One of my favorite things to find are props that were carried over from the Pilot Episode to the regular season of Twin Peaks. Thanks to the help of fellow Bookhouse Boy Jason McMahan, I recently picked up a replica of the Con-way Central Express (CCX) Miles Ahead mug that is seen both in the Pilot and the first two seasons of the show..
SPOTTING THE CCX TRUCKING MILESS AHEAD MUG
I first spotted this mug on Twin Peaks Day 2018 during a rewatch of the entire series and shared my findings on Twitter.
“#Obsessed” is an understatement. More recently, Jason gave me a heads up that a similar mug was available via eBay. Insta-purchase!
REPLICA CCX TRUCKING MUG
Here is the front of the mug that I purchased which arrived in excellent shape! We mostly see this view in a few episodes.
This is the back of the mug which is seen in one episode from Season 2.
It appears the mug was manufactured in England, most likely at some point between 1983-1989.
HISTORY OF CON-WAY CENTRAL EXPRESS
Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Con-way Central Express began operation on June 20, 1983. The company was purchased in September 2015 by XPO Logistics for $3 billion (yes, that’s billion with a “B”). Freightwaves.com offered a fantastic look at the company, and offered some insight into perhaps how the mug was created.
“Con-way Central Express (CCX) made its headquarters in a 118-year-old farmhouse in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and sought to service the regional Midwestern LTL market. The company’s first power unit was a 1983 Ford CL-9000 tractor that company President G.L. Detter drove off of the line himself. Con-way Central Express officially opened for business on June 20, 1983, with service to 1,004 points from 11 service centers, including Indianapolis, Indiana; Chicago, Illinois; Detroit and Grand Rapids, Michigan; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. On its first day of business, the company moved 89 shipments and earned $9,696.18 in revenue. Detter soon had his drivers on the road with or without freight in their trailers simply to advertise the company.”
My assumption is the mug was a promotional item designed to advertise CCX in as many places as possible. It’s unclear how it made it’s way to Twin Peaks other than someone may have worked for the company at one point.
Let’s examine where the mug appears in the series.
APPEARANCES OF THE CCX MUG IN TWIN PEAKS
The first time we see the CCX Mug is at Big Ed’s Gas Farm during the Pilot episode.
Ed receives a call from Norma Jennings during this scene.
After agreeing to meet at the Roadhouse at 9:30 p.m., Ed watches Nadine play with her newly installed drape runners.
Flash forward to episode 1.001 and we see Deputy Andy Brennan eating a doughnut and holding the CCX Mug at the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Department. A crew is removing a glass wall from the set. This was a nod to the glass-paneled wall found at the Snoqualmie Mill office (now Dirtfish Rally School) in Snoqualmie, Washington that served as the Sheriff’s station in the Pilot. We won’t see the mug again until the second season.
As Lucy Moran stands in the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Department kitchen during episode 2.004, we can see the mug hanging below the cupboard.
Jason pointed out that it’s also found in this publicity image of Kimmy Robertson as Lucy Moran.
She’s wearing the same outfit that’s found in Episode 2003, which aired on October 13, 1990. The publicity shot was most likely created for season two following the enormous success of the initial Pilot and the first season. It’s crazy the mug made it all the way to that official shot.
And can we talk about the passive aggressive sign hanging in the kitchen. Love it!
Deputy Andy confronts Lucy in the kitchen during this episode. The mug is still seen in the background.
An over-sized publicity shot from this scene (with the mug in the distance) was included in booklet for the Season 2 Soundtrack on vinyl.
The only time we see the back of the mug is found in episode 2.007. Interestingly, Andy is drinking from it again. Perhaps it was his most favorite mug at the station.
It’s difficult to see but the telltale brown and orange stripe are seen at the top of the mug. With that said, I’m going to keep on truckin’ to the next article.
