1949 - 1983 - penn yan express history final.pdf · 1949 - 1983 . information compiled and written...

1949 - 1983

Information compiled and written by: Ronald L. Hinson

The history of what would commonly be known as Penn Yan Express Inc., was initially the

combination of three factors: Lake Keuka Boat Company, Pierce Freight Lines and Robert

Hinson owner of Hinson Trucking Company of Lakemont, New York.

Penn Yan Express Inc. actually started on June 26, 1941, when the State of New York

issued a certificate of incorporation to Lake Keuka Boat Company, Inc. of Penn Yan,

New York. The purpose of this corporation as laid down in its articles of incorporation

was to: own, mortgage, lease and sell real estate and to manufacture and sell at

wholesale or retail, boats, vehicles, accessories and marine engines and to repair boats,

engine and motor vehicles; to operate and maintain an automobile garage for the

repairing of motor vehicles; to own, operate and maintain a boat livery and do

everything necessary suitable and proper for the accomplishment of the manufacturing

and selling boats contained in a boat livery; owning and operating a garage including

the operation of a gasoline station for selling gasoline and oil, both retail and wholesale.

The amount of capital stock for the said corporation was set at $20,000, which consisted

of two hundred shares of common stock with a par value of one hundred dollars each.

Lake Keuka Boat Company was controlled by a Board of Directors, which consisted of

Dennis C. Pierce, Rodney C. Pierce and Eleanor F. Pierce all of Penn Yan, New York.

In 1944, the stockholders of Lake Keuka Boat Company voted to enter into the trucking

industry with the purchase of Ruth’s Express, which was operated by Harold R. Dale of

Penn Yan and was at that time the combination of Ruth’s Express, Brizzee Motor Lines

and Circle Express.

Brizzee Motor Lines was a small one truck operation with service between Penn Yan

and Rochester, New York and points within 40 miles of Penn Yan. It was

incorporated on April 15, 1932 under the ownership of Ken Brizzee and by 1937

operated three trucks. In 1940 they purchased Circle Express for $1,100, which

provided service between Penn

Yan, Elmira, Binghamton and

Cortland, New York. In Dec-

ember of 1942, Brizzee Motor

Lines was purchased by Harold

Richard Dale of Penn Yan, who

owned and operated Ruth’s

Express for $3500. Ruth’s

Express, prior to the purchase

operated between Penn Yan

and Syracuse and intermediate

point thereof. It has been said

that, Mr. Ruth the original

owner of Ruth’s Express was a German citizen who was sent to the United States to

spy for the homeland. After WWII broke out in Europe, Mr. Ruth returned to Germany,

immediately enlisted in the German Army and was killed during the Allied invasion of

France. Mr. Dale become enchanted with the trucking business and sold it to Eleanor

Pierce, President of Lake Keuka Boat Company, who had just recently sold her taxi

business in Penn Yan.

In May 1945, The New York State Public Service Commission questioned the right of

Lake Keuka Boat Company to own and operate a trucking business under the name of

Ruth’s Express in regards to its original articles of incorporation. To rectify this problem

the stockholders of Lake Keuka Boat Company on June 1, 1945 voted to change the

name of both corporations to Penn Yan Express, Inc. and amended its articles of incorp-

oration to include transportation related activities. At this time, Penn Yan Express held

intrastate operating authority from the New York State Public Service Commission, over

regular and irregular routes serving Elmira, Syracuse, Rochester and Penn Yan and

points within a forty mile radius thereof.

A related Company to Penn Yan Express was Pierce Freight Lines, which was owned

and operated by Rodney Pierce, the husband to Eleanor Pierce. This Company was

established in 1933 and was granted common carrier operating authority under the

“Grandfather Clause” of the National Transportation Act of 1935. This authority allowed

interstate operations for the transportation of general commodities between New York

City and intermediate points of Newark and Jersey City, New Jersey, on one hand and

on the other, Elmira, New York. It further provided for interstate operations between

Syracuse, Auburn, Cortland, Elmira, Rochester and Penn Yan and points within forty

airline miles thereof.

In May 1945, the business was moved from its former Wagener street location to a new

facility constructed on a four acre tract of land in the area referred to as “The Old Sand

Bank” just west of the Penn Yan Cemetery.

Photo of Pierce Freight Lines late 1930’s picture taken at Wagener Street

Robert Hinson started driving and repairing trucks

and farm machinery at a young age while working for

his father, Jesse Hinson, at his John Deere dealer-

ship in Lakemont. After his father’s death in July of

1941, at the age of eighteen, he started driving for

Boyce Motor Lines of Canandaigua, in the later part

of 1941. In an interview Hinson once stated, “The

minute I got my driver’s license, I took off for

Baltimore driving a tractor-trailer rig. Not only had I

never driven a truck. I didn’t even know where

Baltimore was. Someone handed me a map and said

get going.” Hinson drove for Boyce until January 5,

1943 at which time he entered the US Army

Quartermaster Corp. He received his basic training at

Camp Young in California, which was established in

1942 by General George S. Patton for desert training

to prepare troops to fight the Nazis in North Africa. In

August he was transferred to the 1318th Service Unit at Camp Pickett, Virginia, and on

November 2, 1943 was honorably discharged at the rank of Private 1st Class after

receiving injuries in a jeep accident. After returning home to Lakemont, Robert Hinson

resumed his truck driving activities for Boyce Motor Lines again on November 22, 1943.

In 1944 he started Hinson Trucking Company in the garage that his father had his farm

dealership, with a Ford straight truck that he had built from spare parts and pieces. By

October 1945, he sold this truck and purchased his first new tractor, a White for $4,300.

Hinson Trucking with no common carrier authority hauled exempt commodities, primary

milk and cheese products, from Watkins Glen, New York to New York City. In December

1946, a new arrangement was made with Boyce for trucking and by the spring of 1947,

following a major Teamsters strike, the need for additional equipment resulted in the

purchase of another tractor and trailer unit. He continued to haul cheese products and

trip-leased to Boyce and N.C. Purdie in Stanley, New York until January 1949.

In order to obtain common carrier authority, Hinson decided to purchase the capital

stock of Pierce Freight Lines Inc. on December 31, 1948. This purchase included the

capital stock, ICC authority as issue under certificate Number MC-88464 and eighteen

pieces of equipment as indicated below.

