Workshop

  • The NFS Overseas Contingent and D-Day May 25, 2019
    The story of the NFS Overseas Contingent is little known and rarely told. Members of the NFS and AFS Vehicles Group are portraying the Overseas Contingent by taking two representative vehicles and a pump to Normandy for the 75th Anniversary of D-Day. From the early months of 1943, the southern counties of England started to be used as temporary billeting ...
  • NFS Overseas Contingent in Training December 7, 2018
    These photos are a rare view of the NFS Overseas Contingent training to take vehicles, pumps, and a Mobile Kitchen in landing craft over the channel to support the troops just following D-Day. The photos are by George Wilden of Stowmarket. He was a man with many strings to his bow. He had a newsagency shop ...
  • Winter Maintenance – Replacing the cable on the TL March 31, 2018
    A few weeks ago, we had the Turntable Ladder inspected according to LOLER (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations). These regulations cover any equipment used to lift a person into the air at work. Although we are not strictly ‘at work’ we still need our equipment to be safe. An inspector came, and gave the TL ...
  • Standard Gwynne ‘Chariot’ restoration December 24, 2017
    We have been doing a lot of work on the Standard Gwynne ‘Chariot’ trailer. (Well, actually, paying others to do a lot of it…). It is rather a rare trailer, and so beautiful that it is worth spending some money on. We dismantled it, had it caustic-dipped, painted the smaller parts, and had the main part welded. ...
  • Maintenance and Training weekend 30-31 July July 19, 2016
    We would like to invite our regular NFS firemen, and anyone who would like to see the collection and try their hand at hose, ladder and pump drill to come and join us at the farm on Saturday and Sunday 30-31 July. We have hoses, branches and pumps to test, so there will be opportunities to ...
  • Remembering the Sheffield Blitz 75th Anniversary 12 December 2015 December 15, 2015
    Last Sunday, Fran and I, Michael and Richard took the Turntable Ladder and a car-full of exhibits to the event at Sheffield Cathedral. We set off really well, with the vehicle going like a train, averaging 30+mph, until we were within 15 miles of Sheffield. Then the trouble began. There was a complete loss of power, which I ...
  • K4 Winter Maintenance November 17, 2015
    Over the last few weeks, two key components of the K4 TL have received professional maintenance. Firstly, the petrol tank has always been a problem. The original filler spout entered the tank via a horizontal pipe, making for very slow filling, and entered the tank via a screw fitting that leaked. The tank was repaired ...
  • K4 misfire – carburetor overhaul April 19, 2015
    The K4 TL has suffered from a misfire – which was rather more pronounced at the end of last season in that it seemed to struggle to extend the ladder. We checked the ignition – there is a great spark exceeding 1/4″ from the electronic ignition. The vacuum advance unit looked suspect, so we removed ...
  • Training session on Fordson Escape and Turntable Ladder March 16, 2015
    A group of 9 of us met to train on the Wheeled Escape and the Turntable Ladder. We wanted to get to be as competent and safe with the Escape as we are with the TL, and to practice rescue techniques using a Neil Robertson stretcher. A video of what we achieved can be seen here, ...
  • Decontaminating our gas masks September 14, 2014
    Having read about the possible dangers of asbestos in WW2 gas mask filters, we decided it was time they were decontaminated to make them safe. In fact, provided the filter is in reasonable condition, it should be perfectly safe. In service-issue gas masks (as opposed to the civilian-issue) there is a fibrous material resembling cotton wool ...

2019

  • 25/05 - The NFS Overseas Contingent and D-Day
    The story of the NFS Overseas Contingent is little known and rarely told. Members of the NFS and AFS Vehicles Group are portraying the Overseas Contingent by taking two representative vehicles and a pump to Normandy for the 75th Anniversary … Continue reading →

2018

  • 07/12 - NFS Overseas Contingent in Training
    These photos are a rare view of the NFS Overseas Contingent training to take vehicles, pumps, and a Mobile Kitchen in landing craft over the channel to support the troops just following D-Day. The photos are by George Wilden of … Continue reading →
  • 31/03 - Winter Maintenance – Replacing the cable on the TL
    A few weeks ago, we had the Turntable Ladder inspected according to LOLER (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations). These regulations cover any equipment used to lift a person into the air at work. Although we are not strictly ‘at … Continue reading →

2017

  • 24/12 - Standard Gwynne ‘Chariot’ restoration
    We have been doing a lot of work on the Standard Gwynne ‘Chariot’ trailer. (Well, actually, paying others to do a lot of it…). It is rather a rare trailer, and so beautiful that it is worth spending some money … Continue reading →

