Truck
Object
2010.6.1
Reo truck. Cab is painted red with gold trim.
Make/Model: 1949 REO Gold Comet
Serial Number: 502418
Engine Number: 11845
Model Number: E22RL
Wheelbase: 200 inches (508 cm)
Make/Model: 1949 REO Gold Comet
Serial Number: 502418
Engine Number: 11845
Model Number: E22RL
Wheelbase: 200 inches (508 cm)
This 1949 REO Gold Comet originally belonged to local businessman Ed Jacobs. In addition to owning and operating a welding and machine shop and service station, Jacobs was also a former Mayor of Whitehorse, from 1962 to 1965. The REO served Jacobs well. It hauled steel from as far away as Edmonton and fuel from the port town of Haines, Alaska.
Recent owner Ron Holway had admired the truck for years. He paid $1 for the truck and rescued it from scrap. A true Yukon entrepreneur, Holway saw the glory still left in the old truck. He salvaged and traded original and unconventional parts and worked tirelessly with the aid of his grandsons to restore the REO to its present condition.
The REO Motor Car Company was founded in 1904 by Ransom Eli Olds in Lansing, Michigan. Olds was also the founder of Oldsmobile which he left to form REO. He was prohibited from using his surname in another auto company, so he chose to use his initials instead. In its early years, the company was one of the top four automobile manufacturers in the U.S. The depression and major competition from Ford and GM saw REO abandon the manufacture of automobiles to concentrate on trucks by 1936.
The increase of truck production for the war effort during World War II enabled the company to retain a profit margin, but soon the company became unstable and by 1957 it became a subsidiary of the White Motor Company. REO merged with Diamond Trucks in 1967 to form Diamond-REO Trucks, Inc. which filed for bankruptcy in 1975.
Recent owner Ron Holway had admired the truck for years. He paid $1 for the truck and rescued it from scrap. A true Yukon entrepreneur, Holway saw the glory still left in the old truck. He salvaged and traded original and unconventional parts and worked tirelessly with the aid of his grandsons to restore the REO to its present condition.
The REO Motor Car Company was founded in 1904 by Ransom Eli Olds in Lansing, Michigan. Olds was also the founder of Oldsmobile which he left to form REO. He was prohibited from using his surname in another auto company, so he chose to use his initials instead. In its early years, the company was one of the top four automobile manufacturers in the U.S. The depression and major competition from Ford and GM saw REO abandon the manufacture of automobiles to concentrate on trucks by 1936.
The increase of truck production for the war effort during World War II enabled the company to retain a profit margin, but soon the company became unstable and by 1957 it became a subsidiary of the White Motor Company. REO merged with Diamond Trucks in 1967 to form Diamond-REO Trucks, Inc. which filed for bankruptcy in 1975.