Fire Engines Photos

Picture 44673 depicts a Bedford RL. The RL was the Bedford 4X4 chassis, with single rear tyres in its original design, and with relocated headlamps and extra steps under the front bumper, when compared to the RWD S type - which is what we have in this photo. This unit has an earlier style grille too, and - like the first series of AFS rear wheel drive Green Goddesses - did not have the chrome surrounding the grille. Of the Green Goddesses, around 800 were the earlier S type rear wheel drive and a further 1200 were the later 4X4 R type, most of which went straight into storage rather than being allocated to municipalities. It seems likely that these additional specials followed the same pattern, with this example being earlier than the one in photo 44673.

Added by Rob Johnson on 12 January 2024.

here is RL with double rear tyres, same brigade.

http://tinyurl.com/345uddyk

Added by Petros on 12 January 2024.

The later RL with double rear tyres was not ever issued to the AFS, because it was added later, as a “civilian” version of what had been initially developed as a purely military truck. I believe it was introduced around 1963, after the AFS was disbanded. It did have a higher payload than the single rear tyre version, and retained the different cab treatment, which was necessary to accommodate the front axle differential, meaning that the headlamps had to be lower on the cab for legal height compliance.

Cambridge had one with a 1000 IG water tank in the new fire station on Parker’s Piece, when I lived next door in 1964. I never quite figured out why a city brigade had such a tender, but I suppose it was there primarily to support rural operations outside the city itself. In those days the city also had an RL ET and several Cambridgeshire county fire stations had RL water tenders, although these had the single rear axle and may have been limited to 300 gallon tanks like the AFS emergency pumps.

Added by Rob Johnson on 13 January 2024.

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