From Rail to Road: Archive of 122 Snapshot Photographs of Tri-State Motor Express Trucks, Drivers, and Interstate Freight Operations in Midcentury America, 1941–1952

Tri-State Motor Express

Photograph

Michigan Tri-State Motor Express trucks, trailers, and drivers photo archive depicting a first-generation American interstate trucking company based in Benton Harbor, Michigan and photographed across more than a decade, circa 1941 to 1952. Long-haul motor freight had barely existed a decade before these snapshots were taken; the Motor Carrier Act of 1935 had just brought interstate trucking under federal regulation, and railroads were beginning to lose long-distance freight to companies like this one. The archive captures that shift mid-stride, from the rough single-axle straight trucks of 1941 to the heavy tandem-axle tractor-trailers of the early 1950s.
Photo archive of 122 silver gelatin snapshot photographs, approximately 3 x 4.5 inches, Benton Harbor, Michigan, circa 1941 to 1952. Subjects include single-axle and tandem-axle straight trucks and tractor-trailers painted with the Tri-State script logo and heart-shaped emblem, with fleet numbers including 96, 99, 114A, 115A, 119, 128-A, 140, 587, 592, and 1086. Painted regulatory data covers weight ratings ("wt. 9800," "wt. 6170," "wt. 5840"), tire size ("tires 10.00-20"), and ICC and state public service commission certificate numbers including I.C.C. M.C. 67390, P.S.C.I. 190-A, P.S.C.I. 2655-A1, and W.P.S.C. OS 521. Drivers and mechanics in fedoras, work shirts, and overcoats pose beside cabs. A sign-painter on a wooden ladder letters the heart emblem onto trailer 114A; another kneels on a curved trailer roof applying paint. Rows of Tri-State tractors line the Benton Harbor terminal alongside a Red Dot Potato Chips wall sign, an "Altes" beer sign, a "Rock and Rye" liquor sign, and storefronts marked "Drugs," "Wallpaper Paints," and "Coca-Cola." Wreck images include a school bus crushed by fallen logs with chains still binding the load, snow-buried trucks, and rolled cabs. Several versos carry handwritten dates ("1-22-49," "9/28/49," "4/20/50," "4/15/50") and Velox stamps; two fronts are dated "1941" and "1947" in pen.
The company was founded by Joseph Mammina, a Sicilian immigrant who learned heavy hauling driving Army trucks in the First World War and was running 64 trucks across four states by 1938, when most American freight still moved by rail. Some photos verso has album adhesive, 2 with torn edges. Overall in very good condition. An early example of the shift from rail freight to truck-based interstate shipping in America.

Item #23448

Price: $620.00