The agreement also provided for the leasing for a five year period the freight terminal

facility at 100 West Lake Road for $100 per month. This terminal included 10 dock

doors and a one bay garage.

0n March 21th of 1949, negotiations to acquire Penn Yan Express Inc. commenced and

Robert Hinson agreed to purchase the rights for $5,000, payable $100 cash upon

convenience and $10.00 weekly with interest at the rate for 4% annum. The 200 shares

of common stock, 21 vehicles and all remaining assets including goodwill was

purchased for a price of $75,000 from Eleanor Pierce. The terms of the agreement in-

cluded a $2,500 payment upon execution of said agreement and a monthly payment

structured at 5% of the previous months gross receipts, but not less than $50 per week

nor more than $1,000 per week until balance is paid off with no interest charge.

Not being able to own and operate two trucking companies at the same time, Mr.

Kenneth Best, brother in-law to Robert Hinson was appointed President and Mr. Merton

F. Bellows was appointed, Secretary/Treasurer of the Company. Both were indicated as

purchasers in the original agreement dated March 31, 1949 and both had signed an

assignment agreement with Robert Hinson. Penn Yan Express was operating from the

same facilities as Pierce Freight Lines and was providing intrastate service to

Rochester, Syracuse, Elmira and Binghamton and points within 40 miles of Penn Yan.

The Company was operating from leased terminal facilities in Rochester and

Binghamton, New York.

After the sale had been completed Rodney Pierce commented, “Hinson got a good deal,

but I’ll have it all back within a year.”

On January 16, 1950 a warranty deed was issued for the purchase of the terminal

facility located at 100 West Lake Road for a purchase price of $39,620, including related

furniture and equipment that had been previously leased. It also called for the balance

of the original $5,000 purchase price for operating authority of Penn Yan Express to be

considered paid in full.

In May of 1950, Penn Yan Express filed an application with the Interstate Commerce

Commission to merge Pierce Freight Lines into Penn Yan Express. This application

received final approval from the ICC on October 9, 1950.

Early in 1951, with the completion of the merger in effect, Penn Yan Express, Inc.,

increased its annual gross revenue to be classified as a Class I Motor Carrier by the

Interstate Commerce Commission. At the time, a motor carrier to be classified as a

Class I common carrier had to have a minimum gross revenues of seven hundred and

fifty thousand dollars. Penn Yan expanded its fleet in 1951 with the purchase of 9

Brockway tractors, 3 new and 6 used. This brought the total “fleet” up to 18 tractors, 16

trucks and 24 trailers.

The Brockway trucks produced during this era were referred to as “Cortland Vibrators”.

The interior cab structure was made of wood and would shake violently while going

down the road and had to be repaired frequently.

In February 1951 a fire broke out at the Rochester terminal causing about $3,500 worth

of damage. It was reported that workmen started a small blaze to keep them warm and

the fire spread.

By the end of 1951, The Company was operating from five terminal locations in Penn

Yan, Rochester, Syracuse, Elmira and Rochelle Park, New Jersey. It is interesting to

note that, the terminal facility in Rochelle Park was actually a one room gas station on a

lot approximately fifty foot square on Route-17 and one employee ran the entire Jersey

operation.

The Company’s gross revenue had grown from $261,491 in 1949, $460,098 in 1950

and to $558,484 in 1951. After the combined operations, it was realized that the volume

of interstate operations to and from the New York metropolitan area was severely

restricted, due to authorized service only from New York City, Jersey City and Newark,

New Jersey. Thus the lucrative northern New Jersey industrial area was beyond the

scope of its present authority. To compensate for this and facilitate an increase in its

interstate business, Penn Yan Express on April 30, 1952, filed a joint application

seeking authority to purchase certain operating authority held by Freidman Freight

Forwarders, Inc. of Hoboken, New Jersey. Under this agreement, a portion of Freidman

Freight Forwarders would be purchased for a sum of $7500 including authority from

Hudson County New Jersey on one hand and other specified points in northern New

Jersey. On February 11, 1953, the purchase of Friedman Freight Forwarders, Inc. of

Hoboken, NJ received final approval from the Interstate Commerce Commission.

During 1952 Hinson’s Garage was incorporated as an equipment leasing company to

provide equipment under permanent lease for the use of Penn Yan Express. In June of

1953 Conn Realty Corporation was also formed to own real estate that would be

permanently leased to Penn Yan.

By1953 two new gar-

age bays had been

added to the Penn

Yan Terminal bring

the total service bays

to three and rear

yard area had been

widen for additional

trailer space.

Penn Yan Express was involved in auto racing in central New York area primarily in the

years 1953-1955, through the ownership of the famed red & white number “96” driven

by Donald “Dutch” Hoag with its Penn Yan Express sponsorship. The later part 1953

saw the new V8 engines starting to make their presence at area race tracks and to

remain competitive the Hinson-Hoag team needed more

horsepower. A chassis/engine dynamometer was pur-

chased to enhance horsepower development in the older

style flathead engines. This engine development program

proved successful which resulted in receiving the Nascar

New York State Championship in 1953 and 1954. An

interesting note is that: On Friday afternoons during racing

season the trucks would be removed from the garage and

the race cars brought in for preparation for that evening’s

Monroe County Fairgrounds 1953

night of racing and two employees

remained at the shop until they

returned so that the race cars

could be cleaned and waxed for

the next day racing.

In 1954 after finishing second to

Frankie Schneider of Lambertville,

New Jersey in the #2 racer at the

Langhorne National 100 Open in

Pennsylvania, it was decided to

take the red & white number “96”

and head south to Daytona to

race at the 4.1 mile beach course

in the Nascar Sportsman race in

February of 1955. Frankie

Schneider offered to transport the car to Florida, but unknown to Hinson, Schneider

decided to race the car all the way to Florida visiting tracks in New Jersey, Delaware,

Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida.

When Hinson, Hoag and crew arrived in Daytona, they could not find Schneider or the

race car. Finally, the car was located in a field behind Frankie’s Florida home in pieces.

