This 1959 Kenworth CBE commercial tractor was a marketing icon for Yellow Transit Freight Lines and symbolizes an impressive period in corporate history.
In 1955, Yellow Transit Freight Lines of Kansas City, Missouri, extensively researched the best equipment for their operation. The CBE, cab-beside-engine design, matched the specifications, including diesel power, ease of maintenance, engine compartment accessibility, lighter weight, improved visibility and driver comfort.
Two-hundred CBE Kenworth tractors were custom-engineered and built, and equipped with Cummins turbodiesel engines. Plus, 400 Freuhauf aluminum-bodied trailers replaced their entire fleet and increased shipping capacity by 30%. This total equipment purchase was one of the largest in the trucking industry at the time.
http://www.autoinformant.com/car_pages/1959-kenworth-tcf-521-12-cab-cbe/
It's a Kenworth TCF 521 half cab, made for freight hauling with good visibility.
ReplyDeletewow, ok, if this was a good idea, what happened? I ask, as obviously it was an unusual design that didn't become contemporary, and no one seems to have done this since... except for yard trucks.
DeleteI'd like to believe that any good idea would catch on, and become the norm, but, we haven't changed the mainstream full width cabs as the regular norm, in all the history of trucking.
I can think of a couple of problems that would keep it from catching on.
ReplyDeleteTruckers tend to be conservative and set in their ways.
Sun beating in from both sides instead of one.
And ... there's no place for your dog to ride!