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Vintage fire engines donated to museum

Jason Arunn Murugesu
BBC News, North East and Cumbria
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service An old fire engine stands in front of a modern fire station. The vehicle has a black body with a flat, two-panelled windscreen and a roof which slopes down at the back. There are silver bells approximately where wing mirrors would usually sit and no doors. The wheel arches, footplate and hub caps are red and along the bottom are the words Newcastle City Fire Brigade. On the roof is a red ladder with a lever and wires attached from the rear. There is a large red wagon wheel at the foot of the ladder.Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service
The fire engines date from the 1930s

Two fire engines from the 1930s have been donated to a museum.

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service said it had handed over the vehicles, built in 1934 and 1937, to Beamish Museum in County Durham.

Station manager Trevor Sturrock said the appliances had previously been located at Tynemouth Community Fire Station and were taken out for public events.

But due to the fire service experiencing difficulties maintaining the engines, he said specialists at Beamish would be better able to look after the vehicles.

"We have always been reliant on the time and efforts of our volunteers and retired firefighters to maintain these vehicles to a high standard for public events, but we are now handing over the baton," he said.

The fire engines had once been in active service across the region in Newcastle, Gateshead and Middlesbrough.

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service Jonny and Sam from Beamish Museum of the North pictured on the fire engine after it arrived at the museum. The vehicle is black and red and parked on a cobblestone road which has tram tracks running along it. The people on the truck are wearing old-fashioned black helmets and uniforms. Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service
One of the vehicles arrived at Beamish on 21 February

Mr Sturrock said the trucks deserved "admiration" and that keeping them in the region meant retired firefighters could still visit and experience the "nostalgic reminders of historical operational incidents".

Beamish official Paul Jarman said the engines would appear at events at the museum during the year.

One of the vehicles was driven to Beamish through Gateshead and Newcastle last week.

The other appliance will be transferred at a later date as it needs to be transported on a low-loader.

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