After considerable time and effort the car was taken to the Fish Carburetor garage in

Daytona Beach to be reassembled and dynamometer tested. The car finished 8th in the

Sportsman race on Friday and on Saturday finished 14th against the more powerful

Sportsman Modifieds.

L to R Dutch Hoag, Robert Hinson, Bill Borum, Glen Reiners 1955 “96” entering North Turn Daytona Beach Course

This pretty much ended Penn Yan Express’s involvement in auto racing, except in June

of 1955, a new Chevrolet was purchased from Jolley’s Chevrolet in Penn Yan, taken

back to shop modified and put through its paces on the dynamometer and than

transported to the Monroe County Fairgrounds for their one and only participation in a

Nascar Grand National event on June 17, 1955. The red & white number “96” started

fifth and ran 96 laps of the 200 lap event when it broke a wheel. Tim Flock won the race

and other well known racing entrants were Lee Petty, Monty Flock, Junior Johnson and

Buck Baker.

On July 15, 1954 at approximately six o’clock pm disaster hit the home office in Penn

Yan, New York, when a tornado brought its destructive winds through the Finger Lakes

Region. The whole roof of the loading platform building took off in a southerly direction

towards the Lake Keuka marsh, littering the highway, with fragments flying through the

Perry’s refreshment stand across the road. That night the whole Penn Yan dispatch

operation including undamaged freight shipments were loaded on several trailers and

moved to Elmira, so the Company could resume operations. Damage to freight on the

dock was limited to about $20,000. Clean up operations and reconstruction started

immediately and it was decided to add an additional eight dock doors, which brought the

loading dock capacity at the Penn Yan terminal up to eighteen doors.

Another expansion step was taken on August 29, 1955 when a joint application was

filed to purchase the operating authority of N.C. Purdie Corporation of Stanley, New

York for a total amount of one hundred and eight thousand dollars. On October 1, 1955

Penn Yan commenced operations under temporary authority with final approval being

received on July 19, 1956.

This new authority encompassed operations from New York City and points in thirteen

counties in New Jersey to point in New York State with an exception of 10,000 pound

shipments or greater. It also provided for service from New York City to Binghamton,

New York serving all intermediate point along NY Route17. Over the years, Penn Yan

made numerous attempts to remove this 10,000 pound restriction without success, due

to aggressive protests by other carriers such as Red Star Express, Eastern Freightways

and American Freightways Company. This restriction was finally removed from its

certificate by the ICC in June of 1968.

During the year, two-way radios were installed in all vehicles at a total cost of $90,000.

The Company in 1957 ventured in the intermodal business with the established of a

service agreement with Sealand Corporation to transport containers between the Port

Authority of New York/New Jersey and upstate New York. This relationship lasted for

several years and slowly dissipated because of the Company’s concentration on the

LTL (less Than Truckload) business and the high cost associated with the constant

container chassis repairs and the high labor cost incurred to service the Port Authority.

On April 15, 1958 a purchase of 21 new Brockway tractors at a total cost of $193,000

and on August 1, 40 new Strict trailers were purchased at a cost of $232,800. By the

end of 1958, Penn Yan Express was operating a total of 17 pieces of revenue equip-

ment including: 59 tractors, 87 trailers and 27 trucks and had experienced a 5% freight

revenue increase for the year.

The unsuccessful attempts to lift the 10,000 pounds weight restriction in its authority

prompted Penn Yan to purchase the operating authority of Van Transport Inc. Syracuse,

New York and on January 19, 1960, a joint application was filed for this purchase of

certain operating right for $10,000. Van Transport provided regular and irregular route

authority between Syracuse and Buffalo. Even though this application was subject to

numerous protests by other carriers the application was approved on May 2, 1961 finally

allowing Penn Yan authority to transport less than 10,000 pound shipments (LTL) into

parts of the western New York area.

1959 when the New York State Thruway opened its roads to tandem trailer units or

doubles as they were commonly referred too, they computed it would take a 335 HP

diesel powered tandem axle tractor to qualify for the GCW of 127,000 lbs. Each carrier

had to be certified that their vehicles could maintain a minimum speed of 20 miles per

hour along the entire route of the Thruway and must guarantee that adequate safety

equipment was being used. On June 12, 1961, after six months of testing Penn Yan

was rather unique because it was the first permit issued for a gasoline powered tractor.

A Brockway model 257T was utilized with a 200 HP rating. Even though this permit was

issued for a gross vehicle weight (GVW) of 110,000 pounds, it eliminated the purchase

of overpowered, inefficient and expensive diesel powered equipment.

In 1961, the cost of a 335 HP tandem axle diesel unit was approximately $22,000 and

Penn Yan accomplished the task utilizing its existing single axle gasoline powered

equipment costing about $12,000. The six to seven years of dynamometer testing and

experience proved invaluable through this engine development period.

By the end of 1961 Penn Yan Express had a total employment of 178 personnel and

had purchased a 4 ½ acre tract of land in Carlstadt, New Jersey and built a new

terminal facility to service the metropolitan New York-New Jersey area.

During that year Penn Yan also inaugurated an expanded communication system that

provided around the clock communications with its rolling stock. This system connected

the Company’s six terminal facilities in New York and New Jersey by radio telephone

with the daily movement of approximately 116 units through a radio-telephone station at

Carbondale, Pennsylvania. The two-way radio communication from the trucks was

picked up by the tower which was basically a unmanned radio station and transmitted

the communications to the Penn Yan terminal facility. It allowed for truck-to-terminal

communications in approximately a 200 mile radius from the base in Penn Yan. During

the day this unmanned station, developed by the Long Distant Department of AT&T,

allowed all terminals to communicate over an open voice line.

A year later in 1962 the Company purchased

several 220 HP tandem axle diesel tractors, but

still could not get their GVW rating increased

from 110,000 to 127,000 pounds. Penn Yan

Express was unwilling to accept that their

minimum horsepower philosophy was outdated

and in 1963 started experimental testing with

two 250 HP Cummins powered diesel

Brockway tractors. Dynamometer testing

continued through the summer of 1964 and in

September 1964 they received a Tandem

Trailer Permit for a GVW of 127,000 pounds.

Just proving that it could be accomplished with

a 250 hp units was not sufficient, they per-

formed the certification with a single axle

tractor.

