Fire Engines Photos

Thanks for posting this one, Mike; it's a little different from the Edinburgh machine, but similar to one on the AEC site although their they show some variants. What a shame that none of them seem to have been preserved. So these
few photos are all we have left concerning them. I wonder who or what became the depository of materials, photographic and textual when Merryweather or AEC went out of business. The public relations/publicity department of the Merryweather Company sold me a great number of standard black and white prints of many types of vehicles but nothing concerning the Maudslay, even the plate concerning the ET from London is simply noted as an AEC.

Added by Bob Graham on 12 November 2008.

The appliance subject of this shot was in fact the prototype.
As regards the two that were with South Eastern Area at Edinburgh, whilst outwardly similar NSF232 was a Pump, whilst NSF 233 was a WrT.
The other day I posted a shot of an overturned NSF 233 which I took many years ago, but since this never appeared I can only presume that its standard (admittedly not good)was too poor to appear here.


Added by Ian Moore on 12 November 2008.

Ian, your picture is on the site.(picture 12248).
And what a sorry state she looks in.Pete.

Added by Pete Matten on 12 November 2008.

Thanks for your comment Bob and Ian. Bob is your photo of the ET the Merryweather print taken on Blackheath? If not, can you post it please? Thanks, Mike

The owner transport bookshop I frequent recently told me he is in contact with the lady who owns all the Merryweather archive. I'll see if I can get any more information...

Mike



Added by Mike Cotton on 15 November 2008.

My very good friend and fellow-enthusiast Paul Measday has a photo of this appliance outside Surrey's Surbiton Fire Station. Apparently this was a one-off diesel machine with a weak chassis and gutless performance!

Added by Michael Bissett-Powell on 23 February 2013.

It may have been slow but at least it was one of the relatively few Merryweathers which had four doors, so all of the crew could get in and out again quickly!

I never really understood why they joined in the fashion for two door cabs, particularly as their sliders did not offer a very large aperture for heftier crew members to squeeze through....

It also seemed a bit self-defeating for the firm to build almost everything on diesel chassis, at a time when diesels were not much in favor with fire services in Britain, especially outside cities - where their slow warm up and limited top speed were a real drawback...

Added by Rob Johnson on 23 April 2018.

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