bulldogboy

That figures, right? We've had a severe drought in New England the last two years and when we finally get a storm it has to damage your construction supplies. I suppose it could have been worse, the trees could have fallen on the barn after it was built. Nice looking barn. bulldogboy

There is a photo of this truck on Flovilla Fire Dept's "Facebook" page. While the photo is out of focus it does give a brief description of the truck including that it came from the Turn of River Fire Department in Stamford, CT. I like the way they took a "Bikini" fuel tank, turned it around and mounted it on the chassis. bulldogboy

Glad that you're back and had an enjoyable trip up north. bulldogboy

So, has Ford made a decision yet that they will build the Ranger/Everest at the Wayne plant? Re: the "work truck", a guy I know had a fairly new F-150 that he used in his business. Recently, he was hit head-on by a drunk driver that swerved into the truck's lane. Fortunately, the only injury was to the drunk driver. The F-150's cab was pushed back into the body but the air bags did not deploy, I'm not sure if anyone is looking into that. Anyway, he went to several Ford dealerships looking for a basic F-150 work truck. No one had one but there were plenty of "Lariats", "Harleys", and "King Ranches" but no basic trucks. He was told he could order one with an eight week delivery time. For a guy who works by himself that might be a problem. The local Chevy dealer had two work trucks in stock so he had to buy one. I'm a Ford guy but it's a shame that they don't try to accommodate the people who need a "Built Tough" truck. I understand higher profits, catering to the country club set, and all but still, help the working guy, too. bulldogboy

I've seen this photo for sale on e-bay, says that it is a military order. I like those "E" model fire trucks. bulldogboy

Joe: Glad to hear that the Macks are still in service. Good luck with the expansion. bulldogboy

Joe: Did I read this right, "We now have 4 Mack CFs we are going to get rid of"? Are you getting rid of 4 Macks and an ALF? What happened to Lower Cloverfork Fire Department? bulldogboy

Dave: Thanks for all these photos. Have a safe and enjoyable trip; sounds like fun. Hopefully there are still some Macks in service out there in rural America. bulldogboy

Happy Canada Day to all from just south of the border. Looks like a good way to spend the day. bulldogboy

I had to "Like" the Union, SC "C" model ladder; it's almost identical to the 1959 one that I operated. bulldogboy

This thread has gone off the rails so to speak but there was mention of Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, PA. It is an interesting place to visit. This ALCO, 4-8-8-4, "Big Boy" locomotive is on display at Steamtown. It is the largest locomotive that I have ever seen. bulldogboy

I recently saw this old Fordson sitting next to a barn in MA. bulldogboy

1951 Mack "A30" still decorated from last Christmas or getting ready for this year; not sure. Former Law and Ingham Trucking, Nashua, NH, now Law Logistics. bulldogboy

Just your average 1936 Dodge Brothers 4X4, crewcab truck in bright yellow. bulldogboy

The van world sure is strange: GM vans will be built by Navistar, Chevrolet's small van is not built by GM but is a rebadged Nissan van. Dodge's large and small vans are not Dodges but rebadged Fiats. Ford's Transit and Transit Connect vans are still built by Ford (I think). bulldogboy

This discussion reminds me of a similar issue in the fire apparatus field forty years ago. In the mid 1970s a new company named Emergency One opened in Ocala, FL to build fire apparatus with aluminum bodies on commercial chassis. At the time the major apparatus builders were using steel bodies which rusted out in no time but that didn't stop them from putting down aluminum with the usual arguments; made out of old beer cans, will melt at its first fire, etc. However, E-Ones soon were accepted by many fire departments and the Ford "C"/E-One pumper became a workhorse of many fire departments including big cities such as Boston, Chicago, Indianapolis, etc. Later, E-One started to build their own chassis with aluminum cabs; these "Typhoon" and "Cyclone" cabs are still being built today and are still popular with big city fire departments. If aluminum is tough enough to meet the requirements of active fire departments it says a lot about aluminum's durability. E-One soon became one of the largest fire apparatus builders in the U.S.A. The next big step for E-One was building aerial ladders out of aluminum. Prior to this ladders were made of wood (the old days) or steel. Like the bodies, aluminum aerial ladders performed well, were lighter weight, and did not melt when exposed to fire. Again, the aerials were popular in big cities especially because, with their lighter weight, they could use shorter jacks and not the large outriggers needed by steel ladders to stabilize them. In a city like Boston with narrow, car choked streets this is an important feature. It's interesting that E-One's biggest competitor, who built aerial ladders out of steel and put down aluminum, soon saw the writing on the wall and realized that if they wanted to compete they, too, had to offer aluminum as an option for aerial ladders. Boston tried these ladders but they always go back to E-One because of operational requirements and durability. And what happened to those other apparatus builders of the 1970s? Well, American LaFrance, Pirsch, and Ward LaFrance are out of business, Mack got out of the fire apparatus business (Bummer!!), and Seagrave is still hanging in there. The steel vs. aluminum argument may continue in the pickup world but, over the last forty years, aluminum has proved its durability in the demanding world of firefighting. bulldogboy

