Fire Engines Photos

Ah yes, the famous F17 ET/P - a true one off ! Chassis number 4025, WPO 40634, delivered February 1955.

Added by Ian Moore on 06 October 2008.

The linked picture #2801 seems to gone astray and is being impersonated by a Hong Kong Scania! You could try picture number #1611 instead for OZ9607.

Added by Barry on 06 October 2008.

Barry, the only thing I can say: "What a beauty"!

Cheers,
Frank

Added by Fire995 on 06 October 2008.

What a fantastic looking machine. proper ET indeed. I bet this looked very impressive '' on the bell ''.Thanks for that Dr Barry

Added by Paul Warnock on 06 October 2008.

Hi Barry, Nice looking machine! It would be nice if it was still around.

Added by Stewart Kaye on 06 October 2008.

Barry,

If this is still around there'll be a race for it what a stunning appliance



Added by Rick Loudon on 06 October 2008.

They certainly don't make them like this anymore, what a truly brilliant ET.
I bet this old gal could tell a few stories from a troubled past.
Barry, thanks for sharing this classic appliance picture with us.

Added by Pete Matten on 06 October 2008.

As everyone has no doubt realised, by virtue of its being an F17, it was on a TL chassis.

Added by Ian Moore on 07 October 2008.

Ian, in fact 0Z9607 which is of course an F17 TL, has the chassis number 4025...



Added by Barry on 07 October 2008.

Sorry Barry, everybody - I'm reading diagonally in my old age !

What I should have said was chassis number 4045 - the remainder ofd the details I quoted were correct though !!

Added by Ian Moore on 07 October 2008.

Now that is what a fire engine should look like! A real beauty, thanks for sharing.

Added by Andy Daley on 07 October 2008.

hey all
great phota an great engine.....at dint go near the Mc burneys yard as far as i know ther are some private owners of ex dennis fire engine in northern ireland and do like to keep it quiet from what i have been told wood be greta to see this machine
many thanks

Added by Davy on 07 October 2008.

Barry, I must join in the chorus of appreciation for this picture! It is a completely new vehicle to me and I am probably not alone in saying that.
Does the chequer banding on the side indicate a dual or even triple function as a control vehicle I wonder?
A big thankyou to Murray Armstrong.

Added by Chris Wood on 07 October 2008.

Hi All,

As Ian rightly pointed out, this was an F17 TL chassis complete with pump that was delivered as a chassis to the Belfast Fire Brigade. The bodywork was added by the Brigade Workshop Staff.

It was an Emergency Salvage Tender. It also acted as a BA Tender and carried 24 additional Proto Sets.

Whilst not strictly a Control Unit as we know today, it did act as a Control Point at incidents, similar to a level 1 today, (Somewhere for radio messages to be passed through).

It would be very true to say that the appliance could tell numerous stories of its time in Belfast during the worst of the troubles.

Sadly, it was scrapped when it left service. There was a dispute in Belfast at the time about the replacement machine, so it is quite possible that the Fire Authority wanted it totally disposed of. It's proposed replacement, a Commer Walkthru was "blacked" by Firemen and never did go on the run. An AEC, HIA 1748 Pump, was used as an ET until 1984 when a Bedford/Alexander ET was commissioned.

OZ 9606 was a truly lovely looking machine, although a pig to drive, (so i've been told).

Thanks to Barry for posting the original message, and to Murray for sending the photo.

Added by David Lennox on 11 October 2008.

It is so intersting to have the extra information from David, on OZ9607. Does anyone have any more photographs please?

Added by Barry on 13 October 2008.

Thanks David for the additional information.

Added by Chris Wood on 14 October 2008.

David,
One last point from me on this one. Is it possible that Belfast fitted it out, and I ask this as there is nothing on the Dennis records to say that it was supplied to them as a chassis only, the inference therefore being that Dennis supplied it as a complete vehicle.

Added by Ian Moore on 15 October 2008.

Ian,
In the book, "The Flaming Truth" by local fire historian's Bill Broadhurst & Harry Welsh, (page 210), it is stated that the chassis was ordered in March 1955 from Dennis Brothers Ltd at a cost of £2, 904.19.10 and when it was delivered a short time later, the body & coachwork was completed by the workshop staff to local specifications.

Added by David Lennox on 15 October 2008.

David,
That's fair enough, I'll amend the database accordingly.

Added by Ian Moore on 17 October 2008.

Yes it was a pig to drive, as were all these wonderful machines.No air brakes (servo only) no power assisted steering and no sychromeshed gear change (crash gear box only)but boy it could shift with it's 8 cyl Rolls Royce engine.This appliance was a "walk through" from the crew section to rear doors.

Added by SteveChapman Ex L/Fm N.I.Fire Brigade on 09 January 2009.

Steve, when you say Rolls, was it a B81?

Added by John Stott on 09 January 2009.

John, in those days it was a B80, although outwardly the B80 and B81 look very similar.

Added by Barry on 09 January 2009.

these had the 5675cc Rolls Royce b80 engines probably a MK20c

Added by Jason Lester on 09 January 2009.

Barry and Jason, thanks for clarifying that.

Added by John Stott on 09 January 2009.

I have a picture of OZ9606 different to the one shown, also 383TZ turntable ladder and a few others . All pictures taken by Jay McCallister approx 1972. Rode both of them many times Skippy

Added by Tom Martin on 18 November 2011.

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