Untitled - Penn Yan Express

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
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provided service between Penn
Yan, Elmira, Binghamton and
Cortland, New York. In December 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 incorporation 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.
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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 dealership 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
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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-
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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By1953 two new garage 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 purchased 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
Page 10
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
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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.
Page 12
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
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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 equipment including: 59 tractors, 87 trailers and 27 trucks and had experienced a 5% freight
revenue increase for the year.
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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.
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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 performed the certification with a single axle
tractor.
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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 stabilized 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 building 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 constructed and the freight transfer area was enlarged at a cost of $25,000. In Carlstadt, an
Page 17
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 expanded 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.
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These tests were to
compare the performance 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 maintenance 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
Page 19
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 completed 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.
Page 20
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
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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 surveillance and authorities from New York
State and the Massachusetts Turnpike
Authority. These test runs where continued 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 accumulating 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 stability and maneuverability turned out to be a 45’ lead trailer with twin 26 footers behind.
Page 22
The AAA primarily in Buffalo
and Syracuse area, during this
period of time and through the
spring of 1971 launched a massive 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 advantage of these triple combinations was limited, due of the
need of shuttling trailers between 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 conducting 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
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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” combination.
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
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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 purchased 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 highways. 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
Page 25
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 efficient. 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-
Page 26
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 Commission 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 transported 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.
Page 27
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.
Page 28
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 consummated 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 Express entered into
an agreement to
purchase the terminal of Nestor
Brothers in Vestal,
New York which
was consummated
on January 1, 1976.
Page 29
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
Page 30
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.
Page 31
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
Page 32
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.
Page 33
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 enhance 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-FebruaryMarch 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 became a major player. Most motor carriers viewed the railroad as a competitor.
Page 34
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-
Page 35
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
Page 36
York and Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Thence, Penn Yan Express combined operations
with JE Transports – Listowel Truck Lines with terminal facilities in Cambridge, Hamilton, 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 considered 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 subsidiary of Consolidated Freightways in the beginning of August 1983, the Ontario Transport Board immediately announced that they were reversing its decision and denying the
authority due to duplication with international authority already held by Consolidated
Freightways.
Page 37
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 deregulated 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
Page 38
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 shareholders 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 documents.
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%
Page 39
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-
Page 40
sidiary of Consolidated Freightways. 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 Conway 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.
Page 41
Page 42
“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.
Page 43
The End of an ERA