06/13/2026
Next in the series: Our 1937 Sealand International Engine. This was the first motorized apparatus in our history. The rig served as our only engine for almost 30 years until it was relegated to second fiddle in 1961 with the delivery of the GMC engine profiled earlier.
During its many years of service, this engine responded to many fires and pumped long hours. Being a PTO type pump, we are told it took many trophies at musters for being the fastest to get water on the target.
The unit was officially retired in 1971 and we lost track of it for many years until one of our members found it being used as a playground piece at a local campground in the mid-1980’s. We asked if we could have it back and restore it back to its original glory.
We began restoring “the 37” as we called it, and it was completed in time for our 100th Anniversary in 1986. Since then it has been part of many events such as parades, open houses, and celebrations (front and center at our 130th anniversary, during the pandemic in 2021). The “37” even served as a caisson in the funeral of a local fire chief.
Today, we are again restoring the old engine and hope to get it running in the near future. (You how hard it is to get parts for a 1937 gasoline engine? …) It presently resides in our carriage shed in the rear of our station with our original piece of apparatus, our 1896 hose cart. We will profile that next.
