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Ahrens-Fox Fire Engines
Topic Started: Sep 15 2014, 12:07 PM (652 Views)
pjedsel
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Muscle Car
A few Ahrens-Fox Pumpers for your viewing pleasure.

High Speed 1954 Ahrens-Fox Fire Engine (Reader's Digest issue)
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Hot Wheels: 1925 Ahrens-Fox Fire Engine (Old Number 5)
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Hot Wheels: 1925 Ahrens-Fox Fire Engine (Old Number 5.5 - not a casting I care for but decided I needed a couple in the collection)
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b2young
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That HW Ahrens-Fox is one of my favorite Hot Wheels. (The original "Old Number 5", that is.) I think HW got away with it because some buyers wouldn't realize that thing up front wasn't a "blown engine", but rather the fire pump. My main reason for liking it so much is/was that it's a freakin' Ahrens-Fox piston pumper.....who was making those in 3-inch diecast then, or EVER?!

Then they had to go and add a "blown engine" to it, just to appease......whom?
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cody6268
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I actually found the Indy 5-Pack with Number 5.5. I passed, and I will pass on all of the hot rodded 5.5 variants of the casting.

I've had Old Number 5 on my list for a long while. It's interesting that Hot Wheels would make the Ahrens-Fox and the Oshkosh P-15 and no one else has, when neither fire engine is a sports car, muscle car, or hot rod.

A local antique store has the entire Readers Digest fire engine set, but I think I'll pass at about $20 for each one.
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dmet
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Here is a real one.

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Edited by dmet, Sep 15 2014, 05:07 PM.
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dmet
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And another couple, sorry about the photo quality.

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Edited by dmet, Sep 15 2014, 05:06 PM.
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Dragnet_Supporter
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SUV
The reader's digest version looks pretty amazing.

Dmet...great shots of the real article!
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b2young
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The first Reader's Digest fire engine model I bought was on ebay....and I paid a whole bunch of money for it (more than twice your $20 versions) in a "bidding war" that, for all I know in those days, was between me and the seller. (That purchase very well may have been one of the Ahrens-Fox John posted in the OP.)

It wasn't long before I realized they were "all over the place" in antique stores, second-hand shops, flea markets, and at much more reasonable prices on ebay. Sigh. Live and learn. I've found very good condition examples for $1 to $2 at flea markets.

I love companies that produce "obscure" fire apparatus in 3-inch diecast. I heartily agree with the comment about the P15. So unlike the "usual" fare from the brand...and to this day, another of my favorite diecast fire engines from any brand.
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pjedsel
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b2young
Sep 16 2014, 01:09 PM
The first Reader's Digest fire engine model I bought was on ebay....and I paid a whole bunch of money for it (more than twice your $20 versions) in a "bidding war" that, for all I know in those days, was between me and the seller. (That purchase very well may have been one of the Ahrens-Fox John posted in the OP.)

It wasn't long before I realized they were "all over the place" in antique stores, second-hand shops, flea markets, and at much more reasonable prices on ebay. Sigh. Live and learn. I've found very good condition examples for $1 to $2 at flea markets.

I love companies that produce "obscure" fire apparatus in 3-inch diecast. I heartily agree with the comment about the P15. So unlike the "usual" fare from the brand...and to this day, another of my favorite diecast fire engines from any brand.
My first High Speed fire engine came from my sister's mother-in-law. She had gotten one with a Reader's Digest book and knew I liked fire engines so gave it to me. Over the years I got the set through flea markets, etc. - I think the highest I paid for one was $5. They do indeed tend to show up all over the place and usually in the low price range that you mentioned Blair. I know in later years the some of the castings were used by Grell and show up in their packaging usually advertising a German brand beer of some type.
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Sirentoys
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I only have 1 version of the 5.5. After this I refused to keep going down this road.

I liked the original just too much.

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Jeff
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b2young
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To the best of my knowledge, I do not have one of the 5.5 versions. Like Jeff and others, "blown" engines just don't "do it" for me. I have watched some of those videos of full-size fire engines rebuilt as dragsters and used for racing and, I suppose, comedy relief between races at drag strips. I'll admit it's amazing what can be done with fire apparatus besides fighting fire and saving lives.

