BROCKWAY

Brockway Motor Truck Co. (1912-?)
Brockway Motor Co. Inc. (?-1956)
Brockway Motor Trucks Div., Mack Trucks Inc. (1956-1977)
Cortland, New York 

This is a Brockway radiator emblem (c1928)   sam
Size: 83mm wide 51mm high   MM: Unknown (poss D L Auld)

Brockway enjoyed an excellent reputation throughout its history and customer loyalty shown by repeat orders was the best in the industry, probably due to their long history of quality work and close relationships with their customers.

George A. Brockway was a long established builder of horse drawn carriages when he decided to enter the motor truck  market. The Brockway Carriage Works sold re-badged Chase trucks between 1910 and 1912 and, in September 1912, Brockway announced that it had recruited Rodman S. Reed from the Chase Motor Truck Company, to take up the role of chief engineer for Brockway. 

The Brockway Motor Truck Company was incorporated in 1912 and the first true Brockway motor trucks appeared later in 1912. These first Brockway trucks were distinguished by Renault styled hoods and were offered in three models from 1/2-ton to 1-3/4-ton capacity. By 1914 more conventionally styled trucks were produced using four-cylinder Continental engines. All Brockway trucks were assembled vehicles. Worm drive began to replace chain drive from 1915.

During 1917 and 1918 Brockway production was made entirely for the military effort in the First World War. Brockway built 587 Class B Liberty trucks in addition to their own designed vehicles. Civilian production resumed in 1919 with 1-1/2-ton and 3-1/2-ton capacity trucks, with a 5-ton capacity truck appearing in 1921. In 1923, Brockway entered the motor bus business and had four bus chassis available by 1924 for 16 to 30 passengers. By 1925 Brockway began to use six-cylinder engines, which became standard from 1928 by which time Brockway was one of the largest independent truck makers in America with an annual production of 5,500 units. 

Brockway bought the Indiana Truck Corporation (see Indiana) in 1928 but in 1932, as a result of the Depression, Brockway sold Indiana to White. From 1933 to 1938 Brockway offered a range of electric trucks of up to 7-ton capacity. In 1934, Brockway built the Model V1200 powered by a 240 hp American LaFrance V-12 engine and able to pull loads of up to 30 tons at 45 mph. Brockway continued to increase the range and size of its trucks with capacities of up to 10-tons by 1940. Brockway truck production concentrated on military models during the Second World War. 

New Brockway models were introduced after the War and twenty basic models wee available in the 1950's. In 1956 Brockway became an autonomous division of Mack Trucks (see Mack) and in 1958 came the Brockway Huskie line of all-new trucks. In April 1977 Mack closed the Brockway plant.

Emblems

The first high wheel motor wagons sold by Brockway from 1910 to 1912 were Chase trucks rebadged as "Brockway" , see original period photo shown below, which shows the "Brockway" name displayed in the form of an elongated hood side nameplate with rounded ends:

Brockway badged Chase truck showing hood side nameplate (c1912)     aa

The following photos show a restored surviving Brockway badged Chase truck from 1910:

Brockway badged Chase truck with hood side nameplate (1910) aowm

Brockway hood side nameplate on restored truck 

However, the Brockway hood side nameplate used on this restored truck is not the same as the Brockway hood side nameplate shown in the original period photo seen earlier above and an incorrect nameplate appears to have been used at the time of restoration. The original Brockway hood side nameplate used from 1910 is believed to be as shown in the following photo. This Brockway nameplate was originally painted and is rare:   

This is a Brockway hood side nameplate (c1910)  lktec
Size: 383mm wide 63mm high   MM: Unknown

The first true Brockway trucks are believed to have carried the same or similar Brockway nameplates, although period photos, see example below, do not show a nameplate, which may have been mounted at the rear of the truck:

Brockway Model A (1912)    coachbuilt

Brockway trucks with a conventional hood and radiator appeared from 1914. It is not very clear from the following original period photo but a painted Brockway nameplate is mounted on the front of the radiator core:

Brockway fire truck & radiator core mounted nameplate (1915) coachbuilt

The same painted Brockway nameplate is seen on the following photo of a surviving Brockway fire truck:

Brockway fire truck & radiator core mounted nameplate (1916)   coachbuilt

The following appears to be an example of this painted Brockway nameplate, which was in use until at least the mid-1920's. This Brockway nameplate is rare.

