A vintage fire engine dating back to the 1930s received a guard of honour on the way to its new home at one of the North East’s most popular tourist attractions.
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service have donated an impressive pair of Leyland emergency vehicles to Beamish: The Living Museum of the North where they will be positioned among other heritage vehicles. The fire engines were registered in 1934 and 1937 respectively and have seen active duty across Newcastle, Gateshead and Middlesbrough.
The vehicles have been located at Tynemouth Community Fire Station for several years, but have become “increasingly difficult” to maintain and service due to their age. However, the 1937 Leyland Semi Limousine still managed to make a road trip to its new home, and was given a guard of honour as it left the station for one last time.
Paul Jarman, director of development – transport, industry and design at Beamish Museum, said it the vehicle had turned a few heads on its journey. He said: “We have been aware of these fine appliances for many years now and are very grateful that Tyne & Wear Fire & Rescue Service has entrusted them to Beamish Museum where they will form part of the core collection of regionally significant transport exhibits.”
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service has its own archive and museum at its service headquarters in Washington with artefacts donated by retired firefighters and their families. However, at Beamish, the vehicles will become part of the working recreation of North East life and appear at events throughout the year.
(Image: TWFRS)
The 1934 Leyland Fire Pump will be transported to Beamish on a low loader at a later date. Trevor Sturrock, Tynemouth Community Fire Station manager, said keeping the trucks in the region ensured they could be enjoyed by the public for many more years to come.
He added: “Keeping the Leyland trucks in the region also ensures that retired firefighters can still visit and experience the nostalgic reminders of historical operational incidents from the region’s heritage. A special mention has to go to all of the tender loving care that has been given down the years to both appliances from fire service volunteers and serving crew members.”
Join our County Durham WhatsApp community
Join our County Durham WhatsApp community for all the latest news County Durham news sent direct to your phone.
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press ‘join community’.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘exit group’.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/family-kids-news/vintage-fire-engine-gets-guard-31084881
