1925 KENWORTH, INTERNATIONAL AND DOUGLAS TRUCKS JOIN CENTENARIAN CLUB AT THE IOWA 80 TRUCKING MUSEUM

WALCOTT, IA – The 1925 Kenworth is one of three trucks joining the Centenarian Club this year. The Iowa 80 Trucking Museum also showcases an International water tanker and a Douglas with a well drilling rig from 1925. Both of the later trucks are unrestored and in original condition.

The 1925 International was owned and used by the city of Menomonie, Wisconsin as a street washing truck until 1957. Even though electric starters had been invented by then, this truck still has a crank start and no pump on the tanker. The tank holds 750 gallons of water, and relies on gravity to empty the tank.

The 1925 Douglas is one of six known in existence. Douglas Truck Manufacturing Company, of Omaha, Nebraska, was only in business between 1918 and 1935,and produced a relatively low number of trucks. This truck is a great example of American ingenuity and engineering, as the drilling rig was adapted to operate on the back of this truck, and the truck has been modified to power the drilling rig. The man who built this truck would drive to the well site, disconnect the drive saft from the rear truck axle, and connect it to the drilling rig. It could take up to six weeks to drill a well using equipment like this.

Iowa 80 Trucking Museum Curator, Dave Meier, said that the museum’s 1925 Kenworth KS 3-Ton was discovered two blocks from the Microsoft Headquarters building in Redmond, Washington. Kenworth was originally founded as Gerlinger Motor Car Works in Portland, Oregon in 1912, and incorporated as Kenworth Motor Truck Company in 1923. The Pacific Northwest region where Kenworth trucks were assembled was logging country, and many KS models were used in this industry. In a previous life, this truck was used by a construction company to haul dynamite. According to the former owners of the truck, this is the earliest KS model in existence. The serial number is 2012.

Come and celebrate the 100th birthday of the 1925 Kenworth KS 3-Ton, the International Water Tanker, and the Douglas well drilling truck at the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum this year. Admission to the museum is free, and more information about our various truck and trucking memorabilia exhibits can be found at www.iowa80truckingmuseum.com.