Canada Eh?

[Ian Stronach]

Here is an in-service shot of the Quebec City IHC tiller I took in 1977 when the KW-Thilbault tiller was also in service.

[kieferfire]

Here is an in-service shot of the Quebec City IHC tiller I took in 1977 when the KW-Thilbault tiller was also in service.

Hello, Ian


Nice photo and welcome to the group!


Juergen Kiefer

[GA_Dave]

Here is an in-service shot of the Quebec City IHC tiller I took in 1977 when the KW-Thilbault tiller was also in service.

That appears to be a Seagrave trailer drawn by a much newer International tractor.  I've never seen a photo of that one before, interesting combination.  Thanks for posting!

[Guest]

Thanks for the picture Ian.

 

That's a 1949 85 foot Seagrave tiller that was rebuilt around 1973 or 1974 with a 1973 IHC tractor. It was in service until the early 1980s.

 

At the time the picture was taken, it was assigned as ladder 5 (former station 5 was on Dalhousie street) but the picture was taken in front of the former station 1. At that time, the ladder at station 1 was a 1973 IHC / Thibault 100 foot tiller and the 1976 Kenworth / Thibault tiller was assigned to station 12.

 

Would you happen to have any other pics from Quebec City ?

[jlg1875]

Welcome to the group Ian, hope to see some of your fantastic photos from Quebec on here, especially the older stuff like this that is long gone!

[Ian Stronach]

With help from Walt McCall's incredible knowledge of fire apparatus we have put together the list of what we believe to be all the steel tractor drawn aerials in Canada.

 

The photos are of Montreal's 1944 Bickle Seagrave with a replacement early-1950's GMC tractor which was in service until 1974 when replaced by a Thibault custom rear-mount and Verdun, QC's 1932-1948-1956 ALF - Thibault - IH 75', likely the most unique tiller in Canada (details below).  It was the reserve ladder until the Thibault-Mack aerialscope was put in service in 1977 (one of three in Canada).

• Trois Rivieres, QC – 1937 Bickle Seagrave 100’
  
  
• Victoria, BC – 1938 Bickle Seagrave 85’
  
  
• Winnipeg, MB - 1939 Lafrance 500 series 100’
  
  
• Halifax, NS – 1940 Bickle Seagrave 100’
  
  
• Westmount, QC – 1943 Lafrance 500 series 100’. This truck tipped over at a fire in 1961 and was replaced with two, 1963 Thibault-Merryweather 100’ trucks
  
  
• Montreal, QC – 1944 Bickle Seagrave 85’ (new GMC tractor 1955?)
  
  
• Quebec City, QC – 1944 Bickle Seagrave 85’ (new 1973 IH tractor)
  
  
• Quebec City, QC – 1949 Bickle Seagrave 85’
  
  
• Quebec City, QC – 1949 Bickle Seagrave 85’
  
  
• Windsor, ON – 1949 Pirsch 100’ Senior Model 41
  
  
• Verdun, QC – 1956 (?) Thibault-IH 75’.  Thibault steel aerial replaced
  1932 Verdun ALF Type 331 front-drive aerial -- the only one ever built. Thibault converted the frame to a trailer and inserted the International KB tractor under it.
  
  
• Halifax, NS – 1966 King Seagrave 100’
  
  
• Vancouver, BC – 1966 Hub-Gro
  ve-IH 100’
  
  
• Quebec City, QC – 1973 Thibault-IH 100’
  
  
• Quebec City, QC – 1976 Thibault-KW 100’
  
  
• Quebec City, QC – 2011 Pierce 100’
  
  
• Quebec City, QC – 2013 Pierce 100’
  
  

[Guest]

Thanks Ian, that's really some interesting information.

 

I believe there's also a tiller that was in service in Lachine, Qc ? I believe it's a late 1940s Seagrave.

 

I have somemore pictures of the Quebec CIty stuff ... will have to scan them and add them to the thread.

[Ian Stronach]

You are absolutely right.  How could I have missed it when it was 10 minutes from my house and I photographed it at many fires in the 1970's?  Here is a picture of it, a 1949 Bickle Seagrave 100 ft., as the reserve ladder in 1978.  It had a diesel engine installed in the tractor some time ago and is now owned by the Montreal Auxiliary Firemen. Here is the revised list of 18.

• Trois Rivieres, QC – 1937 Bickle Seagrave 100’
  
  
• Victoria, BC – 1938 Bickle Seagrave 85’
  
  
• Winnipeg, MB - 1939 Lafrance 500 series 100’
  
  
• Halifax, NS – 1940 Bickle Seagrave 100’
  
  
• Westmount, QC – 1943 Lafrance 500 series 100’. This truck tipped over at a fire in 1961 and was replaced with two, 1963 Thibault-Merryweather 100’ trucks
  
  
• Montreal, QC – 1944 Bickle Seagrave 85’ (new GMC tractor 1955?)
  
  
• Quebec City, QC – 1944 Bickle Seagrave 85’ (new 1973 IH tractor)
  
  
• Quebec City, QC – 1949 Bickle Seagrave 85’
  
  
• Quebec City, QC – 1949 Bickle Seagrave 85’
  
  
• Lachine, QC – 1949 Bickle Seagrave 100’
  
  
• Windsor, ON – 1949 Pirsch 100’ Senior Model 41
  
  
• Verdun, QC – 1956 (?) Thibault-IH 75’.  Thibault steel aerial replaced
  1932 Verdun ALF Type 331 front-drive aerial -- the only one ever built. Thibault converted the frame to a trailer and inserted the International KB tractor under it.
  
