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St. Louis Metro
Duane Troxel shot the entire St. Louis Fire Department in the summer of 1976, just before the department switched over to lime-yellow fire apparatus. Last fall I began back scanning all of Duane’s slides from his St. Louis trip for a future posting on firepics.



My best friend, Paige Van Vorst, and I had also shot most of the St. Louis Fire Department in the fall of 1965. Both of us were only shooting black & white film at that time as we were both just out of high school and B&W was all we could afford. As we did photograph a fair number of St.LFD apparatus pieces that were long gone by the time Duane took his slides in 1976, I decided to also scan my 35mm black & white negatives from that 1965 trip of rigs Duane missed.



Using both Duane’s slides from 1976 and our black & white images from 1965 should allow me to post most all of the St. Louis FD fire apparatus purchased between 1939 and 1976. I’ll post Duane’s slide images for each year unless it is a rig that he didn’t get to shoot in 1976. I’m sorry, but much of the reserve apparatus that we shot in 1965 were all indoor shots. Without these indoor shots however, we would be missing some interesting rigs.



I’d like to thank firepixer Dennis Maag for his help with the StLFD company assignments and StLFD apparatus numbers. Dennis also helped figure out the info on some of the General and Central manufactured apparatus from the 30s and 40s. There will probably be some errors, some from typos (I do that a lot), and others where I read the wrong info and post it (done that many times before also). Please feel free to correct and errors you may see.





I’ll start posting the StLFD apparatus by year starting with 1939. I’d like to ask others wishing to post additional photos to wait until the year they fit in so that we will have a fairly chronological thread of StLFD apparartus.



St. Louis 1939 Chevrolet/Central 500 GPM pumper which was being used as a syphon rig in 1965. I was told by Dennis Magg that this rig came into the St. Louis FD when they took over fire protection at Lambert Field (now St. Louis International Airport). Dennis said they used this to pump out basements of fire buildings and buildings flooded during heavy storms or flooding conditions. Note all the suction hose loaded in the hose body.

-1965 Photo by Steve Skaar


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St. Louis had been using a number of General Monarch (built in St. Louis at that time) engines during the 30s. A 1962 St. Louis F.D. Annual Report I have lists five former 1935 General Monarch 750GPM pumpers being used as hose wagons at that time. They were all gone by 1965 when Paige and I visited. There is a photo of one in Walt McCalls "American Fire Engines since 1900" on page 147. I believe General moved from St. Louis to Detroit in 1939.



The 1962 report lists one 1941 General and two 1941 Central (of St. Louis) 1000GPM pumpers as Reserve Engines. In 1965, this 1941 Central 1000/000 was being used as Hose 12. Note the big turrets they mounted on all of their Hose Trucks. We believe that Central used GMC chassis at this time, but no one seems sure. I'm not totally sure that this is actually a Central (it looks very similar to a 1939 General of Detroit pumper that the City of Minneapolis used on an Available chassis).



-1965 Photo by Steve Skaar


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St. Louis also had a 1941 Mack 1000/000 pumper that was being used as Foam Unit 3 in 1965. It is Mack #95LS-1005, StLFD #179.



- 1965 Photo by Steve Skaar


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A 1941 Pirsch 1000/000 pumper was also being used as a Hose Truck in 1965. We actually caught this rig returning from a run in 1965. It is Pirsch #1183 running as Hose #1. I believe this was at the 2nd Alarm fire we got to on the last day we were visting in September of 1965.



- 1965 Photo by Steve Skaar


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Not acquired until later was this 1941 Mack bus that was being used as he StLFD Canteen unit in 1965.



- 1965 Photo by Steve Skaar


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The StLFD had purchased two 1941 Seagrave 100-foot TDA's. This one was still around as Reserve H&L 27 in 1976, Seagrave #A7625.



- 1976 Photo by Duane Troxel.


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Beautiful, Keep em coming, love the history lesson.
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The department purchased a third Seagrave 100-foot TDA in 1942. When Paige and I were visiting in 1965, this H&L truck running as H&L 1 with a 1963 Mack B tractor, B85F-1479, StLFD #149.



- 1965 Photo by Steve Skaar


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Also that year the department purchased a 1942 American LaFrance 1000/000 pumper which ran as Engine 4 and then as Hose 2. It was ALF #L-1883, StLFD #17 (sorry no photo).



In 1943 the department purchased the first of a number of 65-foot service H&L trucks. H&L 10 was assigned this 1943 Seagrave 65-foot MM aerial, StLFD #18. In the background you can see the departments parade piece, an unknown year Ahrens Fox pumper.



- 1965 Photo by Steve Skaar


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The department purchased a 1944 Mack 1000/100 pumper, StLFD #23, which was assigned to Engine 17, Engine 20 and Engine 34. It was running as Engine 34 in this 1965 photo inside Station 34. Note the wood floor at the time.



- 1965 Photo by Steve Skaar


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Also in 1944, the department purchased this American LaFrance 65-foot MM H&L, ALF #L-1981, StLFD #22. This ran as H&L 22 before being placed in Reserve status. Here it is seen as Reserve H&L #25 in 1965. Note the unusual totally open cab on this ALF 600 series rig.



- 1965 Photo by Steve Skaar


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The department purchased two additional 1944 Seagrave 65-foot MM aerials that same year. The strange thing about these two aerials is that one had a canopy cab and the other can was open.



Here is H&L 11 with the 1944 Seagrave Canopy cab rig, Seagrave #C-310, StLFD #19.



- 1965 Photo by Steve Skaar


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Here is H&L 21's 1944 Seagrave semi-open cab 65-foot aerial, Seagrave #B9030, StLFD #122.



- 1965 Photo by Steve Skaar


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In 1945 the St. Louis Fire Department purchased two additional Seagrave 65-foot Mid-mount aerials. One was assigned to H&L 2 and later H&L3, Seagrave #C-8585, StLFD #28. Here it is running as H&L 23 in 1965



- 1965 Photo by Steve Skaar


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Here is Ladder 3's 1945 Seagrave 65-footer in 1965, Seagrave #C-3896 which was later Reserve H&L24.



- 1965 Photo by Steve Skaar


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The department also purchased an additional 65-foot aerial on an American LaFrance chassis in 1945 (sorry, no photos of either). ALF #L-2232, StLFD #43 was assigned to H&L 14, H&L 20 before becoming Reserve H&L28.



Also purchased was a 1945 American LaFrance 750GPM pumper, ALF #L-2136, StLFD #35 that served as Engine 21, Engine 26 and Hose 10 (no photo).



Yet another 1945 purchase was this 1945 Seagrave 750/100 pumper, Seagrave #C-3900, StLFD #24, which served as Engine 18, Engine 21 before becoming Reserve Engine 49 (as pictured here in 1965).



- 1965 Photo by Steve Skaar


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Steve, as always, you've given us a #1 AAA Blue Ribbon thread. Your photos and commentary are real treasures.



Thank you.
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St. Louis purchased this 1946 American LaFrance 750/100 pumper, ALF #L-2397, StLFD #163, which served as Engine 10, Engine 37 and Hose 9 (as seen here).



- 1965 Photo by Steve Skaar


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Another 1946 purchase was this 1946 American LaFrance 65-foot MM aerial, ALF #L-2381, StLFD #47, which served as H&L 16 as seen in this photo.



- 1965 Photo by Steve Skaar


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The department bought a number of pieces of apparatus again in 1946. Here is a 1946 Mack 1250/200 pumper, StLFD #41 that served as Engine 40. Here it is pictured in 1965 returning from a call.



- 1965 Photo by Steve Skaar


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