Fire Engines Photos

Bristol Bob.
Please love your shot of the City of Exeter Bedford T.K Pump/Escape. Please do you recall the Dennis F.49 Pump/Escape index YFJ 525K with the Coventry City Style of Bodywork, this is one of my favourite all time fire appliances. I only have seen photos of this engine in the capacity of a Pump never carrying a wheeled escape? did it do so please. Also Exeter did adopt a Coventry Fire Brigade Yellow for its support vehicles am I right in saying the appliance YFJ 525K was never operational in yellow? This appliance still exists although laid up its in the guise of "Devon" with the revised rear end, which somewhat spoiled the appearance of this handsome machine. Am I also right in saying the had three pumps within the City before formation into "Devon".


Added by BOB CARVER on 12 February 2010.

Hello Bob,i'm afraid that i am not an expert on Exeter fire brigade,i have only been to their station once.
Looking at my pictures of the Dennis,i would not have thought that it could carry an escape,it was red when i saw it.

Added by Bristol Bob on 12 February 2010.

Hi Bob,
I may be able to help. It never carried an escape. Rather like the West Sussex F44s, I think it was designed to carry an escape, like all Exeter's DPs had. However, during the build discussions were under way to merge Devon, Exeter & Plymouth. I suspect the discussions included phasing out of escapes, so they did not fit escape mountings. When it arrived Exeter put it on the run with a wooden 35' ladder. Shortly after it transferred to Devon, on 1 January 1973, they fitted it with a 45' ladder. Later, as you say, the body was changed so that it could become a standard "Multi Purpose" appliance. It was always red and as far as I know only the L4P and CU were painted yellow. Before the merger, Exeter had 4 pumps at HQ (2 Wholetime, 1 retained, 1 spare) and 1 at Topsham. They also had TL, ET, WrC, L4P and CU at HQ.

Added by Tony Morris on 13 February 2010.

Tony,
I'm certain you are correct in saying that only the L4P and CU were ever yellow.

Added by Ian Moore on 14 February 2010.

Hello Tony, (friend of Old)
Thank you for answering my question. I do love that appliance and recall at one time trying to purchase it. I do love old Devon Fire Service the days when they looked like traditional fire engines! I do have some excellent shots of Exeter
can't put them on the Fire Images site due to copyright. Can tell you most things about West Sussex but Devon I am not so clever. Please several questions Devon F.8s one/Some were fitted with a 45ft Merryweather ladder was this a Devon concept as I understand they phased out all Escapes in the fifties, was this due to restricted access within the country lanes? and to make an appliance more compact? I have also seen a Bedford J/5 Water tender with a 45ft Merryweather. I have also been informed several F.8s were stripped to give them a total Alloy appearance was the intention to transform the fleet to a Alloy (Lack of Colour scheme) I have seen your photos, but was told this was a modification done by Devon Workshops?.

Added by BOB CARVER on 15 February 2010.

Hi Bob
Yes, long time no see. Regarding escapes in Devon the policy is not clear, as the last escape carrying appliance was bought in 1968 for Torquay (Bedford TK). The first Dennis F8 carrying a 45ft Merryweather was bought in 1953, but I don't know if it started life as a WrL, or was converted later. I do know that STT 317 (Dennis F8), from 1955, started life as a WrT and was converted to a WrL a year later. They also had several Bedford J5's with 45ft Merryweathers and also two with escapes (in 1960 & 1963). I can only assume that decisions were based on particular station needs. The all alloy appliances were not stripped, but bought like that. The reason given was to cut down on touching up the paintwork after travelling down narrow lanes with bramble hedges. All the purchases (Dodge, Dennis F8 & Dennis F25) from 1955 to 1959 were all alloy. However, from 1960 on new appliances had red front ends, which was probably to make them more visible. The only workshops changes were that a few of the all alloy ones had their front ends painted red.

Added by Tony Morris on 15 February 2010.

Comment removed at request of Commentor

Passed into history now , but Plymouth in their day were also quite an innovative Brigade , during the 70's I recall reading about a fleet of Leyland Beavers they had which were equipped as what we would understand as rescue pumps today , also had a very advanced locker and stowage layout . The Leyland were over engined for their time and I understand were as a result well liked by the crews for being able to cope well with the hilly Devon terrain .

Of course I can still remember the shock of seeing what I think were hydraulic reels for extrication equipment being used from Coventry's Yellow Dennis at a RTC which looked very advanced back then. I recall thinking that the Bedford that was also equipped in the same way, was too complex and ahead of its time and this fad will pass , the ET ( as they were called) had nothing to fear . It turned out of course to be a brilliant life saving set up which continues to be improved upon to this day , but it did indeed take a long time before becoming mainstream.

Added by Gary Bolton on 27 July 2011.

