Comments left about this photograph:
From C.Hall 500 Group Teesside at 2007-03-05 18:36:18 : This is indeed a former Teesside fire brigade vehicle, it was new in 1972 to Grangetown fire station, which is near to Middlesbrough. It replaced Grangetown's previous foam tender, HPY117D a Bedford HCB Angus, which had been involved in an accident. It had Carmichael bodywork, to a style style similar to that used by the West Riding fire brigade's AEC Foam tenders. This vehicle came off the run in 1987, and went into the reserve fleet, until its withdrawl in 1992, and had the distinction of being the last AEC appliance in the brigade. I remember once seeing this vehicle come to the Hydrant outside my mums house in Billingham sometime in 1987, I asked the crew to wait whilst I ran in for my Camera, only to find I had no film in it ! and so the perfect picture was lost forever. This vehicle became a standby F.ot at an Airfield in Northumberland, before being acquired by its current owner. It ran for some years as a Beaver Tail Recovery vehicle, before being shortend to the configuration you see here. Cleveland is famous for having white painted fronts on their appliances, this was to make them more visible under orange street lighting, the practice is current in the Cleveland fleet today. Finally Teesside has two letter 'S's in it as shown here, and can also be written like this - 'Tees-side' What an excellent website this is, many thanks for it.
From C.Hall 500 Group Teesside at 2007-03-05 22:25:50 : Teesside Fire Brigade had seven new AEC appliances, and inherited two others from its constituant brigades, all of which passed to Teessides successor Cleveland County fire brigade in 1974. The new ones were all AEC Mercury 7s,and in order of age their identities were NDC646G a FoT ,and NDC647G a Wrl, both bodied by Merryweather, and new in 1969. AXG2/29K, BDC388K, all pump ladders with HCB Angus bodies and new in 1971, AXG2/29K were the first vehicles in the brigade to carry the famous white fronts introduced in that year to make appliances more visible under orange street lighting. BDC388K was the one chosen by Corgi (using photographs) for its second release of the AEC fire engine around 1994. In 1972, CDC341K as described above came, together with CDC533K which was a pump, this time with Merryweather bodywork. The two acquired AECs were both 100ft Merryweather TLs, one from Middlesbrough, OXG950 new in 1962, and one from Hartlepool, DEF420D new in 1966, which came when Hartlepool became part of Cleveland County fire brigade in 1974.