Jim B Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Over the Fourth of July weekend, I spent some tome with my wife's family in the Catskill Mountains south of Albany, NY. One of the things I managed to get to was the Fireman's Association of the State of New York (FASNY) Museum of Firefighting in Hudson, NY. While I was expecting a small but nice museum I have to admit that I was plesently suprised by the size of the musuem & the variety of artifacts & apparatus on display. It was a little overwhelming (in a good way). The museum covers firefighting from the Roman Empire through today. Artifacts include gear & tools from colonial New Amsterdam & New York to modern equipment. There were hand-drawn pumpers & carts, elaborate horse-drawn pumpers & steamers of the Voctorian & Edwardian eras, and a large collection of 20th century apparatus. The oldest apparatus is a 1731 Newsham Pumper. The museum even had several pumpers for kids of all ages to "gear-up & climb aboard". These vehicles included a 1972 Ford C800, a 1968 Ford F850, a 1952 Dodge brush truck, and a 1924 Afhens (I think). All in all it was very cool. Here are some pictures that I did manage to take. Apparatus Room 1902 Hayes 1916 American-LaFrance 1950 Autocar 1965 American-LaFrance 900 Series (yes, that's an American-LaFrance 700 Series behind the 900 Series) It was a very nice trip, and I definately want to go back with the kids as i think they will enjoy all of the "hands-on" activities. Here is the museum's Website: http://www.fasnyfiremuseum.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Super nice! Thanks, Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim B Posted July 7, 2014 Author Share Posted July 7, 2014 Glad you like them. It was a really fun museum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tesla Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Jim thanks for posting these pics...this equipment is in remarkable condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim B Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 You're welcome. Yes, the equipment really is in very good condition, considering the age of some of it. I believe most of the apparatus are actually driveable except for the Autocar; its engine siezed in 2001. I (obviously) didn't post any pictures of the hand pumpers or steamers, but they were really in remarkable condition as well. Some of them were absolutly stunning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Hey, Jim, Do they have any models of fire apparatus on display? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim B Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 I didn't see any. Just actual apparatus & artifacts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Gotcha. Thanks. Sometimes those specialty museums attract all kinds of donations. I worked for several years (7+) at the National Hall of Flame Museum and we had a large quantity (I counted 400+) of apparatus models that various donors had contributed. They ranged from simplistic AMT American LaFrance builds to very sophisticated and impressive scratchbuilt models ~ and every possible permutation in between. Only one diorama was on public display, and it was not among the best stuff we had. I campaigned long and hard to set up displays of some of the better items, but the curator always dismissed the idea, insisting we were 'not a toy store.' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent G Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 The museum is very nice! I love the history on display. "Not a toy store" Now that is a close minded, ignorant comment if I ever heard one. Dumazz......................... G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim B Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 Glad you liked the photos, Wayne. While i agree that museums are not toy stores. well built scale models (in other words, not mine) do add a lot of variety to a museum display. Let's face it, museums have been displaying models since museums were created. They're a lot less expensive, and they take up a lot less room; and when placed in a diorama setting the viewer still gets the idea of scale & how the vehilce was used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petetrucker07 Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 I agree jim, 100%. Too many museums to mention use models in some way shape or form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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