Where's the fire (truck)

 I have not seen much in the way of fire apparatus recently, so here is what little I have been able to catch.

My recent road trip to northern mainland Nova Scotia turned up the well maintained units of the Abercrombie Volunteer Fire Department in Pictou County. (see previous post).

Engine 1 runs this 2012 International 4400 crew cab built by Metalfab of Centreville, NB. It has a 1250 gpm pump with an 860 gallon tank. The centre mounted pump panel has good all round visibility for the operator.

 Abercrombie's Rescue 1 runs a 2003 Freightliner FL70 with a walk-in body by Lantz Truck Body Ltd of Port Williams. NS.

Due to the position of the Rescue rig, I was not able to get a photo of the Department's 2018 Kenworth 1600 gallon tanker.

Speaking of rescues, I saw this Halifax unit the other day. As a spare, it does not see much service anymore, but is obviously kept in operating condition.

Built by Metalfab on a 1997 Freightliner FL80 chassis, it was assigned as a Rescue to the old Prospect Road + District VFD (the label is still visible!). It was part of the many VFDs that came under the control of the Halifax Regional Municipality Fire + Emergency Services formed as part of the municipal amalgamation of 1997. As such it was among the original apparatus of the new service and was assigned roster number 97-257R. It was then Rescue 52 and later Tactical 52 and is now designated for Tactical Support. 

Another Metalfab built rescue of similar vintage and also built on a Freightliner FL80 chassis is Tactical Support unit 97-98TS carrying the "Rescue 3" label. Built in 1997 for the Lower Sackville VFD it is also an original member of the HRMF+ES acquired in the 1997 amalgamation. It is based at Station 3, West Street, the main station on the Halifax peninsula.

(The current Halifax Regional Municipality Fire + Emergency Services was founded in 1996, but can trace its roots to the Union Fire Club of 1754* - the oldest fire service in Canada. It now has 51 fire stations and more than 120 pieces of front line apparatus. See * below)

Station 3 known as "West Street", after its location, is the main station on the Halifax peninsula and provides back-up to the three other, smaller, stations in addition to serving the central zone. It is the base for Engine 3, which runs 17-585 E, a 2017 Spartan ERV Metro Star with a 1250 gpm pump and 625 gallon water tank. 

 Aerial 3, also based at West Street, runs a 2020 Pierce Arrow PAXT 5700, with a 1750 gpm pump,  250 gallon tank and a 100 foot mid-mount platform aerial.

* A careful examination of the photos will show that two of the units display a door badge with "Est. 1754" and one with "Est 1996". 

 

A recent structure fire near my house brought out Aerial 3 and a pair of engine companies:

One Engine Company was running unit 11-529 E, a Carl Thibault pumper built on a Spartan Metro Star chassis. A spare unit, it is the former E3 and has a 1250 gpm pump with a 500 gallon tank.

 

Another engine company was running a sister unit, 11-528E, the former E-2, and now also a spare. 

Front line equipment may have responded to an earlier call in another neighbourhood, whicjh may explain the presence of these spare units. 

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Road Trip - Part 2

 Continuing my northern mainland Nova Scotia jaunt from September 10, is a mixed bag of interesting or different vehicles.

Truro, NS is an important transportation hub on the Trans Canada Highway (designated Highway 104 in Nova Scotia) running from the New Brunswick border to North Sydney on Cape Breton Island. Nearby Onslow is the junction with Highway 102, which runs approximately 100 km to Halifax and is the busiest section of highway in Atlantic Canada.

It is not surprsing that Truro is home to two major truck dealers - one for Freightliner and one for Volvo/Mack. Both also operate large maintenance facilities. 

The Volvo / Mack dealer ( MacKay's - no relation) had some colourful equipment in its yard.

A couple of new Macks were lined up on display.

The owners of this new Volvo opted for high visibility.

Getting ready for winter, this Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Mack plow truck may also be getting ready for a new door label as the department has been renamed the Department of Public Works.

Several trucking companies make their homse in Truro sas well. One that is new to me is WMB Holdings Ltd, a transporter of commodities - I assume agriculture related. They run some big bulk hauling rigs such as this Kenworth. The tires on the fourth trailer axle are just slightly off the ground.

