Fire Engines Photos

I have to agree with the Fireman that this is a beauty! I have never seen early Anerican appliances on solid tyres. Was America in advance of Britain with pneumatic tyres?

Best wishes,

Barry.

Added by Barry on 30 April 2008.

This appliance looks to be right hand drive! Am I correct? But what an impressive machine!

Added by Lou Cowan on 30 April 2008.

Its really nice to see a few classic old appliances coming on the site.
This 1918 American Lafrance is a real classic and as been brilliantly
restored to her former glory and looks very proud standing in front of
the firehouse.Thanks for sharing this picture with us.

Added by Pete Matten on 30 April 2008.

Lou, yes this is a right hand drive ALF from 1918.The American-La-France Company, like Ahrens Fox, Mack, Chevrolet and others from the same period
of time, and even through to the late 1930's produced fire apparatus with
right hand drive.I've no need to send any of my old pictures in to prove that, just look at'BUILT BY'on this site.

Added by Pete Matten on 01 May 2008.

Tyre Pioneers:-A question was asked back in April, 2008 about pneumatic tyres
and who invented them?.
R W Thomson(1822-1873)was the inventor of the pneumatic tyre, he was a very
famous Scottish engineer.His pneumatic, air filled tyre was patented from his
design in 1845.They were made up of thin inflated tubes inside a leather cover.
The previous year, Charles Goodyear invented vulcanised rubber that was later
used for most tyres.
In 1888, Scottish vet John Boyd Dunlop invented the rubber pneumatic tyre of
the kind in use today.Dunlop first advertised his tyres, designed for bikes
in 1888.In 1895, Andre Michelin was the first to use pneumatic tyres on a car.
I do hope that answers the question reference pneumatic tyres.

Added by Pete Matten on 09 December 2008.

What a beauty of a preserved ALF - looks like even the Rescue Dummies, on their park-bench at back of fire-hall, are enjoying their vintage ALF.

Love the simple Emergency Warning Systems - the Officer cranked the Siren; and one of the Crew riding on the Rear Step (before Health & Safety's time) rang the Bell - no worry about any electronics failures here !

Great photo.

Regards, from Canada,
Pat_R-B

Added by Pat Rivers-Bowerman on 10 December 2008.

This would most probably have had solid tires in 1918, but - like many others - it would have been converted to pneumatics later.

Many fire departments initially resisted fitting pneumatic tires because streets tended to still be littered with cast-off horseshoe nails from urban delivery drays, and the puncture risk was high.

Some of the earliest truck pneumatics showed up on fire appliances in France just after WWI, but some British brigades were still specifying solid tires as late as 1933. I think it was probably Michelin which introduced the first truck pneumatic tires.

Added by Rob Johnson on 07 October 2019.

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