Morning history. How many pictures exist of the Raleigh Fire Department’s antique 1905 American LaFrance Metropolitan steamer and when the thing was in service? Just two.
Plus a couple of parade pictures from the early 1940s and likely long after it was retired. The sole surviving piece of the city’s horse-drawn apparatus is part of the department’s antique fleet. It was restored to operational functionality in 2012, for the occasion of the department’s centennial anniversary.
Steamer parked beside Station 1 on W. Morgan Street, circa 1912. cropped from larger view, Courtesy North Carolina State Archives, N_53_16_3957
Steamer pulled behind motor hose car at Station 1, circa 1913, cropped from larger view, Courtesy North Carolina State Archives, N_53_16_3958
Steamer in 1940 parade, Courtesy North Carolina State Archives, cropped from slightly larger view, N_75_11_529
Steamer at South Atlantic Fire Rescue Expo in Raleigh in August 2018, Mike Legeros photo.
Builder Plates
Pictures and Videos
- Here’s a album of pictures of the steamer from our Flickr site, with dozens of present-day pictures.
- Here’s a visual guide to the steamer controls, also on our Flickr site.
- Here are videos of the steamer in action in recent years.
Historical Information
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