Librapix Link

Fire Engines Photos

 
KDF146E AEC Mercury TGM6/Marshall heavy RT Gloucs
Fire Engine Photos
No: 41192   Contributor: Petros   Year: 2019   Country: United Kingdom
KDF146E AEC Mercury TGM6/Marshall heavy RT Gloucs

Dial Holmes crane in use. Marshalls of Cambridge airport also built New Dimension fire vehicles.
I imagine it was purchased for use on the new M5 motorway in Gloucs. There is a fine film of this appliance in action in 1967 in the drill yard on You Tube. Title"Modern Rescue Appliance Demonstration".
Late Alastair Collins collection - used with permission.
Picture added on 12 June 2019 at 11:14
add commentComments:
Used to operate this appliance when it was brand new and based at Patchway fire station -

Ed: we would love to hear more from you.

Added by B. Hedges on 28 June 2021.
British fire brigades use of these cranes was rather patchy, and I have found only around twenty examples which were in service at various times. This is quite a contrast to some other countries, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Poland - among others - where they are still quite common, and often include much heavier 40, 60 and even 80 ton units. Interestingly, they are also extremely rare in fire departments here in the USA and Canada, as unfortunately exemplified by the ongoing rescue and recovery efforts in Florida.

Added by Rob Johnson on 28 June 2021.
This appliance served at Stroud until 1982, when it was sold to a heavy recovery company, who painted it blue. It is an A.E.C Marshall with the "Ergomatic" tilt cab (the Mercury is the 4 wheel version, while the 8 wheel version would be a Mammoth Major). Body work was by Bates with a Holmes 750 mechanical twin boom heavy wrecker mounted on the back. The Holmes 750 required twin rear axles to enable it to operate at its full 25 ton capacity, which is why the Mercury chassis couldn't be used. I have always wondered just how useful this appliance (and the Ford DT .2417 with a similar rear body, which was based at Cheltenham) would have been to Gloucestershire Fire Service. While they called it a Rescue Tender (and it may have been officially classed as one), it was really more a heavy wrecker for clearing up crashed lorries.

Added by George A'court on 27 May 2023.
In Gloucestershire days it was called an ERA, Emergency Rescue Appliance. I believe it carried a boat of some sort.

Added by Bristol Bob on 27 May 2023.
Interesting that it may have carried a boat Bristol Bob, because a boat would be something useful on a rescue tender, so it makes sense. The boat would have had to have been some kind of inflatable one though, because there wouldn't have been much space in the lockers once you factor in the rest of the kit that an ERT/ERA/RT/SIU (it seems every brigade had their own name for a rescue tender!) would carry. Some more locker space would have also been taken up by the kit needed for the 750 wrecker, so the crew of the appliance would have had to be creative stowing everything.

Added by George A'court on 31 May 2023.
George: Here in the US as well as in both France and Germany fire services make a lot of use of rescue boat trailers, which are of course also used by quite a few British fire brigades. Makes me think of the example of York. I guess the only problem can be getting the boat into the water if there is no slip. Now comes the crane, which is of course a pretty common sight in German fire service fleets, as well as such watery cities as Amsterdam - where water rescues are practically a daily event! Some German fire services operate dedicated boat carriers with their own Hiab crane, and one or two are illustrated on this site.

But it seems most are apparently able to get their trailered boats in and out of the water without the help of a crane.

Perhaps the most interesting fire station when it comes to boats is Venice. It has four fire and rescue boats, but no land appliances!

Added by Rob Johnson on 01 June 2023.
Please add your comments about this picture using the form below.

Comments

Your Name

Your email address - this will be shown on the page and will allow the system to notify you of further comments added to this picture.
 

Latest Pics

F995NRG Volvo Angloco WrL Northumberlandold/new Unimog D69 SMRHV8139 Merryweather TL East Ham FBOptare/Bence Command Support London FB LK23CUHOptare/Bence command unit London LK23DWLRRB544 Leyland Comet WrT Michelin FBDNK346 Leyland FK7 PE Welwyn GC HertsJD5974 Dennis Arrow PE West HamBEDFORD TK HCB ANGUS - A987XCVBedford RLZH Green Goddess NYV797