The conversion and standardization of

tandem axle tractors for the utilization with

double trailer operations was primary done for

safety reasons. Using a tandem axle tractor

allowed for the rear tandem axles on the

trailer to be slid back as possible, which stab-

ilized the lead trailer and reduced the sway of

the rear trailer. If the lead trailer tracks

properly the tail trailer will follow. The

performance of these 250 HP units was

remarkably good. These tractors averaged 48

miles per hour for the 405 mile trip from

Buffalo to Suffern, New York. Fuel consumption for these units was 4.5 miles per gallon

versus 5.5 miles per gallon for a tractor pulling a single trailer.

In 1963, several

expansion projects

were completed that

included adding a

second floor to the

Penn Yan office over

the dock area and the

building of a new build-

ing for the installation of

a 45’ trailer wash rack

to clean trailers at the

cost of $150,000. After

installation, each trailer

that departed the Penn

Yan facility went through an inspection and

cleaning procedure. Penn Yan Express

was known throughout the Northeast as

having the cleanest and best maintained

equipment in the Industry.

A 40 tractor storage shed was also built in

Penn Yan to house the fleet of Brockway

trucks that were domiciled there. The Rochester terminal saw a new service garage con-

structed and the freight transfer area was enlarged at a cost of $25,000. In Carlstadt, an

additional 1½ acre was purchased for trailer parking area, a second floor addition was

completed providing for drivers’ dormitories and existing offices were remodeled and

enlarged.

In 1964 Penn Yan Express

purchased 12 new 250hp

tandem axle diesel tractors

after receiving their ex-

panded GVW permit which

brought the total double

bottom tractor fleet to 30

units A writer for the Motor

Truck news stated, “It’ s not

unusual to see Mr. Hinson

prowling the Brockway

assembly line with F.M.

(Nip) Ambler, Brockway

chief engineer, watching his

trucks being built and over the years, the Penn Yan home terminal has become

somewhat of a research and development center for area truck operators and even

manufactures. For example, Bob Hinson recently road tested a new gasoline engine

concept, which is now standard in Brockway’s new series of medium-heavy trucks.”

By the end 1964 Penn Yan Express operated 93 tractors, 41 trucks, 150 trailers, had

gross revenues of $4,047,000.00, traveled 4,700,000 miles and had a total payroll of

$1,878,000 of which $785,000 and 103 personnel were located and/or domiciled at the

Penn Yan facility.

In 1965 Brockway Motor Trucks teamed up with Penn Yan Express and Dutch Hoag, a

legendary Northeast race car driver and previous over-the-road driver for Penn Yan

Express, to perform a series of test that were arranged by Car & Driver Magazine.

These tests were to

compare the perform-

ance and stability of six

selected automobiles with

a truck loaded with 45,000

pounds. The testing was a

complete success for

Brockway and the

automotive industry took

immediate notice. A

telegram was sent to Don

Cameron, Brockway’s

team man-ager by Henry

Ford II which stated. See

telegram at the left.

1965 was a year of expansion, which saw a new 20 door terminal facility with a main-

tenance garage built in Rochester; a new maintenance garage, additional 12 dock doors

and a driver dormitory at Elmira, New York; additional 20 dock doors in Carlstadt; announ-

Rochester

Elmira

ced the establishment of a new Profit Sharing Program for all employees .The total

equipment increase to a 343 pieces of revenue equipment and the local Penn Yan

payroll had grown to over $952,000.

In 1966 construction started on a new 10,000 square foot, 29 door freight terminal, in

Penn Yan on 7 acres, allowing parking for over 100 tractor-trailer units, which was com-

pleted in October 1967. In several years after two more additions the freight terminal

facility was expanded to 54 dock doors. A new terminal facility was purchased in Buffalo

New York at 176 Vulcan Street that replaced the lease facility it had been operating out

of for the last several years located at 741 Elk Street and a new maintenance garage

was added. Total employment had grown to over 250 total employees with 135 of them

based in Penn Yan.

By the end of 1968, Penn Yan Express had gross revenue of $5,860,000.00, hauled

230,000 tons of freight and traveled 5,700,000 miles. New construction to the general

office facility had been completed, which took the old original dock area and converted it to

new office space that included a conference room, executive offices, employee lounge,

mail room and computer room to house the new electric data processing equipment

acquired. A new maintenance garage in Carlstadt was added and the purchase of a new

terminal facility in Binghamton from Nestor Brothers was completed on January 1, 1969.

In the spring of 1969, Penn Yan Express was contacted by the New York State Thruway

Authority regarding the testing of triple trailer operations on the Thruway. The

Company’s desire and ability to innovate was well known in the industry and the

relationship that Penn Yan had developed with the NYS Thruway Authority through the

development of tandem trailers combinations during the 1960’s made them the ultimate

choice. These discussions resulted in the Company ordering fifteen 26’ Strict trailers for

delivery in later part of June and the first of July. Triple trailer combinations were not

unique to the trucking industry in 1969. However these combinations had been used in

the Western part of the Country for years, but have been restricted in the more

populated areas of the Northeast and Midwest.

The first experimental run occurred on

July 10, 1969 and included a New York

State police escort, helicopter surveil-

lance and authorities from New York

State and the Massachusetts Turnpike

Authority. These test runs where con-

tinued for a period of six months from

July to December 1969, with a total of

two round trips conducted daily between

Geneva and Buffalo, New York accum-

ulating over 150,000 operational miles.

The triple combinations measured a total

length of 93’ 6 ½”, approximately 14’ shorter than the standard length of tandem 45’

trailer combinations of 108’. They were rated for the same Gross Vehicle Weight of

127,000 pounds, however during the test period the average GVW was about 90,000

pounds. When the NYS Thruway Authority was not looking, other combinations were

tested using a single 45’ trailer and two 26’ trailers. The optimum combinations for sta-

bility and maneuverability turned out to be a 45’ lead trailer with twin 26 footers behind.

