Engines Exhibit December 8, 2009

This gallery of 5,000 square feet contains 11 restored engines dating from 1930 to 1968, including a 1950 Autocar high pressure fog, a 1930 Ahrens-Fox Quad and a 1961 Mercedes-Metz TLF-8 all-terrain fire engine. Other makers include Maxim, Seagrave, Mack and Howe. Also included is a fully restored 1955 Seagrave Anniversary Model "Quad" donated by the fire department of Oak Lawn, Illinois. We also added a fully operational 1968 ERF/HCB-Angus "pump/escape" fire engine from the Nottinghamshire Fire Brigade this rig was donated to the museum by Mr. and Mrs. Peter Eichorn. Also in this gallery are three operating alarm room exhibits. One Gamewell system dates from 1925 and was used in Glendale, California. A second system was made by the Phoenix Fire Department in 1956 and was one of the earliest binary systems to make full use of telephone capabilities. The third system is a Protectowire operating system that demonstrates an effective alarm system using a specially constructed thermal cable.