Old School Trucks: STL Linehaul — Part 1

Date: 24.07.2023

Back in the early ’80s when Stock Transporters were a rare sight in Christchurch, I was off the push bike in a heartbeat with the 35mm pocket camera to shoot the Mighty White Road Commander

‘Sugar Shack’ pictured with no signwriting in Christchurch back in 1986

The same iconic truck, sporting her name proudly on the front of the cab

The iconic K100E Kenworth driven by a young Craig Pearson, pictured in Auckland when near-new in 1989

‘Sugar Shack 2’ was an equally cool Kenworth in tractor unit form

One of my all-time favourites to wear the Stock Transporters’ livery was this Kenworth Aerodyne, which was one of the first two to ever reach NZ shores in the world-famous NZ L&P colours. The name ‘Barney Boy’ and the original fleet number 1 were both maintained.

It wasn’t all about iconic trucks back in the day. There were solid workhorses as this S26 Scammell attested to.

This ominous-looking Mack Ultraliner suited the clean lines of the Stock Transporters livery

A super smart International T-Line named ‘Homeless’, which was contracted to Stock Transporters by Rennie Haulage

A Nordic slipped in the back door in the form of this sharp 143m Scania back in the ’90s

A German Mercedes-Benz 2653 Powerliner also made it into the black, red, and white livery

The company was renamed and rebranded to STL Linehaul, and the stunning results are seen here on this superb L700 Kenworth

Freightliners were to have a huge influence in the coming decades. This FLD model named ‘Black Knight’ led the charge.

K100E Kenworth made a real statement in the late ’80s and early ’90s, and STL had some prime examples, including this tough set back forward axle day cab version named ‘Back in Black’

Set forward front axle 8x4 K100E Kenworths looked even better as seen here on ‘Black Warrior’

Some say real trucks have hoods — this T650 Kenworth named ‘The Rock’ didn’t disappoint the ‘hood’ enthusiasts

‘Queen of Hearts’ was an aptly named and well-renowned T950 Kenworth

Another iconic truck to wear the STL livery, this T950 Kenworth named ‘Black Stallion’ is pictured with the exhaust stacks factory mounted behind the sleeper box, which was an Australian spec on this model

‘Black Stallion’ a few years later with the exhaust stacks mounted more traditionally in front of the sleeper and other modifications such as offset front rims and stainless sun visor

Back in the early ’80s when Stock Transporters were a rare sight in Christchurch, I was off the push bike in a heartbeat with the 35mm pocket camera to shoot the Mighty White Road Commander

‘Sugar Shack’ pictured with no signwriting in Christchurch back in 1986

The same iconic truck, sporting her name proudly on the front of the cab

The iconic K100E Kenworth driven by a young Craig Pearson, pictured in Auckland when near-new in 1989

‘Sugar Shack 2’ was an equally cool Kenworth in tractor unit form

One of my all-time favourites to wear the Stock Transporters’ livery was this Kenworth Aerodyne, which was one of the first two to ever reach NZ shores in the world-famous NZ L&P colours. The name ‘Barney Boy’ and the original fleet number 1 were both maintained.

It wasn’t all about iconic trucks back in the day. There were solid workhorses as this S26 Scammell attested to.

This ominous-looking Mack Ultraliner suited the clean lines of the Stock Transporters livery

A super smart International T-Line named ‘Homeless’, which was contracted to Stock Transporters by Rennie Haulage

A Nordic slipped in the back door in the form of this sharp 143m Scania back in the ’90s

A German Mercedes-Benz 2653 Powerliner also made it into the black, red, and white livery

The company was renamed and rebranded to STL Linehaul, and the stunning results are seen here on this superb L700 Kenworth

Freightliners were to have a huge influence in the coming decades. This FLD model named ‘Black Knight’ led the charge.

K100E Kenworth made a real statement in the late ’80s and early ’90s, and STL had some prime examples, including this tough set back forward axle day cab version named ‘Back in Black’

Set forward front axle 8x4 K100E Kenworths looked even better as seen here on ‘Black Warrior’

Some say real trucks have hoods — this T650 Kenworth named ‘The Rock’ didn’t disappoint the ‘hood’ enthusiasts

‘Queen of Hearts’ was an aptly named and well-renowned T950 Kenworth

Another iconic truck to wear the STL livery, this T950 Kenworth named ‘Black Stallion’ is pictured with the exhaust stacks factory mounted behind the sleeper box, which was an Australian spec on this model

‘Black Stallion’ a few years later with the exhaust stacks mounted more traditionally in front of the sleeper and other modifications such as offset front rims and stainless sun visor

Check out how Stock Transporters (today's STL Linehaul) got started in Part 1 of our Old School Trucks story

Stock Transporters was founded by the late legendary Snow Pearson in 1958 with the cartage of livestock to most points of New Zealand. Agricultural machinery and heavy equipment then became an integral part of the company’s work, with a significant amount of this work being inter-island. 

Livestock was long gone from the decks of the Stock Transporters units when I first began photographing their trucks as a teenager back in the mid-’80s and to me, they became one of the iconic Inter-Island transport companies after the New Zealand Government deregulated the transport industry between 1983 and 1986. 

When the mighty White Road Commander or one of the Kenworths rolled into Christchurch back in the day, they were truly something to marvel at for a young truck enthusiast. 

The Pearson family built a reputation as a hard-working family, with sons Robert, Craig, and Shane all heavily involved in the running of the business throughout the late ’80s and early ’90s. 

There were many iconic pre-loved New Zealand trucks that found their way into the Stock Transporters fleet during this time but arguably one of the most impressive was a head-turning brand-new K100E Kenworth put on the road in 1989 and driven by a young Craig Pearson who was the envy of many on the road at the time.  

There were truck names such as ‘Sugar Shack’, ‘Barney Boy’, and ‘Queen of Hearts’ that were previously world famous in New Zealand only to become even more well-renowned when placed in the black white and red livery. Often trucks were renamed with ‘Black’ in the title due to, of course, the base colour.

Several owner-operators contracted to Stock Transporters through the ’90s, which meant an even greater array of truck makes and models made their way up and down the country.

It was almost predetermined that any truck that rolled out of the paint shop into this fleet had the coolness factor in abundance. 

A name change to STL Linehaul Limited also saw an updated livery, which enhanced the brand and while retaining the classic look, still looks modern to this day. Next month, we look at some more iconic STL trucks as they forged from the ’90s into the 2000s.

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