Fire Engines Photos

Great picture! Thanks for sharing it! Do you have any photo's of the TL behind the policemen?

Added by Andy on 18 February 2009.

Brilliant photo Roger, it looks like this ones from 1955, and its one of the Dennis F101's delivered. These appliance were fitted with a Rolls Royce C6-diesel engine of 12 litres capacity, the forerunner of the'Eagle'engine.
The London Fire Brigade purchased thirty-eight of these vehicles over a five year period during the 1950's.
The TL in the background looks like a Dennis/Merryweather, did you manage to get a picture to share with us please?.

Added by Pete Matten on 18 February 2009.

It looks like a Leyland Metz to me Andy. What a fantastic b & w pic Roger


Added by Barrie Green on 18 February 2009.

A very nice picture indeed.

Added by Ryan Easdon on 19 February 2009.

Thankyou Roger, this made my week!

Added by John Stott on 19 February 2009.

Hi Roger, thanks for posting this very nice scenery of Soho's Dennis F101.
I guess all 3 machines are from Soho? So the TL must be TL21 Leyland TLM 100'Metz (DGJ 309) from 1937, she is preserved.

Added by Fire995 on 19 February 2009.

Roger, if I was responsible for photographic awards, you would have pride of place of First (Blue Ribbon) for this submission for February, and probably several months either side, , The fireman in Cromwell helmet, what in goodness name is he doing? If that was today I would say he was informing his girlfriend on his mobile phone that he was at a working job, but in '62??!! We didn't have such technology, , Would he have had a 'walkie-talkie' in those days?? All that aside, I do not believe I have ever seen a Dennis F101. Having some artistic ability, I particularly like the way the second machine is positioned behind PUC 149. And the two traffic motor cycle police, one with his white gauntletts at his chest, just incredible. Now, add the turntable ladder and ex US military wagon, the open drivers windshield, open locker doors of the typical 'Dennis' of the day, and the beautiful fullness of the canvas hose, all ingredience for a jolly good painting, , , ,

Added by Pavel on 21 February 2009.

Thanks for all your kind comments re. my photo. Little did I know when I took it as an eighteen year old all those years ago it would create such interest.

Added by Roger Newark on 07 July 2009.

Well deserved praise Roger......I opened the windscreen of our F7 during the hot weather last week...it was fantastic, air-con 1949 style

Added by Barrie Green on 07 July 2009.

Yes Roger, at that time we didn't realize what impact such photo can have today. I also took photos only a decade and a half later which people are surprised with. If you have anymore gems from those days on machines, shouts or stations of London please post them, love to see them and I think many others too!
Cheers,
Frank

Added by Fire995 on 08 July 2009.

Stunning Image many thanks indeed

Added by Paul Crichton on 08 January 2010.

A great photo. Has anyone else noted that the PE has only the electric bell above the driver and the hand bell on near side is missing also both appliances have single wheels on the rear axle instead of two.

Added by Phil treversh on 27 January 2012.

Single wheels on the rear axle were a feature of these London F101's

Added by Rick loudon on 27 January 2012.

Most - though not all - of the F101s had twin bells, and as far as the single rear wheels are concerned, that was part of the specification on the Dennis F101. There was also the F102 (only Nottinghamshire having them - 11 I think, without checking) which was pretty nigh identical chassis-wise, save that it had twin rear wheels.

Added by Ian Moore on 28 January 2012.

Dennis 101s only had single rear wheels. They were great machines, very reliable and almost unbreakable!PEs were fine on the road because of the extra weight of the wheeled escape on the back end. It was a different story if a 101 was running as a pump. You had to be careful because the back end could slide away if the road was wet and greasy!I once managed to take out a complete traffic island with a 101 pump on the way to a shout! It was 40 years ago now, so I can come clean about it at last! There was only a minute scratch on the front bumper of the machine, but the traffic island ceased to exist, 2 Keep Left boxes and a lampost!!! It was raining at the time and the choice was the island or a row of parked cars! Fortunately no one on the crew 'grassed me up' so I got away with it. We were, after all, en route to a six pumper.
As for the missing bell, it is a puzzle. The picture was taken way before we had two tones or those awful bell amplifiers!

Added by Murray Beale on 28 January 2012.

Oh yes, the awful bell amplifiers, which - frankly - were about as much use as a chocolate fireguard ! We had a brief flirtation with them up here in the North East, (South Shields tried them) but soon found out they were not the device to end all others !

Added by Ian Moore on 29 January 2012.

I'm sure the remaining F101, SLW178 has twin wheels at the rear.
I have seen the second batch of F101's delivered in 1959 referred to as F101's Mk2 on an old fleetlist so perhaps these had the twin rear wheels?
The machine in the picture, 149DP was new to A5/A24 Soho in 1955 and they received another in 1959 194DP XLC194.

Added by Kyle on 29 January 2012.

All F101s were delivered with single rear wheels and all ran as such throughout their London life. I purchased SLW178 for preservation back in 1984, I think, and it was still on single rears. I am the culprit who put it on twin rears, 2 reasons, 1st on rally sites very little grip on single rears, 2nd general safety reasons, twice as much rubber on the road for braking and general handling.
I must agree what a lovely picture, the missing hand bell must be temporary. The TL is most likely to be DGJ309 which I still own. The other F101 is probably XLC194 a Mk11.
Hope this helps, best wishes to all.

