Restored surviving “ladder trucks” are quite rare, in particular to the scale and standard of the American LaFrance offered here. A Type 270 Service Truck with the Type 12 T-head six-cylinder engine, delivering 120 horsepower through dual chain drive to the rear axle, it was built at an unfortunate date, at the very beginning of the Great Depression. Accordingly, with even large municipalities severely tightening their budget, the apparatus remained unsold until 1935. It was then acquired by the town of Gardner, Massachusetts, with an updated radiator and double-bar front bumper fitted prior to delivery in order to modernize its appearance. It served with Ladder Companies 1 and 2 while in Gardner.

As its name suggests, the Type 270 is complete with a double-banked set of wooden ground ladders, as well as a 12-foot wooden folding ladder, suiting just about every situation a Gardner fireman might have faced. It was also complete with a booster pump and water tank, a spacious hose box above the ladder banks, and numerous other “tools of the trade.”

The truck received a full professional restoration for the American LaFrance Corporate Collection some years ago, using correct original livery down to the colors, 23k gold decoration, and chrome-plated brightwork. The seat is upholstered in vinyl to a modern pattern, but the remainder of the machine features proper period equipment—including correct lights, the original dashboard and gauges, and, most special of all, a full complement of original wooden ladders, almost never found even on the finest restored ladder trucks. Following restoration, it was one of the trucks used to illustrate the American LaFrance entry in Walter M.P. McCall’s well-known reference work, the Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Fire Engine Manufacturers. Typical of vehicles in the collection, it appears to have seen only minor use since completion, with some signs of age found under the hood, and will require servicing prior to road use.

This is inarguably one of the most dramatic vehicles in the American LaFrance Corporate Collection, and is sure to stop any onlooker in their tracks, whether dominating a new owner’s carriage house or charging through town.