All Time Favorite FDNY Rig

Yeah, gman, Ahrens Fox made probably the most distinctive rigs with the big silver ball out front. Showcase rigs for showcase companies, By 1966, however, FDNY Was no longer worried about showcase. They had a war to fight.
811... The 37 Mack was a work horse. The first with the closed cab, subway straps and a windshield for the back step. Huge steps in rig design. I am partial to the 36 Mack, same as the 37, just withoutthe the features. The 36 was my old man's rig when I was a kid. The last of the old time pumpers.
Mack and Ahrens Fox, Titans of the industry.
 
Besides the Mack C & CF pumpers the Fox and the Mack B model pumpers.  I believe Engine 38 had a 4 door B model.  The R model Searchlight companies and the R model Rescues.
 
Nfd2004 photo credit

I think they bought two of these r model Mack pumpers to try out
 

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There were a total of five of the four door cab, engine forward Mack model R611F-10 1000gpm pumpers classed as 1969s. Delivery took place in late 1968 and early 1969. They were among the largest and most impressive  pumpers ever in the FDNY fleet

MP6909 first went to Engine 91-2 (second section), then marked for E205 but never in service there, then to E305 and finally became a Fire Salvage rig.

MP6914 went to E303 and later became also a Fire Salvage rig.

MP6917 went first to E209, later to E324, then also a Fire Salvage rig and finally to Haz-Mat.

MP6920 went first to E38 and later also a Fire Salvage rig.

MP6921 went first to E277, later marked for E13 but never in service there, then to E309, then to E242, then to Squad 1, for a very short period as E243, later a Fire Salvage. After relinquished by FDNY, it served at the since closed Flushing Airport in Queens as a standby fire fighting unit operated by the NYC Department of Transportation - Bureau of Ferries & General Aviation.

Photos of these five, in their various configurations, are in the photo collections of the Mand Library at the Fire Academy.
 
Engine: I'll give you my top 3: 1979 Mack CF, 69 Mack R is a close second, 87 Mack CF.

Ladder: Any 1970's/Early 80's Seagrave RMA

Rescue: 1971 Mack R/Pierce

Other: 1997 International BFU
 
Engine 327:


This is my favorite rig - Engine 327's Ahrens Fox pumper.  We lived about 2 blocks from the old E 246/L169/E 327 firehouse in Sheepshead Bay.  I remember watching and hearing and feeling the big, red, shiny engine roar down the block.  Bell ringing, siren blazing, red lights blinking.  It appeared so powerful.  It stood out.  It seemed like a Superpumper compard to the other engines. 
 
My Favorites:

Engine:  I agree with Mack, G-Man & Stajo about the Closed Cab Ahrens Fox.  No matter if you had to be a Mr. Universe type to drive the thing (no power steering, remember) . . . it was a mean machine

Ladder:  1940's vintage Pirsch TDA.  I just think Pirsch made some really handsome fire apparatus . . . wooden ladders and all.

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close second:  30's vintage Seagrave model J TDA:

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Rescue:  Hands down . . . 1939 Ward LaFrance Res1cue:

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Favorite non-existent rig:

ESU Tower Ladder:

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Now . . . my vote for the UGLIEST FDNY unit ever:

Converted Ward LaFrance hose wagon that served as Res5cue . . . although I appreciate all of the work that the R5 guys did in building the enclosure . . . it just wasn't pretty:

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And finally . . . does anybody out there get the idea that I don 't like bread boxes on wheels?  ::) ;) ::)  (And that maybe I'm not the newest lure in the tackle box)
 
Further info on the engine forward 1969 Macks that went to Fire Salvage:  MP 6909 to Fire Salvage 4, MP 6914 to Fire Salvage 3, MP 6917 to Fire Salvage 2, MP 6920 to Fire Salvage 1, MP 6921 to Fire Salvage 5.
 
Bxboro said:
"Phonebooth"  rearmounts circa 1980 I believe
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The original '70 Seagrave RM did not have a Phone Booth but later the Shops cut out a set of compartments mid ship on the Officers side & fabricated one...after that the Seagrave factory made them standard for many years to follow.....a few other threads on here w/Phone Booth info & photos.
 
This was posted a few weeks ago in a separate discussion about the Mack R rigs on the history section of this forum.

