In line with my new watch word 'Carpe Diem' (which Frank Harris would probably translate as We are only here to have Fun), I leapt out of bed at 5am on Sunday, kick-started the lady wife with a nice cuppa tea, & rushed off to darkest South London.

The glamourous Veteran London-Brighton sets off from Hyde Park, Central London. The less glamourous Commercial London-Brighton Run used to start just over the river in Battersea, now it's been shoved out to a southern suburban park, the site of the old Crystal Palace.

Maybe because of the start location, or current economics, there weren't the number or variety we used to see at Battersea. The only people who can afford to haul these big lumps around are haulage contractors, and they're probably writing it off against their advertising budget, but if they aren't making money, there is no budget.

Hauling the '27 Ahrens-Fox from Holland must have cost a fortune in ferry fees and diesel. Apparently they had 7 in Rotterdam pre-war, 1 destroyed in the war, the other 6 are preserved. Sadly, after coming off the transporter and roaring into the marshalling area, it was very reluctant to restart and wouldn't climb the slope out, causing a vintage heavy haulage traffic jam. We left at 8.30 to go home for breakfast, it was still stuck on the ramp.

But the transporter was impressive - the pipes across the back of the cab are a typically European pipe organ which entertained the crowd with a variety of tunes.

To see the photos go to
http://picasaweb.google.com/oldefule/HCVCMay2009#

here's a few little tasters

What a fantastic event that must have been! Thanks so much for sharing the photos Jem!

great bunch of pics! Thanks Duane

Thanks Jem - I love English lorries!
That is a most unusal fire pumper - is this Dutch? Do you konw anything more about this one?
Cheers
Adrian

Adrian, it has a Dutch number plate.

The Ahrens-Fox is American, but the Rotterdam Fire Brigade bought 7 pre-war , maybe new, that's not made clear. It makes a glorious noise, don't think there's much in the way of a muffler!

Here's a couple of links

http://www.affba.org/index_old.html

http://www.geocities.com/ahrens_model_n/lelystadt.html

And here's one Dick needs to translate for us, it's by the owner (I think?) of the vehicle in question, with loads of photos, past & present.

http://www.ahrens-fox.nl/content/view/26/

Ouch! Okay....

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Whether the Ahrens-Fox A5 with the name of Engineer MF de Bruyne acquired strength of purpose along with the name doesn't tell the story. It is certain that few vehicles could have withstood a life as the A5 did. But before the A5 pumps water again, there is a long way to go. Still, the condition in which this fire engine is now is not hopeless, and it can be restored.

A serious collision is often the introduction to the end of a fire engine. That's how it was for the F5. Although the vehicle then still called A5 had a serious collision with a tram from Line 17, the A5 remained in service until 15 April 1969. The A5 was at that time on its way to a nursing-home fire on the Heemraadplein, where four people died.The A4 took the A5's place. In 1969, the steering and the brakes had become so unreliable that the vehicle was taken out of service. The A5 was used as a parts vehicle. The pump was switched with the one from A4. The generator and the clutch went to F7 and the radiator went to the F2. There was very little left of this vehicle, therefore.

The globe of the switched pump was taken off and was in someone's yard for years, and is now in the possession of someone from Dongen. The remains were sold via the Autotron in Rosmalen to someone in England and possibly ended up in the city of Bath. Who the owner was at that time and what he did with the A5, I don't know. The first I heard about the A5 was that the remains were stabled in an English woods, that there was practically nothing left, and that a considerable tree was growing through the hood. In 1997, I received a fax from H. Fillinger from America, who was one of the previous owners of my A.F. autoladder. In the fax, he told me - among other things - about a friend in England with an Ahrens-Fox N-S-2 from "Rotterdam." This friend's name was Donald Sidebottem and he is the owner of the Lakeland Motor Museum in Blackpool. I called Mr. Sidebottem and he told me that he had bought the A5 in 1979. Little came of the restoration and for lack of space, the A5 was moved in 1985 to a trail behind his house. Not just any house, but one of those real English stately homes with a long driveway and tennis courts. And the Fox had been there for 12 years in the woods under a plastic tarp.

In the meantime, the tree had been sawn down by David, the butler. All in all, it wasn't a very cheerful sight. Sidebottem said that, after he had bought the A5, he had looked for and found parts in America. In a nearby shed lay one thing and another. This shed itself looked like a museum. A very nice 1930 Dennis autospray, a Buick and all kinds of fire attributes. But what is more important, a whole pile of Ahrens-Fox spare parts, a globe but also a radiator, starter and engine parts. Sidebottem was pleased that the Ahrens-Fox A5 was going back to The Netherlands and we quickly agreed on the sale. It was agreed that he would arrange transportation to Harwich and that I would pick up the vehicle from the Stenaline boat in Hook of Holland. The transportation to Enkhuizen was done by Fred de Boer with his nice Scania with flatbed trailer. Yes, and now the A5 is sitting quietly in its corner of a shed waiting for better times, because it's not yet its turn for restoration. First the Ahrens-Fox autoladder has to be finished and that will take about a year. The restoration of the Ahrens-Fox A5 will probably start in 2005.

A5- F5, chassis no: 3317 motor no: 2864. Delivered on 01 Mar 1928. Original registration H 55565, later NF-78-31. Given the name Engineer M. F. de Bruyne. Taken out of service on 15 Apr 1969. In 1941, provided with a closed cabin. in 1969 used as parts vehicle. The remins were later sold via the Autotron to England. In 1998 sold to K. Tuytel in Enkhuizen.

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I just told Anja, "I'm working pro bono for the Model T forum!"

Well,tell her the publico found it very bono. Thanks for that, didn't know it had been lying forlorn in England for years, and the restoration has been recent. Maybe they are still debugging, hence the running troubles. I love that photo with all the hoses radiating from the pump.

However for me, the real stars were the pair of Great War FWD trucks, complete with crews in doughboy outfits. Beautifully turned out, a real labour of love.

You're welcome, Jem. I should have added a disclaimer that I translate into AmE and not BrE, e.g, yard instead of garden, hood instead of bonnet, etc.