The AAA primarily in Buffalo

and Syracuse area, during this

period of time and through the

spring of 1971 launched a mas-

sive add, newspaper blitz and

television coverage campaign

discrediting the use and safety

of these triple trailer units. The

public attention was growing

rapidly and was tarnishing

Penn Yan’s reputation that had

taken years to achieve. Due to

the public dissatisfaction and

realizing that the economic ad-

vantage of these triple combin-

ations was limited, due of the

need of shuttling trailers be-

tween terminals and Thruway

marshalling yards, resulted in

the discontinuance of these operations by Penn Yan Express. Triple trailer tests were

continued by other carriers until the State of New York Thruway Authority cancelled the

test period for triple operations on April 16, 1971 and later through the passage of State

Senate Bill 2304A eliminated the use including testing of triple trailers on any New York

State highway. A State Senator commented, “These triple trailers are monsters that

create suction, splash, sway and vision problems for other motorists. These conditions

could lead to disaster as a result of causing other drivers to lose control of their

vehicles.”

Also in the spring of 1969, Robert Hinson, due to the extensive experience of con-

ducting double operations for the previous eight years and the fact that the Company

had run over 16,000,000 accident free miles utilizing tandem trailers on the New York

State Thruway, was asked to testify before the State of Florida Turnpike Authority.

Florida was deliberating the use of tandem trailer operations and this testimony was

crucial in the Florida Legislature finally granting the use of tandem-trailer (Doubles)

operations on the Florida Turnpike.

On August 5, 1969 Penn Yan Express purchased and was awarded temporary

operating authority of Eastern Carrier Corp. of Dunmore, Pa. which extended the

Company’s authority into northeastern Pennsylvania and resulted in the establishment

of a new terminal location in Scranton, Pennsylvania, which was the first new terminal

location in over fourteen years. This location brought the total terminal facilities to a total

of eight. (Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Elmira, Binghamton, Penn Yan, Carlstadt and

Scranton) This authority also included other large metropolitan area of Pennsylvania

such as Allentown, Norristown, Reading and Philadelphia.

In other parts of the United States small doubles ( tractor & two 23-27’ trailers) were

being utilized, however in New York State, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the use of

these small doubles was not permitted on conventional highways. So, to circumvent the

legal restrictions the concept of “Truck-Pups” was developed. With the help of Brockway

engineers they took a 20’ straight-truck chassis modified it for heavier load capacities,

designed a long tong dolly and hooked a 26’ trailer and created a “Truck-Pup” combin-

ation.

In 1970 Penn Yan purchased 15 Mack Trucks with 20’ bodies and 36 - 26’ trailers for a

sum of $350,000 to initiate a new combination referred to as “Truck Pups”. The freight

handling efficiencies realized during the testing of triple trailer operations convinced the

Company of the cost saving could

be achieved through the use of short

(pup) trailers. The power unit was a

Mack MB607P tilt cab with a 20’

Strick body, Paymaster adaptor with

extra long under-slung tong and a

Strick 26’ trailer. The engine options

was a standard END475 rated at

140HP or a turbo charged ENDT475

rated at 190HP, however the

application of either of these engines

did not meet the needs of Penn Yan.

The location of the turbo charger eliminated its use due to space and the 140HP version

was inadequate HP for the job using the unit as a local and line-haul unit. The Mack

engineers and Penn Yan came up with a solution, by installing the END673E at an

angle in the chassis, redesigning the position of the air cleaner and air intake and

recalibrated the engine to produce 180HP. A spacer was also used on the chassis to

elevate the box body to equalize the height to the rear trailer to create better

aerodynamics and less drag.

On December 14, 1970 Penn Yan Express at a public auction in Utica, New York pur-

chased the operating authority of Frank Van Namee’s Express Corporation. An

Interstate Commerce Commission and NYS Public Service Commission applications

were filed on January 4, 1971 and the purchase was consummated on July 13, 1971.

Frank Van Namee’s Express operated between Binghamton, Utica, Ithaca and

Syracuse area, including the outlining points of Rome, Oneida, Bainbridge, Sidney,

Mohawk and Herkimer, New York. A temporary facility was established in Utica, New

York in July and a newly constructed terminal opened in April 1974.

On June 29th, 1971 New York State legalized double trailers (under 55 ft. overall) to

operate on regular State highways, except the five Boroughs of New York City and

Penn Yan Express was one of the first to operate these combinations on regular high-

ways. These new combinations of tractor and two small 23’ trailers quickly eliminated

the Truck-Pup operations. The new 23’ trailers were specifically designed for Penn Yan

with the adoption of a wedge nose design which reduced air resistance and drag on the

front of the trailer and greatly enhanced the maneuverability by reducing its turning

radius. A 48’ inch kingpin swing radius design allowed the clearance between the back

of the cab and the head trailer to be reduced to 15 “and a two foot clearance between

the trailers with a total 90 inch BBC measurement. After a few years in operation, it was

also found that these wedged nose designed trailers reduced intra-city accidents and

mishaps through their superior maneuverability. A soon as the law became effective the

Company ordered 75 trailers and 25 new tractors and the Penn Yan shop took the

power units used for the Truck Pups and cut the chassis off and redesigned them for

single tractor use. It should be noted that the accepted trailer length for pup trailers was

27-28’ in other parts of the country due to the overall length restriction of 65’ instead of

55’. Penn Yan was one of the few companies that started utilizing the shorter 23’

trailers.

The Company reported a record revenue and net income for the third straight year with

revenue of $7,636,003 and net income of $358,805 and a record employment of 320

people Company wide.

In 1972 Penn Yan Express expanded its movement, since its beginning in 1966, into the

age of computers by purchasing a NCR Century 100 and in the next six years would

upgrade this system three more times. A small trucking company with its own computer

system in 1972 was a rare occurrence, but it was just another step in their evolution of

doing whatever was necessary to be more innovative, productive and more cost ef-

ficient. By the beginning of 1983 the Company was working on a computerized freight

handling system where, for example, a trailer would leave Rochester with a destination

to the break bulk facility in Penn Yan and it had 2000 pieces of freight on it from 15

shippers destined to 8 locations. The function of time to unload this trailer was based on

the number of trips the dock handler had to make and the distance in feet from the strip-

ping door to the various destination doors. The system would take the information off the

inbound manifest and select the most optimum stripping door location to position the

trailer based on total footage.

In June of 1972, Penn Yan Express filed

with the Interstate Commerce Commis-

sion an offering circular relating to an

initial public offering of 150,000 shares of

Class A Common Stock. A total of 90,000

shares were sold by existing stockholders

and the remaining 60,000 shares sold by

the Company. The stock went public on

June 20, 1972 at $10.00 per share and by

the end of the day was completely sold

out.