"I used to buff E91, 91-2, and L43 in the late 60's, early 1970's, guest of one of the Irishmen in the house who also owned pubs in the Bronx. (If I remember correctly, a case of Shaffer was the price of admission to quarters.) I was there the day the local parish priest blessed 91-2's new R Model Mack. (It replaced an old WLF CD pumper that they had used since the 2d Section was organized.)We did abut 20 runs that night, including a good job in the South Bronx.

First impression: That is one beautiful rig!. It was seemingly as imposing a the old Ahrens- Fox with the silver ball out front.

The enclosed crew cab was the first for the FDNY. Riding in a cab, however, was not yet accepted as the way to go and the men still preferred the back step. They threw me, the buff, in the cab early on but soon I was hanging off the back too.

Eventually, the routine changed. The cab had a hookup for the new Scott masks that made it easier to don. There were only two masks per company and those designated to wear them rode inside. The guys on the back step made the stretch and entry, replaced by the mask guys if things got hot and sticky. When that first winter came, the cab suddenly got very popular for everybody. All hands inside!

The chauffeurs found the R-model difficult to navigate, with the long front engine compartment ahead of the cab. The cab forward designs were much easier in city streets. While durable, this feature killed the idea and the R's were the last of this type purchased as pumpers or ladders by the FDNY. They bounced around the job, some eventually  going to the CETA program salvage fleet as previously stated. One also ran from E48's old quarters on Webster Ave in the Bronx.

The "R's" WERE an imposing and great looking engine, perhaps my fave through all the years. Its a tossup for me with the Mack C's."

 
nfd2004 said:

1. Engine - Mack CF Pumpers
2. Truck - Mack CF TLs
3. Rescue - Mack R model Rescues
4. Other - Mack Field Comm., Mack rearmount Ladders (Lad 30, Lad 132).

  Just call me Willy D Mackman.
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I'm 100% with you, Willy D; I'm a big fan of the Bulldogs too!
 
I have no idea of the manufacturers, but I?ll go for Searchlight 21 and Ambulance 1 both of which were quartered at E-1/L-24/D-3 on 31st Street opposite St. Francis in the 1950?s and early ?60?s.  Ambulance 1 was a converted Carey bus which the city bought from Carey Coach which ran the bus service from both the old West Side Airlines Terminal on 42nd Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues and the East Side Airlines Terminal on First Avenue and 38th(?) Street to JFK and LGA.  The replacement rig for the Ambulance was a converted bread truck and I have even less idea of who its manufacturer might have been.

There was also a very good looking, very solidly built Cadillac ambulance that was used by the Sea Cliff (LI) VFD in the 50's and 60's.
 
3511 said:
The chauffeurs found the R-model difficult to navigate, with the long front engine compartment ahead of the cab. The cab forward designs were much easier in city streets. While durable, this feature killed the idea and the R's were the last of this type purchased as pumpers or ladders by the FDNY. They bounced around the job, some eventually  going to the CETA program salvage fleet as previously stated. One also ran from E48's old quarters on Webster Ave in the Bronx.

The "R's" WERE an imposing and great looking engine, perhaps my fave through all the years. Its a tossup for me with the Mack C's."
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In long-haul commerical trucking, the opposite trend occurred. The conventional R's were produced from about 1965 until about 2005 or so (with a restyled hood/fender assembly in the early 1990's). They gradually were replaced by more modern and aerodynamic Mack convnetionals (i.e. Vision, Granite, Pinnacle, Titan). The big Class 8 Mack cabovers like the F (the chassis used for the Superpumper) the WL/WS, and MH all became less popular in the early 1990's. Even though they had better forward visibility and much better maneuverability in tight quarters than conventional rigs, long-haul drivers really want that big hood in front of them. Nevertheless, FDNY and most other FD's got it right: cabovers are an absolute must in dense city traffic. Nowadays, the only conventional apparatus you see are based on commercial chassis (e.g. International and Freightliner), not on custom chassis.
 
A little off topic, in long haul trucking the cab over design was popular for a short time due to a total vehicle length restriction, shorter cab = longer trailer = more money per haul. At some point the length restriction was changed and the industry went back to the conventional style cab, more room around the inside of the cab because the engine was no longer in the cab. They were also more aerodynamic compared to cab over especially with highway driving cutting cost on fuel, when it comes to fire appratus, aerodynamics, fuel econamey, driver comfort over long periods aren't high prioritys compared to being able to turn tight, have a short wheel base and haveing a big line of sight
 
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