Updated:01/2012
Julian Stage Restoration Project
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Work on the restoration of the 1924 Julian Stage for the Julian Historical Society is progressing at the MTM main facility in Campo, California. The Julian Stage project began in 2003. Now in 2012 it will finally be completed. The Stage was built from a 1924 Cadillac Sedan of which Its frame was stretched to fit a Graham Brothers built body.

The wooden stage body which has been completely restored from the original Graham Brothers body, has been painted, exterior vinyl attached to its roof and the interior uppolstery will be completed this January. The doors, door latches, restored door handles, windows, sound proofing and wireing have been attached and adjusted.
The seats have been completed with new springs, stuffing and all leather upholstery. This ambitious project is nearing completion.


This is the second restoration MTM has done for the Julian Historical Society. Previously we restored their 1912 Mack chain drive stage which was the first of three vehicles used to transport people and mail down the mountain to the town of Foster. From Foster people had access to supplies, railroad travel and transportation to the rest of San Diego county.

We are all saddened by the untimely loss of Ed Dilginis, one of our key members. He was a founding member of this museum, our first president and in the following years an ambitious director of our operations. He passed away at the age of 68 on November 5th, 2011 after being admitted to the hospital for a pulmonary embolism shortly after a hip replacement. He will be greatly missed.

Ed was born August 28th, 1943 in Hazelton, PA and grew up in Stroudsburg in northeastern Pennsylvania. He was the son of William J. Dilginis manager for the A & P Market Stores and Ann Rusackas Dilginis. Ed attended Pennsylvania State University and East Stroudsburg University where obtained a degree in Geography. While attending college he worked for Roadway Trucking and got a taste of trucking first hand. He later moved to Canton, Ohio after a promotion with Roadway. He had interrupted his college years to join the Army where he attained the rank of SPF. During his tour of duty in Korea he worked in the motor pool and was also working on and driving all of the military vehicles.

While in Ohio, he met and married his first wife, Myra, and attended the University of Akron where he obtained a Masters Degree in Planning. He then worked as a planner in Stark County Ohio. Not enjoying the Ohio climate, he did research to locate the ideal place to live and work and decided on San Diego which he grew to love. His first planning job in California involved work on a high-speed rail system among other projects, before deciding to go out on his own. It was here he started a planning and permit business called New Horizons Planning Consultants, Inc. He primarily worked for the sand mining industries, a very specialized line of work. During this time he divorced Myra and married Joan Harvey.

In addition to his wife Joan Harvey Dilginis, and step sons Todd and Greg Harvey of Menifee, CA. he is survived by his sister, Patricia (Pat) Reinert and her husband, Daniel, of Stroudsburg, PA, a niece Dr. Kristy Reinert, MD, of Philadelphia, PA, a nephew Captain Chad Reinert, USAF, and his wife Jamie of Shreveport LA.

Ed was a generous and well-liked friend to all. What people seemed to like and enjoy most about Ed was his interest in helping people. He was totally dedicated to the museum's mission of preservation, and operation of our vehicle collection. He researched and worked on many of the vehicles and regularly volunteered on Saturdays, working with our docent and other members greeting and introducing the public to our museum. Well studied in the history of trucks, he was instrumental in the creation of narrative signs for the museum's collection.

A well-prepared man, who led by example, Ed was always looking for the next task to be accomplished, vehicles to be moved, improvements to our site and organization of our plan. He was instrumental in identifying and designating our core vehicle collection and could often be found scraping the grease off a vehicle to find its hidden serial number. Additionally, Ed was instrumental in spearheading our engineering site plans, land acquisition, topographic and, facility layouts and most recently our landscape plans for the future. He possessed a great foresight and problem solving ability and a great skill in representing the museum and interacting with governmental agencies.

He possessed a special interest for the history and collection of Diamond T, Federal and International trucks and acquired many in his large 70-plus truck collection. It was these trucks he cut his teeth on in early years working as a truck driver while in college and in the service during in Korea. His interest and collection of these trucks was sought-after by many who knew him through his affiliation with the national Antique Truck Historical Society. This also inspired him to publish 40 issues of The Transport Pioneer, a magazine issued through the Motor Transport Museum with the visual and documented histories of various truck manufactures. He was frequently called upon to act as a judge at truck shows and events.

Ed's spirit will be a lasting presence around the museum and among the volunteers that knew and worked with him for as long as there is a Motor Transport Museum. He was the best.

By Carl Calvert

Atlas Imperial Engine
By Carl Calvert

The Museum has acquired a 3-Cylinder Atlas Imperial diesel engine from the Bob Helm family of Pamona, CA. This engine is thought to have been built in 1927 in Oakland, CA. where it powered a tugboat around San Francisco Bay. In later years it ended up at B & B Trucking in Bloomington, CA. Bob Helm rescued the engine in the late 1990’s and, with Ernest Groce and Randy Bohse, spent considerable time making parts, building a new sub-frame, and restoring the engine.

Jose Carrillo and Joe Schofield of Western Machinery Movers using the Western Machinery forklift loaded the engine on Alan Gobel’s truck. The trip from Pamona to Campo was uneventful and Carl Calvert and Andy Andrews unloaded the engine using the MTM forklift.

The Atlas Engine Company is noted for building the first commercially successful mechanical injection marine diesel engine in America. It is 75 horsepower and uses 3.5 gallons of diesel per hour. It cost the owner about 14 cents per hour to run. This engine is direct reversing, designed to start and run in either direction so it can be coupled to a boat propeller without a reversing gear. The Atlas Company built 2, 3, 4, & 6-cylinder engines. The largest engine, the 6-cylinder, was 450 horsepower and weighed 70,000 Lbs. This is about the same weight as the 6-cylinder Fairbanks Engine now at the museum.

We are indebted to Beverly Helm who was instrumental in seeing the engine moved to the museum for public display. We will soon be up and running the engine for all to see.

Recent Truck Acquisitions

Attention All Members
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MTM Hours of Operation

The museum facility at 31949 Highway 94 in Campo, CA is open to the public every Saturday from 9AM to 5 PM. Special arrangements may be made for tours during the week by calling the Museum at: (619) 478 2492

MTM needs people like you to greet and educate our visitors. Being a Docent is fun and rewarding. Anyone interested in helping on any of the Saturdays during 2010 please call MTM at (619) 478-2492 to volunteer.

We also need volunteer workers to help us prep vehicles for restoration or paint, and with construction and maintenance of the grounds. Anyone interested in volunteering for any of the Wednesday and Fridays during 2010 please call Carl Calvert at (619) 478-2492