Fire Engines Photos

Very impressive escutcheon on the radiator! I wonder if this was a Merryweather accessory or a fire brigade embellishment - or perhaps even a later afterthought? In any case, it does look the part, and reminds me of the grille badges some Soutn American volunteers decorate their rigs with.

Added by Rob Johnson on 06 November 2024.

For some reason, it is not fitted to the ladder in picture 18560.

Added by Rob Johnson on 07 November 2024.

It's a later addition in preservation, added by an over enthusiastic owner no doubt.

Added by on 09 November 2024.

Although I do support the view that antiques should be preserved and/or restored to their exact original condition, I reluctantly have to admit I quite like this bit of additional decoration. It seems quite harmless and easy enough to remove. It reminds me of a firm in Chicago which restored a 1930s vintage Rolls Royce Phantom limousine, and then sold it to a company which used it for wedding hire. They had a terrible time getting customers to book it for summer weddings because it was not air conditioned!

So the restored car was retrofitted very cleverly with a completely hidden a/c system routed through the partition between the driver’s seat and the rear compartment, and a new identical veneer panel was installed to match the original one and contain the air outlets. The old panel was retained, so that the system could be removed back to the “original” specifications if and when it was to be resold to a collector or museum.

Added by Rob Johnson on 11 November 2024.

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