Fire Engines Photos

The good old ford thames what a nice picture it brings back some memories. This was the second of two, they had the body work built by wood and lambert of london. They were a bit slow going up hill and they didnt like stopping, but they did the job.

Added by Buzz Lightyear on 31 May 2015.

These salvage tenders were two of only three Traders I have unearthed in any fire service in the UK. The other was Oxford City's ET - also on this site. It uses more of the original front sheet metal.

They sold well to fire services in some overseas markets, especially Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Belgium and Scandinavia, and some went to Africa and the Gulf. But UK fire brigades simply did not buy them.

So, when the D series was introduced, everything Ford sold to fire brigades in Britain had to be a replacement for another make, which was a bit of an uphill battle...

Eventually, I lost track of their sales, but I believe that around a dozen brigades bought them. Although some purchases were for numerous units, the volume was never enough to justify a major investment by Ford in continuing to develop customized chassis, so when the Fargo was launched the fie service versions were not replaced...

Added by Rob Johnson on 27 August 2017.

You missed a couple Rob. Alfred Miles ET at Wallsall and Alfred Miles Wrt with Ford Motor Company.

Added by Ronald Henderson on 29 August 2017.

Ron:

Did Miles use their own front cowl on these two?

Do you happen to know if any of them have survived?

Added by Rob Johnson on 27 December 2017.

Just to update the D series story. I have identified 33 British brigades who bought them, as well as some industrial purchases. I think the biggest buyers might have been Gloucestershire or Lancashire - but quite a few were bought by Irish brigades...

Added by Rob Johnson on 07 March 2018.

Just found your comment Rob, sorry for the delay. Miles fitted their own cowling and the Wallsall one still survives as a caravan. Also Glamorgan had a foam carrier lorry on Thames Trader chassis

Added by Ronald Henderson on 10 March 2018.

More recently, the Wallsall Trader Miles ET has appeared on this site. It looks exactly like their Bedfords and Commers, with a somewhat longer "snout".

As for the WT, Ford had always used their own chassis for their factory fire appliances; there is a D series factory appliance on this site, and they also had several Transits and a couple of A series at various factory locations when I worked there in the 1960s.

Added by Rob Johnson on 31 July 2020.

That BBC footage may have been the clip used in an episode of On The Buses, when Reg left the chips on!

Added by Brett Clayton on 11 August 2020.

Wood and Lambert in fact bodied some older Thames Traders for London salvage Corps:



Added by Petros on 06 May 2023.

Strictly speaking, these older conventional control Thames trucks were not "Traders", as the name was only introduced along with the more modern semi forward control chassis like CJJ 612B in this photo.

Added by Rob Johnson on 06 May 2023.

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