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Amazing IH Truck Collection
Many of the International Harvester trucks Bill Skinner collected are the same models that he and his father drove in their trucking business, Skinner Transfer. When Bill died in 1994, he left behind a legacy of several dozen vintage Internationals, including all the models in the K and KB series.
IH introduced
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Amazing IH Truck Collection AG WORLD 33-5-23 Many of the International Harvester trucks Bill Skinner collected are the same models that he and his father drove in their trucking business, Skinner Transfer. When Bill died in 1994, he left behind a legacy of several dozen vintage Internationals, including all the models in the K and KB series.
IH introduced the K model in the mid 1940's, building 42 models, 142 different wheelbase lengths and load ratings ranging from 1/2 ton to 90,000 lbs. A unique feature of the design was headlamps built into the truck's fenders.
When civilian production resumed after WWII, the KB series was introduced in 1947, featuring a widened lower grill that gave the trucks a "wings" appearance. Between 1947 and 1949 122,000 KB-1 and KB-2 trucks were sold.
Bill drove for his father, Earl Skinner's trucking company, out of Reedsburg, Wis., explains Evelyn, Bill's wife who is now president of the company. The company started in 1932 and has grown into a fourth generation nationwide for-hire carrier with a full fleet of all types of trucks.
"For many years our company was 99 percent IH," Evelyn says. "IH's trucks were the tough workhorse of the trucking industry. Mechanics liked to work on them because they could fix things without taking everything apart."
Bill had a passion for trucking, for trucks and for collecting and restoring them ù helping to work on them after hours with mechanics and friends.
"He loved going throughout the nation, and he really did find some rare pieces," Evelyn says. In 10 years, he collected everything from pickups to a 1949 KB-3 Metro Jitney bus to fire trucks and semis.
Evelyn enjoyed the stories Bill would tell, such as buying an old truck from a hermit in the boonies of Montana. The collection holds sentimental value, plus pride in her husband's passion and accomplishments in the trucking industry. "I'm so happy that he got to do this," she says.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Skinner Transfer, P.O. Box 438, Reedsburg, Wis. 53959 (ph 800 356-9350; www.skinnertransfer.com).
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