Last year I saw a beautiful ALF 700-series closed cab pumper being used to advertise a local funeral home. Other than the "eye candy" aspect, I couldn't quite reconcile using a life-saving vehicle to represent the end-of-life business.
Edited by b2young, Sep 17 2014, 11:00 AM.
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Hoseman
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b2young
Sep 17 2014, 10:58 AM
To the best of my knowledge, I do not have one of the 5.5 versions. Like Jeff and others, "blown" engines just don't "do it" for me. I have watched some of those videos of full-size fire engines rebuilt as dragsters and used for racing and, I suppose, comedy relief between races at drag strips. I'll admit it's amazing what can be done with fire apparatus besides fighting fire and saving lives.

Last year I saw a beautiful ALF 700-series closed cab pumper being used to advertise a local funeral home. Other than the "eye candy" aspect, I couldn't quite reconcile using a life-saving vehicle to represent the end-of-life business.
When we restored our '23 Seagrave we had a donor '29 Seagrave engine that we pulled parts from. We had plans on making the donor into a running, drivable BBQ rig for charity events and what not. We gave up the idea because we found out who the original owner of the '29 was and we gave it to them so they could restore it if they wanted.

Sorry, that was a bit "off topic"... But I'll make up for it with some on topic photos in a while.
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dmet
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How about the stunt truck?

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dmet
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There is also a 1986 Hahn Tiller 100' Seagrave ladder for sale on the net which has been converted to an events truck with built in BBQs, soda dispenser, tv screens and sound system!


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Douglas
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cody6268
Sep 15 2014, 04:38 PM
I actually found the Indy 5-Pack with Number 5.5. I passed, and I will pass on all of the hot rodded 5.5 variants of the casting.

I've had Old Number 5 on my list for a long while. It's interesting that Hot Wheels would make the Ahrens-Fox and the Oshkosh P-15 and no one else has, when neither fire engine is a sports car, muscle car, or hot rod.

A local antique store has the entire Readers Digest fire engine set, but I think I'll pass at about $20 for each one.
Cody, Since I started collecting in the mid 90s I was surprised at how many realistic emergency, construction, and other work models HWs was doing in and around that time period, (amongst the hotrod, muscle and fantasy stuff), but then discovered they had been doing realistic models like these for a long long time, even back in the era of those you mentioned.

I think they try to leave the non hotroded truck type vehicles to Mbx now, but as we know, sometimes Mbx gets a little too wild with them as well. :D

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b2young
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dmet
Sep 18 2014, 04:38 PM
There is also a 1986 Hahn Tiller 100' Seagrave ladder for sale on the net which has been converted to an events truck with built in BBQs, soda dispenser, tv screens and sound system!


When I was much much younger I worked in a college fire department while in school for Fire Science. There were volunteer fire companies in surrounding communities (which will remain unnamed for obvious reasons) that had installed some kind of refrigerated compartment with a "tap" near the tailboard of an engine, and it dispensed, I kid you not, BEER.

The primary use of this "beer discharge" was for their appearance at firemens' musters, but let's face it, many of these volunteer fire departments didn't have money for very many pieces of apparatus, so certainly SOME of the rigs so equipped were 'front-line' engines in their communities.
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dmet
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Hey, the early fire companies in the UK used to pay the volunteers in beer. It is not uncommon for the manual fire engines to give anyone who would help beer tokens which would be spent in local pubs. The old manuals could need 22 men to power it so any incentive to get people to work it would be welcome!

http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/InsuranceFiremenAndEquipment.asp?subView=3
Edited by dmet, Sep 19 2014, 07:51 PM.
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Sirentoys
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Del Prado 1/64 scale model.

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Blair I remember years ago visiting a station who had a vending machine that gave out beer not soda.

Jeff
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b2young
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Sirentoys
Sep 19 2014, 11:13 PM
Blair I remember years ago visiting a station who had a vending machine that gave out beer not soda.

Jeff
I shouldn't tell tales out of school, but a certain Smoke Jumper base I once worked near (no, I wasn't a "jumper") for a while had a beer vending machine in it's rec room....until a new agency Manager took over the entire fire management operation that included the jump base. I do know, for a fact, that the jumpers were adamant about not imbibing while on-duty and never broke that rule. The funds generated by the machine went to their in-house welfare fund for smoke jumpers who needed any assistance outside of their government compensation (like family support for injured jumpers, etc). Jumpers weren't (and still aren't) highly paid....just highly skilled. And in a dangerous-by-nature profession.
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