  
• Halifax, NS – 1966 King Seagrave 100’
  
  
• Vancouver, BC – 1966 Hub-Gro
  ve-IH 100’
  
  
• Quebec City, QC – 1973 Thibault-IH 100’
  
  
• Quebec City, QC – 1976 Thibault-KW 100’
  
  
• Quebec City, QC – 2011 Pierce 100’
  
  
• Quebec City, QC – 2013 Pierce 100’
  
  

[jlg1875]

Mathieu you beat me to it! I looked over Ian's list a couple of times for the Lachine tiller and when I didn't see it, I was wondering if maybe the Montreal Auxiliary got it from somewhere else and rehabbed it to look like the Lachine tiller, but I didn't think that was the case as I thought it was original to Lachine. Thanks so much for all the info Ian, and especially the photo of that oddball from Verdun, it made my day! I hope you'll post more from the area as your time permits! If you accept requests, I think that Thibault built a truck with a midmount aerial using a very nice White cabover chassis in the mid to late 50s, I don't know what city is was from, but believe it was somewhere in the Montreal area, if not the Island itself.

[Guest]

The Trois-Rivières tiller probably disappeared in the mid 1960s ...

 

Thibault delivered a 100 foot mid-mount ladder in 1965 and I suppose Thibault took the Seagrave in as a trade ... might still be sitting in the woods somewhere around Pierreville!

 

The only ones I know that still exist are the 1976 Kenworth / Thibault and the Lachine tiller. The others must be all long gone!

[kieferfire]

Great info. Thanks.

[Ian Stronach]

Here is the 1976 Kenworth-Thibault tiller as Ladder 92 in 1978.

[Guest]

Nice shot.

 

Thanks again.

[jlg1875]

Awesome! Quebec City wasn't much into lettering back in the day were they? IIRC in later years it got a big "URGENCE" and the emergency telephone # on the tiller below the ladder. 

[jgroutley]

Mr. Stronach

It seems that your memory is fading fast. The list includes only one Montreal Seagrave tiller repowered with a GMC tractor, when we should all clearly remember that there were two of them. One was 445 and subsequently became 435, while the pictured vehicle was 415 - having previously been assigned to Station 9. In the original configuration one of them was at Station 1 and I believe that the other was at Station 23 at some point in time.


Lest we forget!

You are absolutely right.  How could I have missed it when it was 10 minutes from my house and I photographed it at many fires in the 1970's?  Here is a picture of it, a 1949 Bickle Seagrave 100 ft., as the reserve ladder in 1978.  It had a diesel engine installed in the tractor some time ago and is now owned by the Montreal Auxiliary Firemen. Here is the revised list of 18.

• Trois Rivieres, QC – 1937 Bickle Seagrave 100’
  
  
• Victoria, BC – 1938 Bickle Seagrave 85’
  
  
• Winnipeg, MB - 1939 Lafrance 500 series 100’
  
  
• Halifax, NS – 1940 Bickle Seagrave 100’
  
  
• Westmount, QC – 1943 Lafrance 500 series 100’. This truck tipped over at a fire in 1961 and was replaced with two, 1963 Thibault-Merryweather 100’ trucks
  
  
• Montreal, QC – 1944 Bickle Seagrave 85’ (new GMC tractor 1955?)
  
  
• Quebec City, QC – 1944 Bickle Seagrave 85’ (new 1973 IH tractor)
  
  
• Quebec City, QC – 1949 Bickle Seagrave 85’
  
  
• Quebec City, QC – 1949 Bickle Seagrave 85’
  
  
• Lachine, QC – 1949 Bickle Seagrave 100’
  
  
• Windsor, ON – 1949 Pirsch 100’ Senior Model 41
  
  
• Verdun, QC – 1956 (?) Thibault-IH 75’.  Thibault steel aerial replaced
  
  1932 Verdun ALF Type 331 front-drive aerial -- the only one ever built. Thibault converted the frame to a trailer and inserted the International KB tractor under it.
  
  
• Halifax, NS – 1966 King Seagrave 100’
  
  
• Vancouver, BC – 1966 Hub-Gro
  
  ve-IH 100’
  
  
• Quebec City, QC – 1973 Thibault-IH 100’
  
  
• Quebec City, QC – 1976 Thibault-KW 100’
  
  
• Quebec City, QC – 2011 Pierce 100’
  
  
• Quebec City, QC – 2013 Pierce 100’
  
  

[Guest]

Here is the 1976 Kenworth-Thibault tiller as Ladder 92 in 1978.

Is that an Engine in the left bay?

[Guest]

Yeah, that's an engine.

 

Quebec City had 5 pieces of apparatus on Kenworth K-121 chassis ... one 1976 Thibault mid-mount, one 1976 Thibault tiller, two 1975 Pierreville pumper and one 1978 Pierreville pumper.

[Ian Stronach]

Here is the KW-Pierreville pumper in that bay.

[Guest]

Same truck in 2004 a few months before its retirement.

 

Notice that the canopy cab has been enclosed.

 

 

[Guest]

Its twin and the Kenworth / Thibault mid-mount