Added by Mike Hebard on 30 January 2012.

Thanks for the info Mike. Do you know what the differences between the MK1's and MK2's were? If any.
I've seen the F106's described as having a MK2 version as well but that's fairly plain to see.

Added by Kyle on 30 January 2012.

Hello Kyle
The main difference between the Mk1 & Mk2 was the braking system.
The Mk1 (PUCs & SLWs) had a power full hydraulic system similar to the Routemaster Bus including the accumalator. The F101s used Lockheed hydraulic brake fluid, the RM did not.
The Mk2 F101 (VYEs & XLCs) had an air over hydraulic brake system ie an air valve put the pressure on the system. It also meant the engine was slightly altered to include an air compressor and an air tank in the chassis.
All the F101s when delivered had white steering wheels, much later in their service many received the F106 steering box and black steering wheels.
A bit more trivia for you.
Best wishes
Mike Hebard

Added by Mike Hebard on 30 January 2012.

Thanks Mike, most interesting. I was amazed that some of the F101's lasted as spares and in the driving school until the late 70's.
Apart from SLW178 I've seen pictures of a pair rotting away in the countryside somewhere but I've no idea if they are still around.

Added by Kyle on 31 January 2012.

I lived in Nottinghamshire for a short time and remember seeing an F102, but I think it was a water tender. Am I right?

Added by Rob Johnson on 02 September 2013.

Hello Ro,
Nottinghamshire had some F102s, as far as I know they were all Water Tenders with 400 gallon water tanks. They also had twin rear wheels on the rear axle as opposed to the F101 with single rears.
I believe the F101 and F102 were identical chassis design with a few detail differences. The Rolls Royce C6 diesel engine certainly made them outstanding performers.
Best wishes
Mike Hebard

Added by MIKE HEBARD on 02 September 2013.

Thanks Mike. It's good to know my memory is still firing on most cylinders!

Added by Rob Johnson on 02 September 2013.

The only time I saw an F101 in action was shortly before Christmas in (I think) 1965. A group of us saw a Bobby running flat out down the street near Trafalagar Square, and decided to run after him to see what was up. (We were all young and daft in those days).

When we got to the Square, we could see the London Christmas tree was giving off quite a cloud of smoke! Bobby number one and a colleague who had run up from the opposite direction immediately dipped their helmets in the fountain and started lobbing water at the tree. We cheered them on, of course, but could do nothing to help prevent this potential national disaster. The London Christmas tree in ashes!

It seemed to take forever, but eventually an F101 with four quite bored-looking firefighters turned up, as if our cherished tree went up in flames every day. They ran out a hosereel and had the fire out in no time at all.

We felt very sorry for the two policemen, who presumably had to finish their shifts patrolling their beats in the chilly winter weather wearing their soaking wet helmets.

But the good old F101 saved the day, if not Christmas day too!

Added by Rob Johnson on 03 September 2013.

Having submitted this photo to the site back in 2009, I've just seen it being used in a tv documentary, where there was a reference to the Dennis company! Ah well, I didn't copyright it, so I guess it is open to being used.....

Added by Roger Newark on 13 December 2015.

Roger, I had the same type of experience back in January 2009 when a photograph of mine on this site (picture 9095) appeared in the model magazine 'Model Collector' about Works Fire Engines.Even though I was contactable through this site I never was, and also the chap who done the article even had the cheek and used my written work from this site in the finished article.

In reference to copyright, photographs may I understand be used but if the copyright owner is known (still living) then he/she should be contacted first for permission before use.I've been told that anything up to 50 years old still remains the copyright of the photographer and if possible must first be contacted.After 50 years pictures can be used, but all efforts should still be made for anything known and in your case it would have been thoughtful for the TV company to have contacted you because your name is highlighted here, and you made it quiet clear that you took this picture.
I do not know all the rules in reference to the copyright, but I understand that even after 50, or even 100 years, its courtesy to acknowledge the original copyright owner if this can be found.

Added by Pete Matten on 15 December 2015.

I've also seen images with copyright marks cropped to remove the copyright.... Not mine but this happened to a friend who had stuff on a photography website published without his permission..

Added by Andy on 17 December 2015.

I appreciate your comments, Pete and Andy. For the record, the programme that nicked my image was Henry Cole's "Shed Quest" on Travel Channel. Just sayin'.....!

Added by Roger Newark on 17 December 2015.

just to say on the positive side one of my photos on this site has been used in London planning consultation for Winchester House Southwark, and I was asked in advance and I asked for a small fee to go to my favourite charity and that all happened. Well done to that firm for asking me and paying. see picture 20815

Added by Peter Williams on 17 December 2015.

put oldsouthwarfirestation into a suitable search engine and you can see the interesting consultation document from the planners....and my photo.

Added by Peter Williams on 19 December 2015.

Hello Roger, I meant to ask beforehand, did you by any chance take a photo of the TL at the same time? If it is DGJ309 in your original photo I would love a copy for the TLs archives.
DGJ309 returned to London last Saturday ready for the LFB 150 years celebrations through next year, a most enjoyable 80 miles drive from Hampshire.
I hope you get some satisfaction on the copyright issues.
Best wishes to all, Mike

Added by Mike Hebard on 22 December 2015.

Sorry Mike, no luck on a TL photo on that occasion. I have contacted the programme makers re using the photo, am waiting for a reply!

Added by Roger Newark on 22 December 2015.

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