1957 Bedford turntable ladder fire engine restoration
Yes please! Just have to somehow drag it out of the hedge and move it 80 miles.
This page will expand over the next few years, and no doubt go into insane amounts of detail, but here are a few photos for now.
The project started when Al from the fabulous band Wevie Stonder got in touch with the message at the top of this page. He was clearing his dad's garden, which was filled with around 26 vehicles, as well as a number of boats.
The fire engine had been there for around 25 years, initially under some sort of polytunnel shelter, but now exposed to the elements and slowly deteriorating. Thankfully it had been parked up on a concrete base, unlike some of the cars in the garden which had rusted so much they were gradually dissolving into the soil.
During the first visit down to Mildenhall (Suffolk, UK) it became immediately apparent that it was absolutely essential to rescue this utterly beautiful thing.
In the end it took six visits to prepare for the big moving day.
The first task was to get some air in the tyres and free up the wheels. As it had been parked up for a long time (and with the handbrake on), the wheels and drums needed to come off so that the brake shoes could be adjusted inwards.
Before the second visit I packed up everything I could think of that might be needed - all the big spanners and a 20 tonne jack.
To pull the drums off I had to fix a winch to various trees. All wheels were freed up successfully during visits 2 and 3.
Al has released albums on Skam records, home of many great artists and albums, and so it was wonderful to chat about electronic music amongst the beech trees and get a bit of an insight into his music and that record label.
My friend Luke also retrieved no less than 5 Mazda RX7 cars from the garden, so we had fun moving them too.
We managed to tow the fire engine off the concrete base during visit 4 with a friend's Range Rover, but after a few metres it settled into a bit of a dip and refused to budge. We tried with concrete slabs under the Range Rover and ballast in the back, but the wheels were still spinning.
My friend suggested "Why don't we find a farmer with a tractor?", and then he went and did exactly that.
Thank you Jamie for turning up to help a couple of strangers and for effortlessly hauling the fire engine across the garden. It was now ready for the recovery truck to collect it from the driveway.
9th May 2024: Moving day
I carefully collected up all the loose bits and pieces, then Mr. Starky arrived and loaded up.
A few hours later the lorry delivered its precious cargo onto the road outside my house.
Phil from Ford and Sons Haulage arrived in a huge telehandler.
I steered while Phil pushed, and the fire engine was finally parked up in its new home.
Everyone stepped in on that historic Thursday and did their bit - thank you Al, Luke, David, Jamie, Starky and Phil.
So good to have it safely back in the garden, and to clean off all the green...
14th May 2024: Research breakthrough
So the fire engine spent its working life on the island of Jersey, from 1957 to around 1983, before being transferred to mainland England and changing its number plate from J11950 to SMK 885Y. It was time to take a look at the Jersey Heritage Archives, hoping to be lucky enough to find a photo.
The archive had literally dozens of photos! What a find! Mostly images of open days / demonstrations at the fire station in St. Helier taken by the Jersey Evening Post in the late 1970s. Views all around of kids sat on the back, ladder extended, inside the cab - all hugely useful reference material for restoration.
Wait... restoration?! What have I started?!!
6th September 2024: Marquee and plywood
Why is this tent like an album by The Fall?
They were both made by a marquee smith.
I've started replacing the timber decking with 18mm marine ply painted with yacht varnish, so that it looks slightly less like a shipwreck that's been raised from the depths of the ocean. It's such a huge project I'm just going to sort one section at a time. I've also made new seat bases, re-sprayed the seat frames and sorted out the lower steps.
The timber parts are all rotten, but there are clues everywhere providing dimensions, so it all seems very repairable. The aluminium trim effectively works as a series of templates recording what size all the panels should be.
The trim is made of an alloy that seems unusually pliable, meaning that crumpled sections have been easy to straighten out in a machine vice.
I've had a lot of good luck with the fire engine - was absolutely delighted to find the original chrome hubcaps safely stashed under the passenger seat. Also found a typewritten kit list in the cab, and an obscure eBay listing provided the missing shiny Bedford badge for the front.
Another bit of good news is that the engine can be manually turned over with the starting handle, so it isn't seized. The engine is a 5L petrol straight six incidentally, mounted in a Bedford S series lorry with body built by Wilsdon & Co Ltd.
The 81ft (25m) ladder was built by Magirus, who have been making firefighting equipment since 1866. It's not hydraulic - rotary power is provided by a feed off the engine, and there's a load of levers and clutches to activate movement in various axes.
The telescopic ladder sections are pulled in and out by a winch with steel rope. The ladder mechanims can also be operated manually with various handwheels. It all needs a bath in WD40, although everything seems packed with grease internally so I'm expecting it'll be possible to free it all up.
23rd September 2024: Made this page
I had no particular plans to take on a project like this, and have no idea how far I'll ultimately get with it, but it's already been extremely fascinating. I also really like the fact it arrived via one of my all time favourite bands, which made it just too good to turn down. It was a real pleasure meeting Al, who is a very nice bloke as well as great musician, and I'm hoping we get to collaborate on other projects.
I wasn't fully intending on restoring this thing, but every time I look at part of it a repair solution seems to present itself. I guess it was originally made by human beings, so must also be repairable by humans.
Everyone keeps asking what I'll do with the fire engine when it's finished. Drive it to the supermarket of course! And maybe park up like the guy at Sainsbury's this morning who had a van and trailer parked across all three of the "parent with child" spaces.
I have some video material to upload here once I find time to edit it.
9th September 2024: Winter woodwork in the marquee
Replacing the rotten timber...
If you have any information about J11950 / SMK 885Y please get in touch:
