Fire Engines Photos

I remember reading a post on this site, where the contributor mentioned that these were purchased because the wider Dennis appliances being routinely bought by LFB would not fit in to the bays in two of the older fire stations in the LCC area, which were originally built for the much smaller horse drawn rigs in use in the early 1900s. It seems the Dennis D was the replacement for the wildly successful F8, after the 20 series was discontinued. It was not all that popular, because of cost, but quite a lot of brigades bought them because they were relatively compact and could accommodate a full 400 gallon water tank.

They had either a Perkins six litre six, which would have been London’s choice, or the Jaguar 4.2 liter petrol engine. This was not very reliable, and I was told some of these engines were actually fairly soon replaced by the Perkins diesel or a RR B 60/61 - which was of course an expensive decision!

Added by Rob Johnson on 05 April 2024.

checking, there was also a XYP490N so three in total - fleet numbers P489D-491D). You ay well be right about small stations though my source says they were trialled at varius stations (John Nadal, London Fire Engines vol 1 2017)

Added by Petros on 05 April 2024.

you can see 490N here in a poorish but interesting picture

www.flickr.com/photos/seacoaler/15817194018/

Added by Petros on 05 April 2024.

London had three Dennis D series appliances, all Pumps. They were :- VAN489M, XYP490N and XYP491N. They were trialled at several station's both in inner London and the suburbs.

Added by Christopher Stone on 06 April 2024.

Perhaps the fact that these had a 500 gpm pump was a reason they were not bought in larger numbers, as at that time all of the dual purpose London pumps were 900 gpm. The skinny D series was also not really suitable for a six man crew, which - although very rare - was a requirement for the larger pumpers’ cabs, and it could not carry a wheeled escape ladder. In addition, the Perkins six cylinder engine was not a feature of many other London units, so the D series was a bit of a cuckoo in the nest.

Added by Rob Johnson on 07 April 2024.

Whilst maybe not popular in London, Rob's assumptions aren't quite right...they were popular with many other Brigades particularly the rural ones, that required B type water tenders / pumps.. they could carry a six man crew and although not produced in large numbers, there were a couple of Brigades that did order pump escape versions, Brighton Fire Brigade (absorbed into East Sussex) and Jersey certainly had D Series pump escapes. I think the Jaguar engine was the default, Perkins an option, and the Rolls B61 offered as a later option on the facelift models.

Added by on 16 April 2024.

Yes it seems the B 61 was offered as a replacement for the Jaguar 4.2 after Dennis realized it was such a disaster. As mentioned, by the time of the D series introduction, many brigades were of course transitioning to diesel in any case. I remember seeing three D series at Brighton’s rather interesting curved corner central fire station, including a PE. I think the reason London did not order them was most likely that the design had very little locker space. As for seating, it was a foot narrower than the contemporary F series, so I guess it could fit four skinny crew members if they were good friends! Back then London crews traditionally rigged inside the cab, and I imagine four people trying to do this in the back of the baby Dennis might have been quite a circus act.

Ed: curved corner fire station here with Dennis D pump escape XUF999K




Added by Rob Johnson on 16 April 2024.

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