Showing posts with label Hall Of Flame Museum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hall Of Flame Museum. Show all posts

Thursday, January 28, 2016

the incredibly rare train company fire engine, a 1924 American LaFrance 40 gallon quick response and fire hose truck of the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe RR



The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad bought this “chemical car” as a quick response rig to attack grass fires along the train tracks near its San Bernardino, California yards. A rig like this is designed to get to a fire in its earliest stages and get its 40 gallons of water (propelled by carbon dioxide gas) into action while the fire is small.

 It can also carry over a thousand feet of large diameter 2 ½ inch hose, which could be used by another fire engine, or which could be connected to a hydrant. Apparently there were very few grass fires, since this truck has less than 170 miles on its odometer. The poor condition of the hard rubber tires resulted from the long hours spent exposed to the California sun.

The Santa Fe Railroad restored the rig during the 1950s, possibly for advertising, and moved it to Topeka, Kansas.

Mr. Getz, a long - time board member of the Santa Fe, purchased it in 1970 from the railroad and later donated it to the Hall of Flame.

http://www.hallofflame.org/Motorized3.htm

When Stutz made fire engines, they made a different and particular radiator badge for those, and a Motometer, just for the fire engines


Stutz began his fire engine business in Indianapolis in 1919 and built engines and ladder trucks until the Crash of 1929. This rig was his smallest model. The town of Havre de Grace, Maryland bought it in 1924. In 1935 they traded it to the New Stutz Fire Engine Company, successor to the original Stutz firm.

1889 parade carriage, highly decorated and extremely expensive version of the old hose carriages, intended only for use in parades or at ceremonial occasions.





you might get a bit more info about these at the website of the museum http://www.hallofflame.org/handhorsedrawn9.htm

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Gene Autry found this Moreland built fire truck once used and abandoned by the LA County Forestry Dept, and donated it to a museum




Originally located in Los Angeles, the factory moved to Burbank in 1914 to become one of the largest manufacturers of trucks, busses, and fire engines in the west. The Los Angeles Fire Department soon became a good customer.

Early Moreland fire rigs were no beauties, but they were durable and dependable and well known for their pumpers, foamite and water tankers and grass-wagon trucks for transporting fire fighters and equipment. Hercules and Continental engines were standards. In the twenties, Watt Moreland took a stab at designing passenger cars and airplanes. After a few prototypes of each, he concentrated only on trucks and fire apparatus.  http://www.lafire.com/fire_apparatus/TouristFireEngines_Burnham/TouristFireEngines_Burnham.htm


in 1964 Life magazine sent a couple photographers to Gene's ranch, and these are the only two images they took of his wagon and truck collection, damn! Here is the problem... a fire destroyed it all....  Gene’s prized collection of antique automobiles and stagecoaches, his wardrobe and costumes, documents and memorabilia, and an archive of 17,000 recordings.