend is going great!!
@AWTY - You're right - it's just a bit dusty and needs a freshen up! Oh, and probably a new engine!! It's actually about to be restored!!
@Kath - Ha! You're the only other person (apart from family members) I know who's been there!! Weird, huh?!
ReplyDelete@SFlaGuy - NO! See Jane/Lance's comment above - your car is destined for the scrap heap WAY before you get anywhere near that magic figure!!
@TMWH - Hahaha! I can't think of too many situations that WOULDN'T be improved by an infusion of bakery food!!!
@Rohrerbot - Although magpies swoop us during nesting season, they're one of the joys of Aussie life! Travelling that far would be incredibly difficult without a fine selection of bakeries to stop at along the way ...
@Indrani - Yes, we're the lucky ones!!
@Iris - HHHMMMmmm... I'm thinking your friendly magpie was waiting to be fed!!! But they DO look very formal with their black & white feathering!!
@River - Too true!! I'm hoping I wasn't misled by the sign in the museum claiming that mileage ...
@FruitCake - Haha, yes I suspect you are right. But I'm thinking the body (chassis????) is what's done the distance. I've read about TK - I think the old-timers had to be so mechanically minded they could turn a box of rusty nails into an engine if they had to!!!!
ReplyDeleteThey should give it a makeover and put it on a pedestal
ReplyDelete@Tracey - Haha! Funny you should say that ... it's in the process of being restored!!!
ReplyDeleteWe've driven a lot of miles and we always used to keep our cars forever, and I agree that's a lot of miles on one old truck . Especially on backroads. It did it's job!
ReplyDelete