2016

  • 19/07 - Maintenance and Training weekend 30-31 July
    We would like to invite our regular NFS firemen, and anyone who would like to see the collection and try their hand at hose, ladder and pump drill to come and join us at the farm on Saturday and Sunday … Continue reading →

2015

  • 15/12 - Remembering the Sheffield Blitz 75th Anniversary 12 December 2015
    Last Sunday, Fran and I, Michael and Richard took the Turntable Ladder and a car-full of exhibits to the event at Sheffield Cathedral. We set off really well, with the vehicle going like a train, averaging 30+mph, until we were … Continue reading →
  • 17/11 - K4 Winter Maintenance
    Over the last few weeks, two key components of the K4 TL have received professional maintenance. Firstly, the petrol tank has always been a problem. The original filler spout entered the tank via a horizontal pipe, making for very slow … Continue reading →
  • 19/04 - K4 misfire – carburetor overhaul
    The K4 TL has suffered from a misfire – which was rather more pronounced at the end of last season in that it seemed to struggle to extend the ladder. We checked the ignition – there is a great spark … Continue reading →
  • 16/03 - Training session on Fordson Escape and Turntable Ladder
    A group of 9 of us met to train on the Wheeled Escape and the Turntable Ladder. We wanted to get to be as competent and safe with the Escape as we are with the TL, and to practice rescue … Continue reading →

2014

  • 14/09 - Decontaminating our gas masks
    Having read about the possible dangers of asbestos in WW2 gas mask filters, we decided it was time they were decontaminated to make them safe. In fact, provided the filter is in reasonable condition, it should be perfectly safe. In … Continue reading →
  • 17/05 - Pre-season preparations
    Had a productive day today with Michael. Almost completed painting the inside of the Mobile Canteen, and then we went on to testing pumps. We inflated one of the recently acquired 2,500-gallon dams, with the intention of pumping water into it … Continue reading →
  • 11/05 - Display trailer nearly finished
    Michael and I had a very productive weekend at the farm. The Beresford trailer has been jetwashed, degreased and repainted, as the red paint was showing through where it had been chipped and scratched. The front locker of the London … Continue reading →
  • 30/03 - Progress on the London Dennis No 2 pump
    We have been gradually stripping down the pump, recovering anything that is salvageable as spares, and preparing the engine for scrap. It is a real shame, as it looks like the engine was fully overhauled only a few working hours … Continue reading →
  • 12/03 - Hatfield Merryweather pump – by Brian Stephens
    We have recently been contacted by Brian Stephens of South Wales who is restoring a Hatfield Merryweather trailer pump. He tells me it has a Meadows engine in it, and judging by the photos, he is well on the way … Continue reading →

2013

  • 24/12 - The New Dennis No2 Trailer pump
    We have just acquired a new pump. New to us, and new (1944) relative to the old (1938) one. Although the old one has run well, and has had quite a lot of money spent on it, it still boils … Continue reading →
  • 05/12 - Repairs to Dennis No2 Cylinder Head
    Over the last few years, a crack has appeared across the top of the cylinder head, and it wept a little water when it was running. Clearly not good, and eventually something needed to be done. A couple of weeks … Continue reading →
  • 26/10 - Visit to LW Vass Ltd
    The LW Vass premises of Ampthill are a true treasure-trove of fire equipment, and Peter is very helpful. He opened especially for us this Saturday morning for us to peruse the goodies recovered from the closure of Williamsons of Oldham. … Continue reading →
  • 02/10 - Status of the equipment – planned winter work
    Vehicles Austin K2 ATV – Runs well, but would benefit from some cosmetics, such as a complete repaint (!), attention to LH front wing, rear trim strip. Austin K4 TL – Runs well, but fuel tank send unit is out … Continue reading →
  • 02/10 - A new manual pump
    We recently purchased a cast iron two-man manual pump, which looked like a fairly simple restoration, and indeed it was. Just needs suction hose and delivery valve to complete.
  • 30/09 - New Cab Floor for Katie
    John decided that Katie deserved a new cab floor, as the original was looking rather scruffy. It’ll only take a few hours… Two and a half weeks later, it is all finished. Mind you, it does look very nice. By … Continue reading →
  • 07/07 - Workshop News – Fordson Repaired
    On the way to Derby Fire Show, the Fordson broke down. A catastrophic loss of power, and mechanical noises from deep within the engine that made me fear the worst. I was seriously looking at a full engine rebuild sooner … Continue reading →
  • 12/05 - Mobile Canteen Rebuild
    The stripdown is now complete, and there is hardly a scrap of original wood left, apart from the inside of the wheel arches. The chassis is painted, and bolted back together. The missing wheel-bolt replaced on the RH brake drum. … Continue reading →
  • 13/04 - Fordson has a new windscreen
    I had some steel channel made, and then silver-soldered the corners to make a frame. A piano hinge was soldered along the top, and a new laminated windscreen was made, and fitted today. The original opening restrainers are fitted onto … Continue reading →
  • 07/04 - Mobile canteen progress
    It seems that my initial assessment that the floor at least was sound, turns out to have been, ahem, wildly optimistic. If you think in terms of rust held together by dry rot and woodworm, you will not be far … Continue reading →
  • 25/03 - NFS Mobile Canteen
    We have just bought a potential NFS Mobile Canteen, and are starting its restoration and conversion. See it’s own page for pictures as the work progresses: NFS Mobile Canteen. Sent the wire wheels away today for a rebuild with new … Continue reading →
  • 16/03 - Fordson Barton Pump and Robertson Rescue Stretcher tested
    Over the last few days, John and I have been doing a lot of work at the Farm. The big push to get the Barton Pump running before John returns to sea on Monday. We stripped down, cleaned, greased, repacked, … Continue reading →
  • 04/03 - Chesterfield at the Winding Wheel, 2013
    The plan was quite complicated, but essentially involved getting the TL to Chesterfield Fire Station (where we had permission to store it overnight) on the Friday evening, before going to the dance. Then collecting the TL on Saturday, and returning … Continue reading →
  • 06/01 - Fordson Barton Pump restoration
    The front-mounted Barton Pump has been stripped down, in most places, to bare metal, and repainted. The difference between thick loads of paint, and a fresh coat is incredible. It really does look brand new. I have started to re-assemble … Continue reading →

