Sec. A Page 32 Missoulian Centennial Transport Industry Goes Back to Start of City
Transport Industry Goes Back to Start of City
Down through the centuries of civilization the necessity for transporting man’s belongings and tools of work has been a vital part of progress.
It was through a pack train carrying from Ft. Wall Walla the merchandise necessary to start a business that Hell Gate and resulting Missoula got their start in 1860.
The pack train, freight wagon and stage coach were the principal carriers of good in those early days of Hell Gate and Missoula.
Huge Trucks Now
Today the closest counterparts to this early method of transport are the huge transport trucks operated by members of the Montana Motor Transportation Association.
In Missoula County the trucking business contributes a great chunk to western Montana’s prosperity. For example the figures for 1957 show 4,138 vehicles, including pickup trucks, registered with 409 persons employed, receiving an annual payroll of $1,850,000.
Reely’s Storage and Freight Terminal, started by J. W. Reely 57 years ago in 1903, is the oldest trucking firm here operating between cities. Blair Transfer & Storage Co., founded by W. O. Blair in 1920, has been operating out of Missoula four decades.
Many Other Firms
Other companies operating out of the Garden City include Consolidated Freightways, Northern Pacific Transport, Northwest Freightliners, Pacific Intermountain Express, United Truck Lines, Hughes Hauling Co., Missoula Cartage Co., Fortman Truck Lines, Hanson Motor Transport and Miller Brothers Truck Line. In addition there are many other individuals engaged in transporting exempt commodities such as lumber and produce and farm products.
Figures from the state registrar of motor vehicles for 1959 for trucks and trailers grossing 16,000 pounds and above show that Missoula County had 219 truck-trailer combinations and 72 trucks registered and operated as flatbed trucks – not combined with a trailer. Of the truck-trailer combinations 91 were registered as logging vehicles, indicating that a substantial part of the larger trucks in the county are used in logging.