Fire Engines Photos

These Leylands were a treat to drive. They had a five speed manual box, if you built up speed in each gear they could realy motor. tell i drove them on many a shout.

Added by Dave Price on 03 July 2010.

Well worth it thanks and never mind the watermarks

Added by Mike & Helen Pursey on 03 July 2010.

This livery looks really great but it seems no other fire service ever copied it, although I seem to remember some HCB Angus Bedford CSV appliances looked a bit similar. Here in the USA white fire trucks are not all that common, but they are around in quite good numbers. As well as cities like Denver and Fort Worth, they are to be found with a decent number of small town volunteer fire companies . There are loads of examples on this site.

Added by Rob Johnson on 01 February 2023.

Pretty sure that the Isle of Wight had a few white HCB CSV appliances and possibly an older TK Emergency tender in white too.

Ed: yes quite similar really



Added by Rob on 02 February 2023.

In Tayside we had a 1958 Dennis F24 pump new to Bell Street Dundee originally red converted to a Foam Salvage Tender in 1970 repainted white with a fan fitted on top of the pump and the obligatory metal ladder fitted on the offside.

It went up to Kingsway Fire Station when new in 1972, went out of service in 1976 replaced by a converted D reg Albion.

Added by Grant Melville on 03 February 2023.

Yes I think the CSV on this site was for the Isle of Wight, and there may have been another demonstrator done in this white and red paint scheme.

Ed: PDL528X was the Bedford CSV/HAB Angis for Wight

www.flickr.com/photos/125513826@N04/14540318397/in/photolist-o9SW5M

Added by Rob Johnson on 04 February 2023.

At some point in history I have managed to acquire a photo album dedicated to the Isle of Wight Fire & Rescue Service.
It is not dated but was probably compiled around 1988 as the newest appliance included is E753JDL, a Scania ALP. The oldest is a Land Rover, LDL295F. Whilst not every vehicle in the fleet is featured (the Bedford in picture 18258 is not), there are 11 white liveried appliances among those that are. Six are Bedford CSVs, 3 are other Bedfords, one is a Series III Land Rover and there is also a Dennis. The oldest of these white machines is either the Land Rover whose registration is not visible, or a Bedford CSV, SDL999S. The newest is the Dennis (DS?), C165UDL. Not all the vehicles that fall within this date range have been given the white livery.

Added by Chris Wood on 05 February 2023.

Thanks - very interesting! I personally really liked the CSVs, not only for their styling but also because they really were so much safer for crew members than many of the wood framed and/or light alloy cabs on fire appliances back in the days when they were introduced.
Unfortunately they were not all that popular, I expect because of cost, and it is a shame more fire brigades did not buy them to safeguard their firefighters.

Added by Rob Johnson on 05 February 2023.

Presumably the tilt cabs were bolted down when built as a fire engine? They were a strange tilt cab as the driver's seat and steering wheel remained in situ making for limit access to the offside of the engine. I'm sure someone would have retained the tilt cab on their fire engine build.

Ed: In Aiden Fisher's book 'HCB Angus a pictorial record' there is a picture of the Blackpool AEC with cab tilted in the conventional way you would expect




Added by Howard Godsland on 07 May 2024.

As illustrated by the dozens of Ford D series tilt cab chassis we sold to fire appliance body builders, there was no problem with tilting factory driver's cabs combined with custom bodybuilder crew cabs. One issue was occasionally communication, because in some cases the rear superstructure of the factory driver's cab was wholly or partially retained (minus the windows), which made conversation between the officer and the crew harder. But just as long as the ladders did not impinge on the cab roof as it was tilted, there was no problem incorporating it - and now of course it is a universal on every brand of chassis.

Added by Rob Johnson on 07 May 2024.

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