Those three Ahrens-Fox fire engines bring back memories; when I was a kid there was a fire station in my town that had similar A-F trucks in it. There was a pumper, a hose truck, and a city service ladder truck. I must be getting old if I remember the Ahrens-Foxes when they were in service but they were impressive rigs. bulldogboy

These are two brochures that I have on Mack fire chassis and the "R" model pumper. The chassis brochure covers the "MS", "MC", "R", and "CF" chassis that were available to other fire truck manufacturers. To quote the brochure, "Mack fire chassis are available as custom-built or commercial. Each and every model has been thoroughly engineered to meet the stringent specifications of the fire service. What's important to note is that Mack chassis are manufactured to all NFPA requirements as standard, built in features." Also, "Look for the letters "FC" after the model number in your truck as your assurance of a Mack fire chassis". Hope that this helps. bulldogboy

Here is one Arizona fire department that has a website with its current and former apparatus. It is the Houston Mesa Fire Department just outside of Payson, AZ., www.houstonmesafire.org. Its first engine was a 1958 Mack "B-85F" with a deluxe cab that was purchased from a department near Pittsburgh, PA. While it is not the engine you are looking for it is a nice looking "B" model. bulldogboy

Looks like Morning Sun Fire Department's Mack "MS"/Smeal engine and crew has everything under control at the accident scene. bulldogboy

Westport, MA is a coastal community located between Cape Cod and Providence, RI. In 1931 the Westport Fire Department wrote specs for a new engine that included a 1,000 gallon booster tank, a large tank for that era. The only bidder was Mack Trucks but Mack engineers told the chief that, most likely, the chassis would not be able to handle 1,000 gallons. Undaunted, the department went ahead with their plans and, not only was the pumper/tanker successful, Mack used it as a prototype for future fire engines. The reliable Mack went on to serve the department for 32 years. In 2006, the department repurchased the Mack after it had sat in a field for 40 years with the intention of restoring it. I hadn't heard or read any updates until recently when I was reading the Westport website and they reported that the damage to the truck over the 40 years outside was too great so they took some parts off and sold the rest. The website has the model number as "6BC631019". No doubt this engine proved that rugged Mack chassis could handle the heavy loads and in 1935 Mack delivered a 750/2500 pumper/tanker on a "BQ" chassis to the town of Lake, WI. This "Type 95" is now in a museum in Wisconsin. bulldogboy

That would look good painted red, white, and blue with Patriot's logos on it. It would make a great tailgating rig, especially when you're stuck in a Gillette parking lot for hours after the game. RPI does have a football team, they play in the Liberty League. bulldogboy

It has a "B-95" emblem on the hood, a "B-95F". bulldogboy

Mack58B42: Look at www.chestertownfiredept.com, then "photo gallery". Scroll down to "misc older photos", the "B" and "C" photos are there. Also, a color picture of the "B" is under "fire engines". The first three Mack fire engines with diesel engines were delivered to Hamilton, Bermuda in 1960. There were two "B125F" pumpers and one hose truck. The pumpers had front suctions on the right side. The pumpers were "B125F1041/1042. I saw one of the pumpers still in service in 1979. Got to get back there some day!! St. George, Bermuda Fire Brigade had a 1960 Mack "N85F" pumper. After the departments merged into one island wide fire department, I don't know what happened to the "N" model. St George's website had a photo but the site is gone. bulldogboy

Nice looking truck; the "B" model is my favorite fire truck model. I had the good fortune to operate a couple of "B-85F" and "B-95F" pumpers back in the day, the cabs were a bit cramped inside but they were great trucks. Your truck is from Chestertown NY, its website has a couple of historic photos of the "B" model being delivered and also a couple of photos of a Mack "C" model pumper. bulldogboy