The original coal bunker on 1888 Ahrens #541, ex-North Amherst, OH, shows plain gold block lettering for the town name, and red shading on left side of gold numeral 2. The famous Ahrens-Fox double green left shading would not appear until 1912. Also note gold stripes across top and bottom of the rear-wheel brake.
Wilmington, OH, still owns its original 1890 Ahrens steamer #605, the "Clinton Chief". This shot shows details of the intricate decorations applied to the frame more than 110 years ago. Also note the gold scrol on the neck of the pump's air chamber, and the gold stripes outlining the pipe that connects the left and right discharge gates of the pump.
These color engravings from an 1888 Ahrens catalog seem very accurate in their detail. However, it is not clear how closley the artist's version of the gold-leaf on the frame and wheels matches that applied at the Ahrens factory. Still, if one were to follow these designs in restoring an Ahrens steamer of similar vintage, the result would be attractive and probably pretty close to authentic.
Leipsic, OH, still owns a fully-original 1895 Ahrens steamer. Photo above shows the factory-original gold-leaf stripes and scrolls on its driver's seat. Below is the original gold scroll at the front edge of the coal-bunker, where it attaches to the base of the boiler. Rear corners of the coal-bunker feature identical scrolls.
"Roosevelt" is a 1902 Metropolitan first-size steamer #2844, which cost $8900 when new, and originally used as Engine 1 in Salt Lake City, UT. This rig is 15 feet long, 9'7" high, weighs 10,800 pounds, and is drawn by three horses. It now belongs to the Daughters of Utah Pioneers at Bountiful, UT. Between Feb. 4, 1994 and June 14, 1996, it underwent a total restoration of all of its 22,125 individual parts, at a cost of $125,000. Paint was carefully stripped away down to the original, and all gold-leaf patterns were carefully traced and reproduced. So this is an excellent model for gold-leaf on any Metripolitan steamer:
overall view
coal bunker
chassis frame
rear wheel
Los Angeles County Fire Museum owns a fully-original 1903 American Metroipolitan 2nd-size seteamer #2928, originally Engine 5 in Sacramento, CA. All of its factory gold-leaf is still in very good shape after nearly 100 years:
composite side view
back end of frame
scroll on left side of frame
scroll on right side of frame
scroll on driver's seat
Original factory photos are among the best ways to determine the original apperarance of the gold-leaf decorations on an old fire engine. Here are several factory photos of Metropolitan steamers that were built by the American-LaFrance Fire Engine Company (the company that resulted from the 1903 merger of the American Fire Engine Company of Seneca Falls, NY, and Cincincinnati, OH; and the International Fire Engine Company of Elmira, NY, Chicago, IL, Baltimore, MD, and Worcester, MA). Although all were built within a couple of years of each other, there are some variations in decorations from one engine to another, and the best way to restore such an engine is to use your best judgment; following a design for an engine of similar size and vintage, used in teh same part of trhe country as the engine being restored, will result in an authentic-looking restoration:
from a 1904 encyclopedia
1908 2nd size #3257, Engine 6, San Antonio, TX
1909 2nd size #3269 with 1916 Amerocan-LaFrance Type 31-6 tractor, Putnam Fire Company #2, Port Chester, NY
1909 3rd size #3272, FDNY Engine 28, New York, NY
1909 3rd size #3277, Engine 3, Concord, NH
1909 3rd size #3298, Engine 5, Fresno, CA
1909 5th size #3282, Pittsburgh, PA
1910 2nd size #3315, Engine 2, Salem, MA
1910 3rd size #3320, George Wilber Engine Co. No. 2, Oneonta, NY
1910 4th size #3321, Buenos Aries, Argentina
1911 1st size #3331, Boston, MA
1911 2nd size #3332, Rescue Fire Company, Cambridge, MD (Rescue of Cambridge still owns this steamer)
1911 3rd size #3343, Engine 3, Perth Amboy, NJ
1912 Extra 1st size #3376, Engine 4, Albany, NY
1914 2nd size #3418, Liberty Fire Co. No. 9, Wilmington, DE, built with American-LaFrance Type 31-6 tractor (steamer and tractor share one continuous chassis frame).
Compare the factory photo above (showing installation of tubes into the boiler of a Metroplitan steamer in 1904) with the faithful recreation of the gold leaf on the coal bunker at the rear of the 1911 Extra 1st size Metropolitan steamer still owned by Eureka, CA, below.
Andy Swift's "Firefly Retsorations" in Hope, ME, turns out some of the finest fire engine restorations in America. For example, this is a wheel he restored on a 1904 6th-size Cosmopolitan steamer, ex-Claremore, OK, that Andy restored for the American-LaFrance Museum:
Andy also did a first-rate restoration on a 1911 3rd-size Metropolitan steamer #3374, ex-Harrisonburg, VA, also for the American-LaFrance Museum:
right-rear
right-front
right-front
rear
The following are the factory-original decorations on 1909 Ahrens Continental #170 of Allentown, PA.
Neck of air chamber:
Pump flywheel:
Crane-neck arch of chassis frame:
Chassis frame:
Back-end of chassis frame (wraps around steam boiler):
Wheel rim at base of spoke:
