From a reader:
I came across this old photo of Naperville E2 that I took back in the 1980’s. It was a Kodachrome slide. Amazingly, the image quality has held up well. I scanned it to share. I have a photo of the current E2 also.Old E2- 1975 Mack MB/Emergency OneCurrent E2- 2010 Spartan/Crimson (Ex-Naperville E4)
Naperville FD Engine 2 – 2010 Spartan Gladiator/Crimson fire engine
Naperville FD Engine 2 – 1975 Mack MB/Emergency One fire engine
#1 by Drew Smith on April 4, 2023 - 8:29 PM
Prospect Heights had a 1973 Ward LaFrance. It had the same shift pattern on its manual transmission.
#2 by Mike on April 4, 2023 - 6:48 PM
Tim that was my biggest fear was forgetting to hook the shifter.LOL.
#3 by Tim on April 4, 2023 - 6:07 PM
Mike, many of the manual fire apparatus had Spicer transmissions with that pattern. I believe the pattern was like that because 4th was pump gear and you can use the hook on the shifter to keep it in gear.
#4 by crabbymilton on April 4, 2023 - 11:38 AM
Interesting. On the 8th day God created automatic transmission. 🙂
#5 by Mike on April 4, 2023 - 9:49 AM
Chief not sure if the MB’s were like the CF’s, but I learned to drive a CF using this. Little h, big H to remember how to shift. Since the pattern was not normal. Never started in 1st unless on a hill.
R 2 5
1 3 4
#6 by crabbymilton on April 4, 2023 - 6:11 AM
Nice looking and massive CRIMSON. Milwaukee was saturated with those MACK based apparatus back in the 1970’s well into the 1990’s. A bit unusual that the exhaust pipe is so close to the front. But nice placement of the MARS light.
#7 by Richard Mikel on April 3, 2023 - 2:05 PM
The Mack MB was great to get in and out of tight places with that small wheelbase. It had an interesting gear-shift pattern that took a bit of getting used to, especially in that tight cab. (This was back in the day of manual transmissions!)
My personal favorite Engine was the Mack CF we ran out of Staton 1 on Jefferson Street.
Great photos – thanks!