This is cool. My brother owns his own trucking company and they do all kinds of heavy hauling around the Boston area, including construction work. However, he had a very interesting job just last week.
Three trucks were hired to haul fuel oil up Mt. Washington in New Hampshire for the weather station on top. By the Rockies standard, Mt. Washington isn’t that impressive—only 6,200 feet high—but it is the tallest peak in New England and bears the distinction of having recorded the highest wind gust measured at the Earth’s surface, 231 mph. And driving up the auto road is no Sunday drive.
So imagine driving up the mountain in an eighteen-wheeler semi, carrying a load of fuel. Oh and you have to drive at night when the road is closed to the public because there wouldn’t be enough room for a car to pass in the opposite direction. They also can only carry a half load of fuel at a time, because of something to do with the changing air pressure, and so that’s why they need three trucks at a time. And then they have to come down too, which is hard enough on a passenger car’s brakes. I can’t imagine what a toll it takes on a semi’s brakes.
Very scary! I’ll ask him if he can take some photos next time, although I’m sure we won’t having “on the road” pictures.
Technorati Tags:Mount Washington, New Hampshire, trucking
I’ve been up the Mt Washington Auto Road…God bless your brother! They couldn’t pay me enough to do that.