 Irving Oil's large truck stop is a convenient stopping off point for through traffic, and is a good place to see long haul trucks such as this Kenworth running for DFS Projects of Woodstock, ON.

The used Cat backhoe may be coming from or going to the nearby Ritchie Bros equipment auctioneers, whose facility at Debert, NS is another busy spot.

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Ford Country - Road Trip Report #1

 Truckfax has made very few road trips recently, so a brief loop through northern mainland Nova Scotia on September10 was the first in many months. The destination was Pictou County - noted for lots of trucks - and as it turned out, several vintage Fords. 

Ford L- series trucks, known as Louisvilles were produced from 1970 to 1998 and a surprising number are still around.

This unusual looking Louisville has an L9000 hood, but I suspect the rest of the truck is another model. The eggcrate grille last appeared in 1988, and I would be amazed to see a 1988 model with as little rust on the cab as this one.

 

The 9000s were more frequently tandems too, so this is likely a "composite".

The unusual white cab and blue frame may tell a story. The truck was spotted at the Kenworth dealer in Westville, NS.

Not far away in Stellarton, NS, MacCulloch's Truck Services has a few wreckers, but this "Draggin Wagon" probably doesn't see much action despite a heavy duty wrecker body.

 At the fishermen's dock in Caribou, NS, on the Northumberland Strait, this boom truck does useful work hauling gear on and off boats with its Pitman hydraulic boom.

An L7000 model,  with horizontal bars in the grille, it must be newer than 1988.

A little further along the way the Abercrombie Volunteer Fire Department has a splendid apparatus roster of four units, all maintained in spotless condition. They show no favourites for chassis providers with an International (Engine 1), Kenworth (Tanker 1), Freightliner (Rescue 1) and this 1996 Ford F-800 (Pumper 1).

The rig was built by Superior Emergency Vehicles of Red Deer, AB, (the Canadian arm of Emergency-One from 1991 to 2006). It pumps at 840 (Imperial) gpm, has a 1000 gallon tank and carries 30 gallons of foam.

Ford stopped producing the Louisville model in 1997 and sold the manufacturing facility to Daimler / Freightliner, who renamed it Sterling. They continued to produce essentially the same truck. Ford then concentrated on lighter duty "Class 7" trucks, using as many pickup truck components as they could. I suspect it would be no fun squeezing into an F-series cab while wearing full bunker gear!

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More Extra Axles

 

 If yesterday's post was not enough, here are some mpre extra axles spotted today. JNB Heavy Haul from Mitchell, ON (also represented in Halifax) is a specialist hauler with some big gear including this Western Star and lowboy trailer with two dollies.

 The rig's load was also a truck, a Sandvik Toro LH517i, a 17 tonne underground loader.

Depending on bucket size (the standard is 7 cubic meters capacity, but up to 9 cubic meters is available) the Sandvik has an operating weight of 46,500 kg and a load capacity of 17,100 kg. Sandvik mining vehicles are built in Sweden and arrive by ship in Halifax directly from Gothenburg.

Extra Axles

 Equipment Express from Ayr, ON has this interesting Western Star on the road. The set back front axle and three rear axles makes for an unusual looking truck.

It appears more than capable of hauling this big crate on a tri-axle trailer. It will look bettter when they pump up the air suspension.

Halifax based Atlantic Tiltload also has a tri-axle Western Star in its fleet.

 I grabbed this "through the windshield" shot as it was hauling a tri-axle tilt deck trailer.

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Hauling farm trailers in style

 Farm trailers, usually confined to fields and towed by farm tractors, are not seen on the highways. Unless that is they are imports and must be transported from the Port of Halifax to dealers in central Canada. In that case the are not towed on their own tires, but are lashed down on flatbeds, such as the ones I saw today, September 1.

Fliegl trailers are built in Germany, and this Taurus Fox model is getting the royal treatment with a tag axle equipped Western Star en route to Quebec. The driver was giving it a very careful height measurement.

Directly behind was a Freightliner (the view was blocked by other trailers) with a Smyth Field Master Hi-Speed 20 wagon, built in Ireland.

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