Amoskeag steam-powered fire engine - photo

[Jon]

Amoskeag steam-powered fire engine.

Fullsize image: https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/h...e_fullsize.jpg




Previously:

NYC fire department steam fire engine - photo
1884 steam car De Dion Bouton et Trepardoux La Marquise - photo
1892 steam tram at Valley Heights Locomotive Depot Heritage Museum - photo and video
Statfold Barn steam engine cutaway - photos
Steam traction engine-powered sawmill - GIFs
1877 Le Creusot world's largest steam hammer

[jimfols]

Seems like for a piece of fire apparatus there would need to be a full head of steam at all times.

[nhengineer]

The Amoskeag Locomotive Works, in Manchester, New Hampshire, built steam locomotives at the dawn of the railroad era in the United States. The locomotive works operated as a division of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company between 1848 and 1859. Besides building locomotives for railroad use, Amoskeag also built steam fire engines until 1876. Amoskeag fire engines served as the initial fleet for the New York City Fire Department and the first Los Angeles Fire Department fire company.

[clavius]

They have one of these in pretty much pristine condition at Clark's Trading Post in Lincoln NH. I'll have to see if I can find the pictures I took of it there recently. Most anyone from the NE area will likely know of Clark's. It's a classic "roadside attraction" type amusement park and a New England classic. They still run a wood fired Climax steam engine there.

[mklotz]

Seems like for a piece of fire apparatus there would need to be a full head of steam at all times.

I've wondered about that too.

They would have had time to get up steam while the horses were being readied and during the trot (gallop ?) to the fire location. Of course, getting a hot fire takes a while and getting water to boil doesn't happen quickly so even if the fire was ready to start (with an accelerant) I doubt they would have much pressure when they arrived at the fire.

Is it possible that the steam pumpers were backup called in if the manual pumpers couldn't handle the fire? That would provide time to ready the steamer at the fire station so it arrived ready to squirt.

There's a bit of information on steam fire fighting here...

https://maas.museum/inside-the-colle...m-fire-engine/

where one of the comments includes this tidbit...

"... there is a brass-clad, vertical water-tube boiler mounted at the rear of the fire engine. It was designed so that steam could be raised to a working pressure of 100 psi (689.5 kPa) in eight to ten minutes..."

Here is a copy of a manual for operation of these engines...

https://legeros.com/history/steamers/1897-manual.shtml

that makes interesting reading as well.

[jimfols]

Here is a copy of a manual for operation of these engines...

https://legeros.com/history/steamers/1897-manual.shtml

that makes interesting reading as well.

Good Handbook, thank you.
Having read articles on laying a fire in a locomotive I have a good concept.
But I never saw it explained so explicitly. I guess putting out a fire is more important than hauling freight.