MTFCA Forum

That's concrete! Cool side delivery box and solid front tires.
Look at that ol' boy lean into that heavy side load!
Cool pic.

No money wasted on "unused" body work

And who needs tyres anyway? !

This looks to be the same time and place.

Rich

sure is, though I think it's a different load. Vehicle is a little farther away from the batten boards and characters in different positions, but you clearly have the nearly the same spot at a very slightly higher vantage point. Was the other photo part of the same collection you found?

Silly me, I decided to figure which of the two pictures was taken first or second, and about how far apart. The sledge hammer standing almost identical, along with the shovel handle sticking up from the dug trench almost exactly the same, led me astray to thinking the two spots were right together. But I couldn't resolve the form stakes spacing. So I started looking at backgrounds.
Noting the power pole with the electrical transformer on it, and triangulating that against the house, it appears the first picture is first, while the second picture is about fifty feet farther down the road. Just goes to show how habitual people tend to be in placement of their tools. The sledge hammer and shovel are placed almost identically.
With such a light truck, "No money wasted on "unused" body work" as Adrian W said. A heavy load of wet cement could shift suddenly over to one side like that with interesting results?!

Just a guess, but I'd say that the sledge hammer is a "marker" to tell the driver how far to spread one load of concrete. So yes, you could expect to see a sledge in that position in every action shot.

Wayne

I think 50ft is an excellent estimation.

Appears to be the same two trucks and drivers in each photo. Took a shot of each dumping.
Almost looks like the driver with the white shirt has shades on.
Cool photos.

Thank you Scott C!
Dick F, Excellent point! Likely that both the hammer and shovel may have been used that way.

Wonderful photos! Thank you all.

Taking a closer look I believe the truck has only moved 5 or 6 feet forward from the first photo to the second. I believe the circled rocks are the same and show this. Both photos have been circulating the web for some time. Most recently I have seen them on Pinterest and Etsy. I seem to remember seeing them on some State's road construction article but can't remember which state. I can't make sense of the license plate to identify the state.
Lot of Fun!
Rich

A little more research and a better copy of the photo has led me to believe it is a Maryland license plate. The figures at the right must signify a state or county road department. 1925 is the only dark plate with light lettering that has Marryland - Date at the bottom until '31 (red) or 33 (black).

My guess is 1 yard of concrete in each dump, that's a lot of weight hanging out there! I yard weighs a little over 4000# it looks like a very dry mix, I wonder if there are any counter weights on the other side we don't see.
Have a great day, Mike

I agree with Rich on the rocks. That dump box is only five or six feet long, and with the depth of the forms in the pictures, each load probably only makes five or six feet of progress.

Here is a link to a Shorpy version of the photo I posted. The plate numbers suggest that the truck shown in the first picture in this thread has moved on. The next truck is unloading and a third truck is behind. {"Herr Dump Car Mfg. Co., 1925." A new sidewalk in Washington, or the capital's Maryland suburbs.} There are some nice comments with that article like "I was looking for a counterbalance when I noticed the rear wheels are farther apart than the front. Keeps it from tipping."
https://www.shorpy.com/node/4254?size=_original#caption

Given the speed of those trucks and the fact that they don't amount to much more than a box on wheels with no ability to mix that concrete I'm thinking the batch plant had to be nearby.

Looks to be a pretty "hot" load to crumble apart while dumping. I bet the had to beat it into the form.