Diamond reo truck (8-01-10 ESATA Truck show)

Diamond Reo Trucks was an American truck manufacturer. In 1967,

Diamond T The Diamond T Company was an American automobile and truck manufacturer. They produced commercial and military trucks. History The Diamond T Motor Car Company was founded in Chicago in 1905 by C. A. Tilt. Reportedly, the company name was creat ...

and Reo Trucks were combined to form the Diamond Reo Trucks Division of the

White Motor Corporation The White Motor Company was an American automobile, truck, bus and agricultural tractor manufacturer from 1900 until 1980. The company also produced bicycles, roller skates, automatic lathes, and sewing machines. Before World War II, the compa ...

. Reo dated back to 1904 when

Ransom E. Olds Ransom Eli Olds (June 3, 1864 – August 26, 1950) was a pioneer of the American automotive industry, after whom the Oldsmobile and REO brands were named. He claimed to have built his first steam car as early as 1887 and his first gasoline-power ...

, founder of

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it pro ...

, began building motor cars, and Diamond T dated back to 1905 when C.A. Tilt began building vehicles. In 1971, Francis L. Cappaert of

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, bought Diamond Reo from White and formed an independent company called Diamond Reo Trucks Inc. And, at about the same time the Diamond Reo C-116 series was introduced, which featured

Cummins Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, filtration, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipment, including fuel systems, controls, air ...

NTC-335, NTC-350, NTA-370 and Detroit Diesel 12V-71N engines. Despite new model introductions and excellent reputation Diamond Reo was forced into bankruptcy on December 6, 1974. One year later Loyal Osterlund and partner Ray Houseal bought the rights to Diamond Reo trucks and made room to continue production in their Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, facility, originally a dealership and maintenance facility. The single model C-116 Giant was continued in production with the Cummins NTC-290 diesel engine as standard power. Production for 1978 was 131 units. By 1985, the Harrisburg plant was expanded to be able to produce 10 trucks per day, although output continued at about two per day. The company continued to build about 150 Class 8 trucks annually through 1995 all as Diamond Vehicle Solutions LLC. In the early 2000s Diamond Vehicle Solutions marketed the T-Line series described as "a blend of vintage Diamond T heritage and modern engineering" The T-Line's series included one long-nose and two medium-nose models with the company manufacturing frames and other parts, and outfits basic cabs it obtains from

Navistar Navistar, Inc is an American holding company created in 1986 as the successor to International Harvester. Navistar operates as the owner of International-branded trucks and diesel engines. The company also produces buses under the IC Bus br ...

; it offered Caterpillar and Cummins diesels, Eaton and Allison transmissions, and Dana and Meritor axles. These trucks were manufactured until 2010 with parts manufacturing lasting until 2013.

Recent developments

Diamond Vehicle Solutions is now doing business as T-Line Trucks & Chassis; and in May 2015, T-Line announced that it intended to resume production of Class 6, 7, and 8 trucks and tractors, mostly for vocational use. T-Line will also produce glider kits and complete "made-to-order" trucks.

Original (1967 - 1974) Diamond Reo truck series

Conventional *C-990 *C-90 and C-90D *C-92 "Apollo" *C-101 and DC-101 "Apollo" *C-114 *C-116 "Apollo" *C-119 "Raider" Cabover *CO-50 without sleeper and CO-78 with sleeper *CO-54 and CO-88 "Royale" *"Royale II" Inter-City Service *CF-55 *CF-59 *CF-65 *CF-83 *"The Rogue"

References

Steamcar history
*"American Truck & Bus Spotter's Guide: 1920-1985," by Tad Burness

External links

DIAMOND RIO New and Used Trucks official site
- Current Brand owners/operators
Article at Trucking Info
{{Trucking industry in the United States Truck manufacturers of the United States Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Pennsylvania Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1967 1967 establishments in the United States