1937-38 Seagrave Hose Truck/Pumper - Curlew, WA
Posted by: 
T0SHEA
N 48° 53.022 W 118° 35.948
11U E 382765 N 5415760
Toodling around the tiny village of Curlew in Ferry County, we came across this Seagrave standing forlornly at an intersection.
Waymark Code: WMRK59
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 07/02/2016
Views: 3
The pumper seems to have been abandoned at the corner of South Main and River Streets. Given that this is an election year, the proud old truck has been irreverently defaced with myriad election posters.
Given the body style of the pumper it should be a 1937 or a 1938. It doesn't carry any water to speak of, just firefighting equipment, hoses, ladders and, of course the water pump, with attendant controls and apparatus. These Seagraves were built back in the days of the Pierce-Arrow and Cadillac V12 engines, beautiful pieces of machinery. Apparently Seagrave used Pierce-Arrow and possibly even Cadillac V12s, the Pierce-Arrow from 1932 thru 1938 and the Cadillac to 1937. Apparently the Pierce-Arrow engines worked so well that Seagrave bought the rights to it and continued to use it in their fire engines into the 1960s.
There are no longer any "Fire Department" signs on this truck, so we have no idea what department(s) it served in its working life. I wish some enterprising department (or individual) would rescue this one and restore it. It appears to be essentially complete, but, of course, we have no idea of the condition of the mechanicals.