2012

  • 27/12 - Fordson workshop news
    The Fordson is having some major surgery to sort out a number of major problems: overheating, flat battery, poor starting, and then recommissioning the Barton pump. Progress so far: The radiator has been flushed, and an electric fan fitted The … Continue reading →
  • 27/12 - Replacing the Goddess back axle
    Some of you will remember that the Goddess has been out-of-commission since the Welland Steam Rally, following an unsuccessful ‘tractor pull’, dragging a 17-ton sled with all four wheels spinning. This ended in the diff being trashed, and the vehicle … Continue reading →
  • 16/12 - Barton American Fire Company Brochure for front-mounted pump
    As we are restoring the Barton front-mounted pump on the Fordson, with the aim of making it work in time for next season, a period brochure of the pump from the Barton American Fire Company is going to be rather … Continue reading →
  • 05/10 - The Winter Work on the Fordson has begun
    For some time now, we have wanted to get the pump working on the Fordson, but there have always been other priorities. Additionally, we have had starting problems (6V starter and 6V dynamo on a 12V system), and overheating problems … Continue reading →
  • 01/08 - K4 cab side now has new logo
    This excellent sign-writing was recently done by our good friend Alison Milton, of www.alisonandhughshandmadethings.co.uk ‘8’ refers to Fire Force 8, which was Nottinghamshire. ‘D’ is for the City Centre District. TL1 means that it is Turntable Ladder No 1 in the … Continue reading →
  • 07/07 - NFS at Staveley Armed Forces Weekend
    Today the K2 and Trailer Pump featured in the Staveley Armed Forces and Veterans Association parade through the town down to Poolbrook Park where we were able to do a pumping display drawing water from the lake. I was assisted … Continue reading →
  • 25/03 - Austin K2 Maintenance – most rust problems repaired
    Had a busy few days at the farm. We have had the mobile welder in to sort the rot, and have then been round filling, sanding and painting. We are very nearly ready to start re-assembly. Just need to get … Continue reading →
  • 11/03 - Austin K2 maintenance – rust in the windows frames and wings
    For some time now, we have been aware of rust round the window frames on the K2. They had been sealed shut by the previous owner, but rusty blisters have been appearing. We decided to bite the bullet, and get … Continue reading →
  • 01/03 - Chesterfield 1940s event at the Winding Wheel
    We took the K4 TL to Chesterfield last weekend and parked outside the Museum on the Saturday morning. This followed an intense couple of weeks getting the vehicle ready, which included fitting the crew cab and electronic ignition, and a … Continue reading →
  • 12/02 - Crew Cab fitted to Austin K4
    Having spent weeks preparing he crew cab for the K4, today, we hoisted it onto the body. The fly in the ointment was that the engine wouldn’t start. Despite fitting electronic ignition, that had a small issue that I think … Continue reading →
  • 26/01 - Woodwork almost complete on K4 crew cab
    The woodwork is almost complete on replacing the rotten bits, thanks to help from Hugh Milton of www.alisonandhughshandmadethings.co.uk I have started to paint it grey (so far, just the bare metal that needs protecting underneath the new wood, but its a … Continue reading →
  • 18/01 - Further progress on the K4 Crew Cab
    Another full day of work last weekend with young Michael. Wooden ends have been trimmed, and the tinplate that had been badly eaten by the metal-moths has been trimmed back. The one very rotten upright  has been removed and found to … Continue reading →
  • 07/01 - Progress on the K4 Crew Cab
    Today Alison and Hugh and I did some rot removal on the Crew Cab. Seems that a new piece of ash is required for one of the upright frame pieces, together with a few other bits. Some of the old … Continue reading →

