Fire Engines Photos

The cab was commonly used by Carmichael's of Worcester and was known as a Vista Vue Cab.

Added by Adrian J. Carmichael on 12 January 2023.

There are a number of examples on this site. The cab was built on a wide variety of chassis as well as Commer, including Albion, Bedford, Ford and of course Karrier, and at least one mystery unit which was not badged at all….

It was by all accounts very light, airy and spacious, while the four door configuration meant that BA and/or other kit could be installed between the front and rear seats.

While this example included the factory front cowl, most did not - and had a plain cowl installed by Carmichael.

Added by Rob Johnson on 12 January 2023.

At the same time as the Vista Vue was produced in the UK In the mid sixties, the famous Cincinnati cab was introduced in the US and Canada, and was rapidly adopted by almost every custom fire truck manufacturer in those two countries. As illustrated everywhere in the US and Canadian pages, on this site, this closely resembled the Carmichael Vista Vue, although it was a bit wider and some versions were higher- while the eight and ten seat versions were longer too. My point is that this cab is STILL offered by numerous custom fire truck builders in North America, praised for its safety, spaciousness and versatility. As it continued to be developed, both split tilt and full tilt versions were offered, as well as various roof heights as well as multiple seating and interior equipment storage solutions.

Good design is good design! A pity Carmichael never succeeded to establish theirs as the industry standard.”


Added by Rob Johnson on 12 January 2023.

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