To enhance the cost efficiencies with the

short double operations the Company,

since the later part of 1972, had been

developing a delivery grid system for each

terminal area and by 1974 this system

was completed. For example all the

deliveries for Rochester, New York would

be pre-loaded into 23’ trailers at the

break-bulk facility in Penn Yan and trans-

ported to Rochester already loaded for direct delivery to Rochester area customers,

thus eliminating morning cross dock operations. The driver would make their deliveries

and pickups, return to Rochester terminal, hookup a set of the pups and off it goes back

to the break-bulk facility in Penn Yan, also eliminating the nightly cross dock operations.

In 1972 Penn Yan Express purchased 16 single axle tractors and 99 trailers for a total

outlay of $456,000.

The start of 1973 saw the availability and pricing of diesel fuel becoming an issue that

could affect service and profitability in the future, if not addressed. In the spring of 1973

Penn Yan Express decided to control its own destiny and purchased a 1,600,000 gallon

bulk fuel storage facility from Sun Oil Co in Geneva, NY and filled it up with diesel fuel at

prices drastically below market prices. By the first of November, President Nixon had

imposed controlled fuel allocations and speed limit reductions on the nation’s highways.

The allotments were 95-100% of previous year purchases and with the extra fuel

purchased and placed in the new storage facility no threat to Penn Yan operations was

predicted.

During 1973, 25 tandem axle tractors were purchased to replace 17 older units within

the fleet and sixty 45 foot trailers were purchased replacing 35 older units. Of the sixty

trailers purchased 10 were equipment with air ride suspension to be used in Research

and Development work with Xerox Corporation and other customers.

In 1974 saw the purchase of Gravelle Motor Express which provided additional

interstate and intrastate authority between Rochester, New York and Fulton-Oswego

area of New York and all intermediate points along Route 104. The construction of two

new terminals in Utica and Syracuse eliminated leased terminals facilities. A new

terminal facility in southern New Jersey in Sayreville was purchased and operations

commenced in September 1974. Inflation and the depressed economy had been two

major factors on Penn Yan Express’ earnings during 1974. Interest cost increased

46.9%, due to the increase in the prime rate and the construction of two new terminals;

fuel costs tripled over 1973; and other costs increased in excess of 20%. Union wages

increased 7.5%, which was offset by granted rate increases totaling 10.8%.

Syracuse, New York Utica, New York

In May 1975 the purchase of Albany-Binghamton Express from Clifford Signor was con-

summated increasing Penn Yan’s customer base in Buffalo, Elmira and Binghamton plus

expanding authority into the Albany, New York area with the establishment of a new

leased terminal facility.

In September 1975, in anticipation of increased fuel costs, the Company purchased

1,000,000 gallon of diesel fuel, which hedged their escalating fuel costs through April of

1976. To reduce cost, the Sayreville, New Jersey was closed in May of 1975.

In November 1975

the Penn Yan Ex-

press entered into

an agreement to

purchase the ter-

minal of Nestor

Brothers in Vestal,

New York which

was consummated

on January 1, 1976.

On midnight April 1, 1976 a nationwide Teamster strike was commenced, which lasted

only two days and resulted in an overall Teamster increase of approximately 10.1% for

wages and health, welfare and pension benefits. These additional costs were partially

offset by a 5% rate increase in interstate and intrastate shipments.

In the spring of 1976, Brockway was experiencing production problems due to engine

shortages and continuous operating problems with a new anti-skid braking system. In

March of 1975 the Federal Motor Vehicles Safety Administration issued a new standard

in FMVSS-121, requiring that all heavy-duty trucks manufactured after this date be

equipped with a new sophisticated anti-skid braking system. These problems created

tremendous production backlogs, so Brockway decided to sell a “Glider Kit”. These

glider kits included frame, cab, hood, fenders, radiator and front axle and brakes.

Basically they were a truck with no engine, transmission, read-end, suspension and rear

braking system.

In July 1976 Penn Yan Express received the first “Glider Kit” from Brockway.

Brockway’s problems continued through the remainder of 1976 and in January 1977 an

unauthorized strike left the Cortland plant idle. The strike continued through April 29,

1977 and on May 2, 1977 an announcement was made that the Cortland plant would

not reopen and the Company would be liquidated.

First Glider Kit leaving Brockway’s Cortland plant

This ended an era in Penn Yan Express’s history with the purchasing of Brockway trucks for

27 years and having a complete Brockway fleet for the majority of time since 1949.

On January 28, 1977, the

“Blizzard of 77” started crippling

western New York with 17” of

snow and high winds, creating

zero visibility conditions and snow

drifts as high as thirty feet. For a

five day period wind speeds

averaged 46 to 69 mph and by the

end of the first day there were 15

foot snow drifts in an around

Buffalo with over 10,000 cars

stranded. A travel ban was issued

and finally on February 8th the

ban was lifted. This particular

situation exemplified the

advantages of Penn Yan’s preload

delivery system. While the Buffalo

terminal was closed inbound

freight for the same was held at

Penn Yan and on Saturday

February 6 the Penn Yan 54 door

platform was completely cleared

and over 18 trailers of

accumulated freight for Buffalo

was unloaded according to

delivery grid codes. All shipments

for the same grid code were consolidated and all the freight was preloaded for delivery.

This increased the total number of shipments per stop and reduced the miles per stop. On

the first day, Penn Yan was on the street making deliveries before other carriers and

probably had the first units available for pickups. The competition was crammed with

inbound freight in their yards to unload and no empty trailers available to make pickups.

Penn Yan in three to four days was completely current and back on a regular freight flow

schedules, while other carriers were still struggling with their operations for another week.

Before year end a heavy-duty snow blower and flat bed trailer was purchased to eliminate

the costly expense of terminal snow removal that was incurred through the winter months.

Terminal facilities were expanded with the purchase of a new 23 door facility in Reading,

Pennsylvania on February 21, 1977; on September 19 the opening of a new 20 door

terminal in Sayreville, New Jersey; and on November 1, the construction of a new terminal

facility in Albany, New York being completed.

