Talking about the runs from Columbus to St Louis made me remember the highways of that era and the one most people think of is I-70 but it was not finished most of the way across there.
We ran US40 from Columbus and picked up some interstate west of Dayton to the state line and again from the west side of Indianapolis to the Illinois line.
The most interesting part of that run was crossing the Mississippi. Early on they didn't have the bridge on I-270 that they have now, you had to cross the "Chain of Rocks" bridge which still stands and can be seen from the interstate. This old metal bridge was 2 lane and very narrow plus it had a "dog leg" just west of center that even in a cab over with a "35 foot trailer, you had to have both lanes to make it across.
Thank GOD they finished I-270 shortly after I started driving that highway. Which makes me remember another nerve wracking event on that road.
My first solo trip was in an early 60's model GMC or "Jimmy" as they were called. This one was a single axel with a 238 6 cyl engine with a 5 speed trans and a 2 speed rear axel giving me 10 forward gears and 72 mph top end but it was real hard to get to that speed.
Anyway, I had taken the load to Kansas city alone because the lead driver was sick and it was in the fall and just about the first snowfall. While waiting for them to finish unloading me I noticed the sky starting to look a lot like it was getting ready to snow there in KC so I was in real hurry to get moving as I had never driven a truck in snow, never even ridden in one in snow, didn't have a clue what to do except growing up in OHIO I had plenty of experience driving cars in it.
You guessed it, I got to the old Kenworthy truck stop on old 40 in Indiana and made my first mistake.
It was snowing and the roads were just wet so I thought I could just stop there for a nap and when I got up the plows would be out and all would be well LOL. When I got up there was 2 inch's of snow on the ground but the plows had been out so the road wasn't to bad. Ow ! did I tell you I had an empty trailer which gives you very little traction in snow and ice. Anyway, I did well until I got to the stretch of interstate just inside Ohio. As soon as I got up on it I realized the plows had not touched it.
There was 2 tracks down the middle of the highway with no way to tell where you were in said highway and a very strong wind out of the north with very little to break it up as they had clear cut all the trees back a good distance to facilitate the building of the highway.
When I first got going as fast as I felt safe to run, I had a feu cars following me pretty close and then it happened, as I passed under an overpass and emerged on the other side the wind hit me hard in the left side causing my single axel to break traction and the trailer to jack knife. Thankfully GOD had his hand on my rig and let me get straight again but this happened at every overpass on that 12 mile stretch. By the way, after that first jack knife with me all over the road trying to get control of it again, the cars backed way off.
That was my first lesson in driving an 18 wheeler in winter weather, but no where close to the last.
Keep on keep'in on, Darrell
No comments:
Post a Comment