Need help IDing this steamer

[Guest]

Ok guys, once again I am turning to your expertise and vast network of buffs to hopefully get some information on this truck. This is the first piece of equipment for the York Village Fire Department which organized in 1916 after a disasterous fire flattened the Marshall House hotel on Stage Neck Point overlooking the York River and Atlantic Ocean. The only information I have about this is that it was obtained used and sold around 1925ish when we got our 1925 American Lafrance type 65. The other thing I know about this is that this truck was not real reliable and that it started hard. They fired up the boiler to go to a fire once and the tractor wouldnt start, it filled the firehouse with smoke and had to be towed out of its bay....Anything you all could tell me about this would be helpful, I don't even know if its a Knox or a Christie.......

[B95MACKFIRE]

Well that's a knox, will try to find a photo that was taken for a Knox in my dept .

[GA_Dave]

While I'm certainly no expert on fire apparatus from this time period, let me take a stab at this.  What you have is actually a combination of two different things.  The tractor is a Knox-Martin Model 31, built between 1912 and 1915.  This one was used to motorize an older, horse-drawn steamer, which I believe is an Amoskeag.  There is a photo in a book I have that shows a 1913 Knox-Martin that was displayed at the 1913 International Association of Fire Engineers convention in New York City.  It also is pulling what I believe to be an Amoskeag steamer and looks very similar to the York apparatus.

[1958 F.W.D.]

Yup- absolutely a Knox tractor.......

[Guest]

Springfield, MA utilized a lot of Knox tractors for their old horse-drawn truck companies.  I am unsure if any were ever utilized for their steamers.

[B95MACKFIRE]

1913  Knox Marten for Harry Howard Hook & Ladder pulling a 1984 Hayes tiller

[GA_Dave]

Springfield, MA utilized a lot of Knox tractors for their old horse-drawn truck companies.  I am unsure if any were ever utilized for their steamers.

Springfield had at least one Knox-Martin that was used to pull a steamer, but it looked very different from the one at York.

[Guest]

Thanks Dave & company for all your help, that gets me a little closer....Now that I look more carefully at the photo I see the engineers seat on the steamer itself which now suggests to me that this was at one time a horsedrawn unit. It was never horsedrawn in York as I can find no evidence of any horses being utilized in our FD. I couldn't find any information in the town reports of the time about a purchase of any such unit which leads me to belive that the rig was bought by the fire department "corporation"  (our term for firemen's association) Also, in the lower right corner of the photo it is printed "York Fire Dept" "Combination" I guess that means combination of steamer and self-propelled tractor?? I have heard the term combination used but always thought it meant combination pump and hose car or combination chemical and hose....etc......Anything else that anybody may be able to contribute is more than welcome!!!!!

[John Kenealy]

Springfield, MA utilized a lot of Knox tractors for their old horse-drawn truck companies.  I am unsure if any were ever utilized for their steamers.

Knox Automobiles (and trucks) were made in Springfield.   

[Guest]

Thanks guys!!! Anybody else got anything??? any idea on reg numbers or if the company may have any living decendents or exist in any form??? I would really love to know about this thing. All the FF's in York Village that might remember this have passed away!!!! My grandfather is the longest serving member of the YFD and he joined in 1954, long after this thing was gone. I think this went away in 1925 when the 1925 ALF type 65 arrived (reg #5145 thanks guys)