Reading Pennsylvania terminal

Albany New York terminal

The year 1978 started a trend of challenging years for the entire motor carrier industry

including Penn Yan Express. Winter storms in January and February caused major

operational difficulties for approximately three days. Terminals in New Jersey and Eastern

Pennsylvania were completely closed and operations in upstate New York remained open

on a limited basis. During the first half of 1978 tonnage increased approximately 3.8% over

1977, but by the second half of the year tonnage had dropped significantly producing an

overall decrease for the year of 1.0%.

Construction started in August on the 20,000 square foot, three story addition to the

Penn Yan General Offices at an estimated cost of $800,000. To reduce costs, the

Phillipsburg, New Jersey terminal operation was consolidated into the Reading facility

and Phillipsburg was sold. The Sayreville, New Jersey operation was combined into

Carlstadt and the Sayreville facility leased out. In October a terminal location was

established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania through the use of a cartage agent. On

December 18, 1978, Penn Yan Express purchased a portion of the operating rights of B

& P Motor Express of Pittsburgh, Pa., this expanded Penn Yan’s authority between

Philadelphia and Baltimore, Washington and Richmond, Virginia and in March of 1979 a

Baltimore terminal facility was established.

Penn Yan Terminal expansion

The 1970’s saw the growth of private fleets and the change in distribution patterns. To

capitalize on this change, in 1978 Penn Yan Express embarked on a campaign to en-

hance their share of the rapidly growing, “Assemble and Distribution” business. Penn

Yan formulated programs to handle warehousing, consolidation and assembly services

and distribution services via private truck and railcar.

On April 1, 1979 the Company was experiencing a shortage of diesel fuel and gasoline

deliveries and on April 7, it was notified from its primary fuel distributor Mobil Oil that its

diesel fuel allocation would be cut by 40%. The Company was operating 325 tractors,

65 automobiles and 20 pickup-panel trucks and was consuming approximately 161,000

gallons diesel fuel and 2,000 gallons of gasoline a week. They were informed that their

allocation for gasoline would be based on last year consumption, but their diesel fuel

allotment would be restricted to 20% of the usage in the months of January-February-

March of 1978. Operating with an increased fleet and the addition of three new terminal

operations, this allocation was not sufficient to meet its daily needs. Unfortunately Penn

Yan sold their bulk fuel storage facility approximately two years earlier, however with

their tanker trailer they were able to secure fuel in other locations and transport it to

areas where they needed supplies.

In 1979, Penn Yan Express entered the intermodal segment of transportation and be-

came a major player. Most motor carriers viewed the railroad as a competitor.

However, Penn Yan Express used this mode of transportation to enhance its operating

authority and was able to provide expanded service without acquiring ICC authority

through expensive acquisitions. A Chicago terminal was established and T.O.F.C.

(trailer-on-flat-car) operations grew rapidly and by the end of the first year 3-7 loads were

moved on a daily basis.

The Company also purchased a portion of the operating authority of O.N.C. Freight

System and under temporary authority was permitted to extend its service to Harrisburg,

York, Bethlehem and Lancaster area of Pennsylvania.

By the beginning of 1980, the economic outlook for the US was worsening. The GDP

was slowing rapidly, the inflation rate reached a starling rate of 11.3% in the later part of

1979. The Federal Reserve trying to head off these inflationary increases started

escalating interest rate at an excessive rate. Penn Yan Express’s interest rate on their

Revolving Line of Credit increased from 6.75% in January 1977 to 16.25% in January

1980 and by December 16, 1980 peaked out at 22.5%. This translated into increased

interest expense charge to the balance sheet of $1,282,388, which represented a

percentage to Gross Revenue of 4.69% compared to year end 1977 of $469,560 at

2.77%. The unemployment rate was rising from a low in 1979 of 5.6% to a high in 1980

of 7.8%

In February 1980, Robert Hinson, President of Penn Yan Express, Inc. suffered a heart

attack. Mr. Paul Donovan current VP-Secretary and Board member was appointed Chief

Executive Officer and in April Mr. Harold Forshey VP-Treasurer was appointed VP-

Administration. This was a newly created position after the resignation of Mr. Donovan

and assigned Forshey with the overall executive responsibilities for all areas of Penn

Yan’s operations other than maintenance. Robert Hinson returned to his duties as

President and Chief Executive Officer in May 1980.

On July 1, 1980 the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 was signed into law relaxing 45 years of

government regulations into a traditional regulated industry. The major provisions of this

Act relaxed the entry requirements for applications for operating authority in an effort to

increase competition and prohibited rate Bureaus from interfering with any Carrier’s

rights to publish its own rates.

Even though Penn Yan faced many challenges in 1980 revenue and tonnage increase

while as a whole the motor carrier Industry experienced decrease tonnage and revenue

figures. Gross revenue for 1980 totaled $27, 361,373 a 17.7% increase over 1979

revenue of $23,238,036. The Company placed into service twenty new single axle

tractors, fifteen tandem axle tractors and fifty 45’ trailers. The construction of the new 24

door terminal in Cinnaminson, New Jersey was completed and construction started on a

new 30 door terminal facility about 10 miles southeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in

New Cumberland.

Penn Yan Express had been active in Canadian freight over the years, but the Canadian

carriers controlled the authority to cross the border and they had their relationships with

the larger Carriers. This made it very difficult for Penn Yan to break into this market. This

freight was highly lucrative with average weight per shipments about fifty percent higher

and the revenue per shipment was double in comparison to domestic shipments. Due to

the fact that water transportation across Lake Ontario was considered exempt

transportation, Penn Yan Express entered into an agreement with Lakespan Marine, Inc.

of Montreal Quebec, Canada and established a ferry service between Oswego, New

York and Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Thence, Penn Yan Express combined operations

with JE Transports – Listowel Truck Lines with terminal facilities in Cambridge, Hamil-

ton, Toronto, Oshawa, and Listowel, Ontario, Canada and over 470 pieces of revenue

equipment. Direct inter-modal service was commenced in 1981. This operation was an

instant success and the established Canadian carriers with international authority consi-

dered this operation a huge threat to their operations. After about a year, the major

Canadian Carriers got together and pressured the Canadian government to withdraw

funding to the Lakespan Marine operation and thus operations were discontinued. Penn

Yan Express immediately filed with the ICC and Ontario Transportation Board for

emergency temporary authority and was granted same. The Company was involved in a

lengthy application process for Canadian Authority during the last half of 1982 testifying

before the Ontario Transportation Board to convert the issued temporary authority into

permanent authority. A preliminary decision was issued in July 1983 indicating that

permanent authority was going to be granted, which was a major accomplishment for a

small US carrier. After the announcement of the purchase of Penn Yan Express by a sub-

sidiary of Consolidated Freightways in the beginning of August 1983, the Ontario Trans-

port Board immediately announced that they were reversing its decision and denying the

authority due to duplication with international authority already held by Consolidated

Freightways.

The economy in 1981 was still challenging for the motor carrier industry and Penn Yan

Express with recession issues, continued high inflation, price competition, a deregula-

ted environment and continued volatile interest rates. Interest rates remained above

20% until October and for the year a total of $1,541,423 had been expended on interest

charges. This interest expense as a percentage of revenue of equated to 5.43%

percent, which was almost triple than eight years ago in 1973 when it represented

1.87% of total revenues. Tonnage for the year decreased from 376,350 tons of freight in

1980 to 348,233 tons in1981. In an effort to control the spiraling cost increases the

Company made an unusual agreement with the teamsters union that help bolster Penn

Yan’s cash flow during the year. The teamster employees agreed to “Loan Back” to the

Company a 70 cent per hour cost of living increase scheduled for April. Penn Yan was

to pay interest on the load and agreed to reimburse employees in full when they retired

or left the Company. This labor concession gave the Company an additional $10,000

per week cash flow to meet other obligations. 1981, the ICC granted Penn Yan Express

authority to operate in Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia which resulted in

the establishment of two new terminal locations in Cleveland, Ohio and Pittsburgh,

Pennsylvania. The construction of a new terminal in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania

was completed. At year end the Company had 540 employees, 756 pieces of revenue

equipment and seventeen terminal locations. By 1981 the cost of a tandem axle diesel

tractor was over $50,000 and a 45’ trailer was in excess of $12,000.

Penn Yan Terminal Complex 1981

In the later part of 1981 the Company entered into an agreement with Laidlaw Transport

Ltd of Canada for them to purchase the entire assets of Penn Yan Express and all related

Companies. Penn Yan was a publicly traded Company and was obligated to its share-

holders to review any and all purchase offers that had relevance. After several months of

negotiations Laidlaw terminated negotiations by not showing up for the signing of docu-

ments.

Penn Yan service area map 1982

In 1982 the Penn Yan Express opened new terminal operations in Jamestown and Olean,

New York. Olean was a 16 door terminal with a one bay garage and Jamestown was an

18 door facility including a two bay garage thus bringing the total terminal locations to 19

facilities.

Thru 1982 unemployment remain at high level breaking the 10% level in September and

reaching a high of 10.8% in December 1982. The motor carrier industry this year recorded

a record decrease in tonnage of 10.8% and an overall re-venue reduction of 5.8%. Penn

Yan was fortunate by recording a revenue increase of 10.2% to $31,302,914 and a

tonnage increase of 1.25%

The Company took advantage of the ease of entry provisions in the Motor Carrier Act of

1980 and filed an application for expanded authority. The Company received authority

under the name of C.M.A. Truck Lines to operate in thirty-one states in the eastern part of

the United States. This new Company immediately started the transportation of loads with

non-union owner operators between points in New York State and Chicago, Illinois

eliminating intermodal rail service previously used and providing expanded service to

points in Ohio through a new terminal facility in Cleveland, Ohio.

By the spring of 1983, even though the economy was slightly recovering, unemployment

continued above 10% until July, competition was continuing to increase, rate cutting

was ramped and inflationary costs were easing, but still at traditionally high levels. The

previous 2 ½ years were devastating to the trucking industry in the northeast with major

carriers ceasing operations such as, Boss Linco Lines, Copper-Jarrett, Eazor Express,

Hemingway Transport, Jones Motor Lines, Maislin Brothers Transport and Motor Freight

Express to name a few. However, the results for Penn Yan Express for the first quarter

of 1983 were encouraging with revenue posting a 20% gain over the previous years and

tonnage figures were up 6.4% during the same period.

On July 29, 1983 Robert Hinson and his wife Frances sold their majority stock holding in

Penn Yan Express to Con-Way Eastern Express, Inc which was a wholly owned sub-

sidiary of Consolidated Freight-

ways. Mr. Hinson agreed to stay

on until their permanent authority

was granted in November 1983

and then he retired after 39 years

with Penn Yan Express.

By the early part of 1984 the name

had been changed to PYX, to

correlate more closely with other

subsidiary companies of CF

Industries such as, CCX Con-way

Central Express and CSX Con-

way Southeastern Express. The

Company was required under the

provisions of the original purchase

agreement to maintain the Penn

Yan Express name for a period of

two years. In 1984 the Company

with its new PYX logo had

expanded its service area with

new terminal locations in Boston

and Springfield, Massachusetts,

New Haven, Connecticut and

Providence, Rhode Island.

On July 15, 1985 the name was

changed to Con-way Eastern

Express losing its connection

with Penn Yan Express forever.

By late summer that year, the

major portion of General Offices

in Penn Yan, NY were closed

and relocated to Cherry Hill,

New Jersey leaving only some

maintenance and traffic

functions. This relocation reduced the local Penn Yan employment from just over 300

people to 114. By August 1990 Con-way Eastern Express ceased operations after a

selective one week Teamsters strike and never reopened. In 1992 the service area once

operated by Penn Yan Express was absorbed into Conway Central Express of Ann Arbor,

Michigan.

“Penn Yan People”

Even though Robert Hinson has received the recognition in the development and success

of Penn Yan Express, behind every successful Company is a vast amount of people that

was responsible in carrying out these visions and goals that created the end result. Over

the years, the employees of Penn Yan Express had been commonly referred to as the

“PENN YAN PEOPLE”. From 1949 through 1983 it has been estimated that over 1,300

people had worked for the Penn Yan Express over these years.

The End of an ERA

1949 - 1983 - penn yan express history final.pdf · 1949 - 1983 . information compiled and written...

Documents