In 1938, American LaFrance pioneered the first cab-forward fire apparatus, then revolutionized the concept in 1945 with the classic 700 Series. In the 1950s, legendary names such as Ahrens Fox, Crown Firecoach, Mack, Maxim, Pirsche, and Seagrave began offering their own cab-forward versions. The cab-forward design became the glamour queen of fire apparatus. This volume traces the evolution of cab-forward fire apparatus from its fathering to today’s industry giants, with a brilliant selection of black and white and color photographs with historical commentary and technical data.

Before the cab-forward revolution led by the 700 Series American-LaFrance, there was the buckboard style of fire apparatus. With the driver ahead or aside of the engine, the buckboard style was the original cab-forward.This buckboard style was one of the more common incarnations of early motor fire apparatus design. Today it often is overlooked despite its historical significance.Buckboard Fire Apparatus: The Original Cab-Forward, with more than 200 photos and advertisements, explores the development of motor fire apparatus of the buckboard style during the brief period from 1905 through around 1920 when the buckboard style was common and produced in significant numbers by a variety of manufacturers.According to Walter McCall, the author of American Fire Engines Since 1900, "there is a LOT of new information in there, as well as many photos we haven't seen before. It's not just a book about buckboard-style apparatus -- it's an excellent overview of the birth of the motor fire apparatus era."

American COE (Cab Over Engine) designs began to appear as a way to maximize loads and abide by individual U.S. state length regulations. By shortening the overall length of the truck cab the trailer size could be increased while staying within the overall length limit dictated by each state. COE trucks would help play a vital role in America’s industrial growth over the ensuing decades. All the major truck manufacturers are featured along with the many models offered throughout the decades into the 1970s, as well as a brief look at the COE models offered through the 1980s to today.

As World War II drew to a close, America's premier fire apparatus builder--the American-LaFrance Foamite Corp. of Elmira, N.Y.--bet the company's future on its radical new cab-ahead-of-engine 700 Series fire engines. In a spectacular gamble to capture the superheated postwar market, all of the company's existing products were discontinued and its customers were essentially told to "take it or leave it." This bold gamble paid off and 700 Series rigs soon filled firehouses across the nation, sweeping aside all competitors and ultimately defining the breakthrough 700 as "America's Fire Engine." This is the first comprehensive history of the game-changing 700. Individual chapters detail not only each of the eight major vehicle types but also the origins, design controversies, manufacturing, and marketing of the 700 and short-lived transitional 800 Series. The book includes a meticulously researched registry of every 700/800 series apparatus delivered, supported by many interpretive tables detailing production, specifications and major fire department fleets.

This highly visual study examines the important role of trucking in the growth of North America in the 1950s. With 120 images and evocative writing, it encapsulates the histories of the major, minor, obscure, but nonetheless historically significant truck manufacturers. Detailed captions and supportive text complement contemporary brochures, period literature, factory photos and over fifty new, unpublished color photos of restored examples to relate the importance of these historic vehicles.

An in-depth look at the history, development, and evolution of fire fighting vehicles and manufacturers through the late 1990s.