This fire engine use to belong to my father he bought it from Bury Fire Brigade back in the early 60s when it reached the end of its working I have driven it many times
The big engine Leylands often had blue stove enameled bonnet cover to deal with the heat off the engine. When the enameling got damaged it was difficult/too expensive to replace.
Althoug I can only speak for Dennis's I tend to disagree with what Neal has suggested. Early fire engine bonnets were chemically 'blued' in a boiling caustic cyanide bath. This deposited a thin blue film onto the bare steel finish. The reason behind this was that early paints were spirit based and discoloured unevenly with the engine heat. A second reason which was cited is that without the paint better heat transference was obtained.
The 'blued' finish however is not corrosion resistant over a long period of time, so most bonnets of this type have ended up being painted - either blue in a token match to the original finish or red.
I think that this is a more likely expalanation of the blue bonnet on this TL, but we should really ask a Leyland TL expert to give the definitive answer. We will wait to hear from Mike H.!
For anyone prepping a blued steel bonnet, as I am at this moment for BU8888, a neighbour from Oldham FB, ICI 083 Rootes Sapphire Blue Metallic is a perfect match for the old school finish... Modern technology boys.
Many of the county borough brigades named their appliances usually after the councilors who provided the money or their wives. Gwynedd and Merseyside must have been 2 of the last. Gwynedd had a pump named after a former CFO and Merseyside after Red Rum this based at Southport.
I am 70 years old and have lived in bury all my life, when my brother and I were 4&5 he put some straw on the fire which set fire to the chimney, this was the fire engine that was sent to deal with it, afterwards the firemen let us play on the tender, happy happy days!!
Added by Peter Tyler on 12 February 2015.