This is a Brockway radiator nameplate (c1914-c1926)  mjs
Size: 370mm wide 70mm high   MM: None

New Brockway models introduced in 1916 had cast radiators with ribbed tank tops and had the "Brockway" name cast into the radiator tank top, see example shown below:

Brockway 2-1/2-ton dump truck with cast in rad emblem (1917) coachbuilt

This is the new Brockway radiator with a cast in radiator emblem:

This is a Brockway radiator with cast in emblem (1916) coachbuilt

There was a change of radiator design by 1921 with a different ribbed radiator tank top and a cast Brockway emblem replicating the previous nameplate design, see 1922 period photo example and surviving truck example from 1923 at the Mack Truck Historical Museum shown below:

Brockway truck with new radiator & emblem (1922)  coachbuilt

Brockway truck radiator emblem (1923)    mthm

This is the new radiator design with a cast Brockway emblem:

This is a Brockway radiator & emblem (1921-c1930)   coachbuilt

Brockway light duty Highway Express Model E trucks had sheet metal radiator surrounds with the Brockway nameplate mounted on the front of the radiator tank top, see example shown below:

Brockway Model E with radiator emblem (1922)  coachbuilt

Some Brockway Model E vehicles also displayed the "Brockway" name on hood side nameplates, see example shown below:

Brockway Model E with hood side nameplates (1926)  coachbuilt

There was also a "Brockway" nameplate mounted on the rear cross frame member, see example below:

Brockway 2-1/2-ton truck with rear nameplate (1927)  coachbuilt

Brockway also built fire truck chassis for American LaFrance in the 1920's and 1930's. The following is a 1923 LaFrance Brockway Torpedo fire engine, which displayed the "Brockway" name on a stamped chrome panel on the radiator tank top:

LaFrance Brockway fire engine (1923)   coachbuilt

This is the stamped Brockway radiator tank top emblem. This Brockway radiator emblem is rare.

LaFrance Brockway Torpedo radiator emblem (1923) coachbuilt

The following is a later LaFrance Brockway Torpedo tank top emblem. This Brockway radiator emblem is rare.

LaFrance Brockway Torpedo radiator emblem (date uncertain) dkc
Size: 356mm wide 64mm high

When Brockway took over Indiana in 1928, some models carried a Brockway radiator emblem with the same design as the equivalent Indiana model, see example shown below. This Brockway radiator emblem is very rare.

This is a Brockway radiator emblem (c1928)   sam
Size: 83mm wide 51mm high  MM: Unknown (poss D L Auld)

The following painted Brockway hood side nameplate is also believed to have been used at the time when Brockway was in control of Indiana trucks. This Brockway nameplate is rare:

This is a Brockway hood side nameplate (c1928)   mjs
Size: 228mm wide 38mm high    MM: Unknown

The following Brockway nameplate is believed to have been used as a hood side nameplate in the late 1920's and early 1930's and as a radiator emblem also in the early 1930's:
:

This is a Brockway rad & hood side emblem (c1928-1932)   mjs
Size: 228mm wide 38mm high    MM: Unknown

The following is a different Brockway hood side nameplate but I cannot confirm the date of use of this nameplate:

This is a Brockway hood side nameplate (dates uncertain)  mjs
Size: 383mm wide 63mm high    MM: None

The following 1930 Brockway advertisement shows a truck with a small cast metal Brockway nameplate style emblem mounted on a chrome radiator top together with a larger cast metal Brockway hood side nameplate:

Brockway truck ad detail showing radiator emblem & hood side nameplate (1930)   ccj

The following shows a surviving example of this Brockway truck from 1931:

Brockway with rad emblem & hood side nameplate(1931)  ms

Some Brockway models in the 1930's had an aluminum radiator with an inset radiator emblem, see example shown below:

Brockway truck with aluminum rad & inset emblem (1934) coachbuilt

From about 1936, Brockway trucks had a new radiator emblem with matching hood side emblems, see example shown below:

Brockway tow truck with new radiator & hood side emblems (1937)   coachbuilt

This new Brockway radiator and hood side emblem is more clearly seen on the following surviving Brockway truck:

Brockway truck radiator emblem (c1940)    mthm

This same Brockway emblem continued in use up to the Second World War and reappeared when production resumed in late 1945, see surviving 1945 example shown below, and then continued in use to about 1949:

Brockway 78 truck showing emblems (1945)   brc

This is an unpainted version of the metal Brockway radiator emblem:

This is a Brockway emblem (c1936-c1949)   mjs
Size: 238mm wide 47mm high  MM: Unknown

Here is a painted version of the same Brockway emblem:

This is a Brockway emblem ( c1936-c1949)   lktec
Size: 238mm wide 47mm high   MM: Unknown

These Brockway trucks also displayed the "Brockway" name on a rear cross frame mounted nameplate of the type shown below:

his is a Brockway rear frame nameplate (c1936-c1949)  lktec
Size: 303mm wide 51mm high    MM: Unknown

Brockway introduced the Brockway Huskie line in late 1957 for the 1958 model year and there was a new radiator emblem, see example shown below which also shows "Brockway" hood side scripts:

Brockway Huskie diesel model (1957)  coachbuilt

This is the Brockway Huskie radiator emblem:

This is a Brockway Huskie radiator emblem (1957-c1960) mjs
Size: 237mm wide 50mm high     MM: Unknown

The following is an example of a Brockway script used as a hood side emblem and, for some models, a smaller version was used as a radiator emblem:

This is a Brockway hood side script (c1958)    mjs
Size: 415mm wide