2011

  • 31/12 - Winter restoration projects – Michael’s pump trailer
    Today Dan, James, Michael and I worked on the pump trailer. The idea is to adapt a red Coventry Climax trailer to carry one of our Beresford Stork pumps. So it has had new tyres, a serious wire-brush all over, … Continue reading →
  • 09/12 - Fitted the Bell, and Drained the Radiators
    Been down to the farm tonight, because I thought I ought to check the water situation given a heavy frost is forecast for tonight. Just as well I did, as the Fordson engine was full of plain water, and there … Continue reading →
  • 03/12 - Fitting new parts to the K4
    Spent the day today fitting the parallel motion self-levelling bits to the K4 ladder. A few bits needed a little adjustment with a large sledgehammer to make them line up. Then I discovered that the rather useful hose holder got … Continue reading →
  • 28/11 - Crew Cab and other spares for the K4 from Weedon Bec
    On Saturday, Rob Michael and I visited Fireworld, the Fire Services National Museum to collect some parts. I had done a deal to provide the museum with some parts that they need for their restored K4 GXN249, and a pile … Continue reading →
  • 02/10 - Maintenance on the Fordson 7V
    This vehicle has long suffered from a blowing head gasket. The symptoms were that under sustained load, say up a hill, bubbles would appear in the water, displacing so much that the engine would boil over. Luckily, water did not … Continue reading →
  • 05/09 - Pity we missed the Victory Show. Workshop and Logs instead
    Given a K4 that was boiling over on short trips (we used 5 gallons of water getting back from Rauceby last weekend), we decided that we had better do some workshop maintenance on Saturday. The cylinder head was removed, cleaned up, … Continue reading →
  • 17/07 - Austin K2 head-gasket
    On our way home from Burton-on-Trent 1940’s event the engine on the K2 started losing power. Fortunately it made it back to the farm but would not re-start once the engine had been stopped.
  • 27/04 - Easter weekend
    Dan, James and Karina came over, and we tested the Turntable Ladder. There were just two problems in all the testing – the engine was under-performing, to the extent that it would sometimes hardly run and also almost boiled on … Continue reading →
  • 15/04 - K4 Turntable Ladder declared Safe
    A couple of days ago, Neil Billings, who has maintained fire appliances for the last 41 years of his working life, came to have a look at it, and declared it to be safe. We started by looking at the … Continue reading →
  • 10/04 - Getting the Fordson home
    We have recently acquired a 1941 Fordson ECU from Alan Patmore in Hertfordshire. Alan has owned it since the late 1970s, and restored it from the brink of destruction. It has a working escape ladder, (a Merryweather “War Pattern” escape) … Continue reading →
  • 15/03 - Austin K4 TL Restoration
    Eventually, it will be grey all over! At the end of August 2011, it blew a head gasket, and persistently boiled over, so the radiator was flushed, and the opportunity taken to do more work in the engine bay.
  • 13/03 - Dennis No2 Restoration
    The Dennis priming clutch got weaker and weaker, until one day, the lever hit the end stop and the pump didn’t prime, so it was ‘game over’, and time for a rebuild.
  • 24/02 - Bedford RL manuals
    EMER_RL_A-6_ENGINE-MECHANICAL_p01-06 EMER_RL_A-6_ENGINE-MECHANICAL_p07-14 EMER_RL_A-6_ENGINE-MECHANICAL_p15-17 EMER_RL_A-6_ENGINE-MECHANICAL_p18-20 EMER_RL_A-6_ENGINE-MECHANICAL_p21-30 EMER_RL_A-6_ENGINE-MECHANICAL_p31-40 EMER_RL_A-6_ENGINE-MECHANICAL_p41-48 EMER_RL_A-6_ENGINE-MECHANICAL_p49-54

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