CHICAGO MOTOR TRUCK

Chicago Motor Truck Co.
Robert M. Cutting Co.
Chicago, Illinois (1919-1932)

This is a Chicago Motor Truck radiator emblem (c1920s)   mjs
Size: 75mm diameter    MM: Grammes

The Chicago was a conventional assembled truck. The first Chicago truck built in 1919 was a 2-1/2-ton capacity unit powered by a 27.2 hp Continental four-cylinder engine. By 1920, the Chicago line included 1-1/2-ton and 3-1/2-ton capacity units. Later trucks up to 5-ton capacity were powered by Hercules engines until 1927 when they were replaced by Waukesha engines. 

Six-wheel trucks with 8-ton and 12-ton capacity were added to the line in 1930, by when all Chicago trucks were using six-cylinder Waukesha engines. 

It is unclear when the Chicago Motor Truck Company was reorganized by Robert M. Cutting but the Depression caused the final demise of the Chicago truck in 1932.

Emblems

There is very little detailed information available about the Chicago truck but advertisements and photos from 1920 show that the Chicago truck carried a radiator emblem mounted at the top front of the radiator, see example Chicago Motor Truck advertisement below which also shows the steering wheel emblem logo:  

This is a Chicago Truck ad (1920)  
power wagon reference book

Close-up showing Chicago Motor Truck emblem & logo (1920)

The following red, white, blue and black painted brass Chicago Motor Truck emblem is the first style of Chicago truck emblem used before the reorganization to the Robert M. Cutting Company. This Chicago truck emblem may have been an early radiator emblem, as it seems too large to be a hub emblem. This Chicago truck emblem is very rare.

This is a Chicago Motor Truck emblem (c1920)     mjs
Size: 89mm diameter    MM: None

The red, white, blue and black enamel Chicago Motor Truck radiator emblem, shown above at the top of this post and again below, was used after the reorganization to the Robert M. Cutting Company. This Chicago truck radiator emblem is very rare.

This is a Chicago Motor Truck radiator emblem (c1920s) mjs
Size: 75mm diameter    MM: Grammes

The following Chicago Motor Truck radiator emblem is similar to the emblem shown above but has a feature around the fixing holes to protect against damage to the enamel, which suggests a later variant emblem design. This Chicago truck emblem is also very rare.

This is a Chicago Motor Truck radiator emblem (date unknown)  cwc
Size: 75mm diameter   MM: Grammes

Emblem collectors should beware, however, as there are reproduction Chicago Motor Truck radiator emblems, which have no fixing holes, see example shown below:

This is a reproduction Chicago Motor Truck radiator emblem   lktec

The Chicago truck shown in the 1920 Chicago Motor Truck advertisement shown earlier above also displays the "CHICAGO" name on a painted, cast metal nameplate attached to the front chassis frame member under the radiator, see close-up shown below. 

Close-up showing the rad emblem & chassis nameplate (1920)

This is the painted cast metal Chicago front chassis frame member on the surviving 3-1/2-ton 1923 Chicago truck shown below:

Chicago 3-1/2-ton motor truck showing nameplate (1923) hatm

This is the Chicago truck nameplate (1923)

The same nameplate is also mounted on the center of the rear chassis frame member.