I was amused to find that what was then the newest Safeway in the region had one of their oldest trailers parked in its loading dock! Normally, you only see these old trailers permanently parked behind their old stores that don't have enough storage space, but this brand-new store shouldn't have that problem, and the fact that it was marked "shuttle only" (rather than "storage") makes me wonder if it's still actually being used on the road. Sadly, there's no street view of this store from after if was completed to see whether or not it is permanently docked here.
It is really shocking to see a trailer like that at a Safeway this new! The fact that there isn't truck connected to this trailer would indicate that this trailer is being used for either short or long-term storage. You'd think a new location would have enough storage, but maybe not! Perhaps they were having refrigeration problems or something.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what 'Shuttle' means if that is even still a valid description of that trailer. Maybe it is, or was at one time, only used for local deliveries rather than long-distance travel. I'm not sure. I know I've seen a case or two of Safeway using these ancient trailers for storage in photos of the NW at older locations and Kroger uses some ancient trailers for that purpose here in the Houston and Dallas divisions. Of course, the 1980s Kroger trailers don't look as outdated as these 1980s Safeway trailers.
I really don't know! I would have thought that a brand-new store would have more reliable refrigeration than a 40-year-old trailer, but crazier things have happened. Normally when I see these trailers at stores, they're specifically marked as "storage only" (which I think is used to mean they aren't roadworthy at all) and this one isn't, but I have no clue what "shuttle only" actually means.
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