Troy’s Treasures: By Troy Miller One could argue that the 1980s were the “golden years” of trucking. A time when owner operators were still independent, and a time when trucks were evolving and changing, with things like comfort and efficiency beginning to take center stage. This month’s feature is Angel Eduardo Jimenez Jimenez (yes, that’s right) or “Mile High Mexican” on the CB, from Lochbuie, Colorado and his stellar and true survivor of yesteryear... his 1989 Kenworth T600A. A business associate of mine once remarked, “Eventually you realize the world is composed of ten people and the rest is just mirrors.” The longer you spend in the industry, the more you realize how many drivers, owners and other industry professionals know one another. And even if they don’t know each other directly, as the six degrees of separation often goes, you know people in common. Such was the case here. Hailing from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, Angel Jimenez has spent his adult life in the trucking industry. At 30 years of age, Angel started trucking when he was 19 and, in short order, has managed to truck all over the lower 48 states. Learning the ropes from his dad, Angel has primarily pulled dry van and refrigerated freight throughout his career, but has also done some step-deck and flatbed trucking, as well. Doing business under the banner of West Freight Lines, Angel currently operates a small fleet of Internationals and Kenworths, moving mostly dry van freight, throughout the contiguous 48 states. Today, the world of dry van and refrigerated freight is largely dominated by aero trucks, and the Kenworth T600A seen on these pages is the forefather of the countless T680s, Anthems, Cascadias, and other popular aero models today. When Kenworth first released the T600, it was certainly a truck that resulted in strong opinions by both companies and drivers – some positive, some negative. Numerous terms arose like curb sniffers, dust busters, and the perennial “anteater” moniker. To this day, many of those strong opinions still exist in the industry between traditional long hood styling and the slippery, low-drag aero designs. The T600A, however, is now an old enough truck to qualify as a “classic” (you can debate with other drivers about the philosophical merits of an aero truck now being classic), and it is a historically significant truck in the North American trucking industry, no doubt. And Angel’s “Thelma” is a pristine example of the uniqueness of the T600A. Starting her long trucking career in Connecticut, Thelma was originally bought by a Ferrari dealer in Greenwich. Used by the dealership for some club 34 10-4 Magazine / March 2026 THE GOLDEN YEARS
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