Posted by apb (in NY) on Saturday, April 01, 2006 at 9:08AM :
LIPA (Long Island Power Authority) is the government-run successor to the LILCO (Long Island Lighting Company) which was convicted of racketeering several years ago.
LILCO used a lot of FF PW's and when the government took over the operations of the company, most of the old service fleet was repainted, sold off, or abandoned-in-place. The larger line trucks with augers and buckets were repainted, the vans were sold off and replaced, and the Power Wagons were stored in a large facility at the former Grumman plant in Calverton, NY.
I had a telephone wiring job at one of the Grumman hangers, and saw about thirty PW's, all in very good condition, back in 1998. It appeared at the time that they had all been cosmetically restored, and the engines looked like they had been rebuilt. I inquired at that time about their future, and nobody knew what the plans were for them.
Now, in today's "Newsday", the Long Island paper, there is an auction notice for "27 Dodge 4-wheel-drive pick up trucks, various years from 1958 to 1968. All have been meticulously maintained, and have rebuilt engines and transmissions, original winches and rear beds. Sold as is, where is." according to the ad. It seems to me that these trucks in the ad must be the ones I saw.
I will try to get additional info, but the telephone number for the auctioneer is busy most of the time. If you want to try to call, the number is 631-727-9970. The auctioneer's name is "Loof" Lirpa.
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