Fire Truck - An electric ladder truck 1907

Colorized photo from 1907... more

by Mike Savad

Title

Fire Truck - An electric ladder truck 1907

Artist

Mike Savad

Medium

Photograph - Colorized Photo

Description

Colorized photo from 1907
Original Title: German fire engine
Photographer: Bain News
Location: Kopenicker Strabe 125, Berlin, Germany (maybe)

When you think of electric cars, you think of high tech advancements where we don't need gas and it just all seems so new. But its not, its been around for a very long time. They had electric cars over a hundred years ago. But they weren't that popular, as they needed a lot of power to charge them up and such. Like today you still need a power grid that can support such things. That was the main reason they never really took off and why we use gas now. That said, they didn't have to use a horse, that is a savings right there.

This is an electrically powered ladder truck. Made in Germany back in 1907, they were showing off their new fleet of trucks. It ran quietly, and had a motor that lifted that ladder, you can see the chain in the back. Presumably, that box in the front must have been where the batteries went. I'm not sure what went into those cylinders, maybe they were large fire extinguishers. The real weird thing about this truck was the seating arrangement. They seemed to have put them just about everywhere. Those might be belts that held them in.

Built by Braun for Berufsfeuerwehr Berlin. It's believed those tanks contained Co2 and it lifted the ladder. Its possible the motor assisted as well.

Uploaded

January 19th, 2021