JUNE 2007 OLD TIME TRUCKS
IOWA 80’s KENWORTH CBE
By John & Shirley Sponholtz

This 1956 Kenworth cab-beside-engine model TCC 522 LJ is owned by the Iowa 80 Truck Stop in Walcott, Iowa, and is on display in their museum. Owned and operated by the Moon Family, the Iowa 80 Truck Stop hosts the Walcott Truckers Jamboree each year, which is the family’s way of thanking their driver customers and celebrating the trucking industry. This year’s “Jamboree” is scheduled for July 12 & 13. The Kenworth is equipped with a Cummins NHB 220 horsepower engine and a Clark 5-speed transmission. Its top speed is a blazing 55 mph. Trucks of this style were made to improve a driver’s visibility as well as to reduce its overall weight, which is less than 11,000 lbs. Delivered to Colorado Kenworth on August 31, 1956, it was later sold to Merchants Motor Freight. This model has a tachograph on the dash that records the speeds of the truck throughout the day, showing whether or not the driver was obeying traffic laws. Some models were built with sleeping quarters, but this model features a single-seat design with a small, canvas passenger seat behind the driver. Good luck getting any sleep back there!