Buckboard Fire Apparatus: The Original Cab-Forward

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."