Andy, I really love this appliance and it has been owned and laid up by the entrepreneur and businessman Simon Rowley whom purchased it some years ago direct from "Devon" it is very much as it was when it left service. My acquaintance and former employee of Dennis Woodbridge Works at Guildford has stated the following, the appliance in question was ordered by the City of Exeter in 1971 on the Dennis F.49 Chassis it was specified to have a City of Coventry style rear coach work with access to the rear pump through offside and nearside slam doors on the tail end of the vehicle a trunion bar was fitted at the rear to incorporate a Merryweather 50ft Wheeled Escape but never used he has also stated within the build plans it was to be painted I.C.I Coventry Fire Brigade Yellow, however this was revised as during late 1971 the Home Office issued guidelines and recommendations regarding the colour of fire appliances and it was built and issued in red livery. As you will be aware "Devon" completely rebuilt the rear end in line with their policy of a multi role appliance and in doing so adopted a former "City of Plymouth" colour scheme and bodywork style.
"Devon during the seventies had one of the most attractive colour schemes and fire appliance specifications in the country for this period of the brigades life visitors to this forum may like to know in recent weeks one of the T.6 "D" Series fully stowed was sold on E-Bay for Two thousand pounds it was immaculate and was restored by a gent within Devon it was originally stationed at Morehampstead fire station.

Added by BOB CARVER on 27 July 2011.

Comment removed at request of Commentor

"Andy" That is very interesting and I would not argue with you on that as I don't have the knowledge of Devon as I do West Sussex. Please, may I just mention this two appliances I did research on was one the "Exeter" F.49 and two the "Wallasey" Borough E.T, when Dennis built appliances they impregnated the fibreglass gel and resin with a colour dye according to what the finished product was going to be in this case we are talking yellow, if it was in its advanced stages of build they would just spray the vehicle ground coat - top coat in conventional red in this case and of course with wear and tear it chips and hence you get yellow chip. But I am not in anyway suggesting you are wrong I only have the information given me. Please is there anyone out there who could support "Andy" perhaps with a photo of this brilliant machine in its original guise there is a very early photo of it on the Fire Engine Pics website and its in its red livery
anyone got a point of view perhaps Tony Morris.

Added by BOB CARVER on 01 August 2011.

Hi Bob, this is the first suggestion that I have heard that it may have been yellow. I have seen a number of early photos of it and in all of them it is red. This includes photos from the late Roy Yeoman, who I am sure would have taken some very shortly after it went on the run. It would be great to see a photo of it in yellow, if it had ever been, but I have my doubts.

Added by Tony Morris on 02 August 2011.

Comment removed at request of Commentor

Thanks for that clarification Andy. It was about that time that the Home Office said they were concerned that the public would be confused by the experiments with yellow and white etc, so they decreed that all fire appliances must be red. So it could be that it was indeed ordered as yellow, but the order was changed before delivery to comply with the Home Office instructions.

I was interested to hear that you have a copy of the 1972 report. I have a couple of questions and would be very grateful if you could contact me directly.

Added by Tony Morris on 04 August 2011.

Andy, Please am I, right in saying the "Exeter" appliance did not have the facilities that the "Coventry" appliances had with the power rewind hose reels that also doubled as air cutting tools with a Broom & Wade on board compressor facility.

Added by BOB CARVER on 04 August 2011.

Comment removed at request of Commentor

I lived in Plympton back in 1963 and I was wondering if anyone can recall the single appliance that was based there and what type it was. I would love to try and find a model the same or even a picture.

Added by Michael McGivern on 26 May 2013.

I was already living in the US by this time, so I have a dumb question. What was the difference between a WTL and a multipurpose?

Added by Rob Johnson on 26 May 2013.

In 1964 they received a new Bedford J4 HCB WrT, reg no 210 TTA. Before that I believe they had a Leyland Cub FK8 Pump reg no HOD 168.

Added by Tony Morris on 26 May 2013.

Hello . I have strayed on to your site and have been most interested by the image of the Bedford HCB then in service with the former Exeter City Fire Brigade . The ongoing discussions back then over appliances in yellow livery also jogged my memory . Being originally from Edinburgh I can recall one such appliance based at the McDonald Road station in yellow livery . Ironically it was also a Bedford HCB . The appliance was a Foam Tender ( FT ) and I think it was delivered to what was then the South Eastern Fire Brigade ( latterly Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service ) around 1968 . It remained in service until 1976 and thereafter was used as a training vehicle . An image can be found somewhere on the History of Edinburgh Fire Brigade site or on " old Edinburgh fire engines " . Other than this appliances in yellow livery were rare , the exception of course being the old Coventry City appliances already referenced on your site . Best Wishes .

Added by Jeffrey Smith on 18 July 2014.

Hi Jeffrey, there were actually a few brigades that changed to mostly yellow appliances for a while, including Barnsley, Newport (Wales), Northampton, Rotherham, Wallasey, West Sussex and York. Some other brigades also had at least one appliance in yellow (usually specials), including Cornwall, Dewsbury, Fife, Northamptonshire, Somerset, Tynemouth

Added by Tony Morris on 24 July 2014.

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