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Oakland, California, circa 1918. "Fageol heavy-duty tractor and trailers." Visually answering the question of what the heck this is. 8x10 inch glass negative by the Cheney Photo Advertising Co. View full size.
Those were the first things that caught my eye about this photo... That is another thing i really enjoy about Shorpy, is that everyone sees different parts of an image, but we can all enjoy it together.
What happened? You found a vehicle in Oakland CA that was not involved in a crash?
As bizarre as this triple truck looks on a residential street in Oakland, descendants of these things really still roam the roads.
I have driven next to triple trailers in Oregon.
In Australia they even run quads.
Imagine the sound of 12 metal wheels going down the street. This is definitely a testament to what some great engineers can accomplish with ideas and funding! It's really a thing of beauty for 1918.
The Austro-Hungarian army used similar generator and electrical driven trailers to drag their super-massive Škoda siege howitzers. The Artillery Generator Truck was designed by Ferdinand Porsche.
Ahead of its time: electric traction and air brakes on every wheel; still not universal on on-the-rails trains. Note the power cables and brake hoses between the coupled units. I wonder how many trailers the tractor was able to supply with electricity and compressed air?
Now let's see him parallel park it.
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