New Tillers

Hi, I’m new, I’m from Italy. A quick question for you. Where can I find the FDNY bid? Have you got a link? Thank you guys!
 
Some interesting tillers that my Dept. had back in the 80's, besides Seagrave, were open cab Mack tractors with 100 ft. Thibault aerial ladders. I am sure that they were steel ladders and that they were a Canadian company. We had several of these. They had the familiar ''gullwing'' outriggers just like the Aerialscope tower ladders. Folded up and deployed straight down near the turntable. BTW, Seagrave was originally located in Columbus, Ohio.
 
We are an all TDA fleet here n Philadelphia with the exception of 2 KMEs with remounted 85' Snorkels and 2 KME ladder towers. 4 Seagrave 75' Aerialscopes are in production; the Snorkels will be retired. It remains to be seen who will receive the 4 new Seagraves.
 
As an outsider I’ve wondered, how much larger have the towers gotten? In physical truck sizes, obviously firehouses aren’t all getting bigger but obviously there has been a size increase from the single axle CF 75’s to the current Seagrave 75’s. Again from an outsiders perspective this must play into how maneuverable these new towers are. One would think tillers would make for better maneuverability in some of these neighborhoods now, but obviously the tillers have increased in size as well.
 
Tillers and Tower ladders you are comparing apples to oranges. Both rigs have unique features. Tillers of course have a much better manuverability. The box assignments back in the day tried to incorporate a ladder and a TL. The TL's have gotten longer with the dual axel and full cab. The basket which used to hang over the rear is now protected by cabinets that were not there previously and does make the rig look larger, too. Since the dual axel, there are some areas where getting around with a TL may be problematic, but then again we have some ace Ladder Chauffeurs out there!
 
Sfdc111 said:
As an outsider I’ve wondered, how much larger have the towers gotten? In physical truck sizes, obviously firehouses aren’t all getting bigger but obviously there has been a size increase from the single axle CF 75’s to the current Seagrave 75’s. Again from an outsiders perspective this must play into how maneuverable these new towers are. One would think tillers would make for better maneuverability in some of these neighborhoods now, but obviously the tillers have increased in size as well.
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As a kid in the 1940's, I remember H&L 39, on E.233rd Street..the last few rungs stuck out the rear window of qtrs. Also sharing the house was a yellow truck, which if my memory is still good, was assigned to the Miners and Sappers unit.
 
Steve Tellis said:
As a kid in the 1940's, I remember H&L 39, on E.233rd Street..the last few rungs stuck out the rear window of qtrs. Also sharing the house was a yellow truck, which if my memory is still good, was assigned to the Miners and Sappers unit.
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Correct name was Corps of Sappers and Miners of the Fire Dept. From a New York Times article dated Jan.26, 1883.
 
Steve Tellis said:
I just jogged my memory bank..The explosives were stored in a masoleum in Woodlawn.
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Tillers followup:From Norwood, The Bronx, our family moved to Akron, Ohio..1st due Engine 9 ran with 1940's vintage Seagrave with the Sweetheart grill, and equipped with a screech whistle. 1st due truck, Ladder 3, ran with an Ahrens-Fox
Bascule tiller. Quite the rig. Then we moved to Cincinnati, first due area of E2, E42 and Ladder 14, a 1940's era Mack tiller.
On a visit back The Bronx I saw Ladder 32 on a run on E.Gun Hill Rd. International tractor with a vintage wooden ladder.
 
Just for arguments sake I compared the Code 3 TL's of TL-31, the Mack and the Seagrave. The Mack has no enclosed 4 door cab the Searave does. The Seagrave has enclosed compartments under the basket, the Mack has a set of jacks. The dual rear axles line up with each other. The Seagrave enclosed cab necessitates the turntable moved down the chassis a little more. Not the most scientific observation, just food for thought.
 
JohnnyGage said:
Tillers and Tower ladders you are comparing apples to oranges. Both rigs have unique features. Tillers of course have a much better manuverability. The box assignments back in the day tried to incorporate a ladder and a TL. The TL's have gotten longer with the dual axel and full cab. The basket which used to hang over the rear is now protected by cabinets that were not there previously and does make the rig look larger, too. Since the dual axel, there are some areas where getting around with a TL may be problematic, but then again we have some ace Ladder Chauffeurs out there!

Definitely apples to oranges, I was curious if the FDNY has ever thought of going back to tillers for some areas where it’s tight. Where I currently work we started out with TL158’s single axle 75’ CF, we’re a small town, that truck fit great, now we have a dual axle KME TL, and it’s excessively tight in areas, just had me wondering if the new size is posing problems.
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I'm not in a position to have the inside scoop if the FDNY is going to return some units to tillers, but I'm pretty sure that is not the case, the thirteen or so tillers that remain most likely will stay, unless otherwise, I think the other companies with RM and TL's will remain the same, too.
 
Ladder 43 El Barrios Bravest ran a Tiller ALF Until maybe 1971? When they moved into their new Quarters they then had a rearmount. The Tiller at the Old House 111st with Engine 91 and the 25 Battalion was the fastest in the City lol. It would roar down 2ND Avenue and everybody got the Hell outta the way.
 
tperez102 said:
Ladder 43 El Barrios Bravest ran a Tiller ALF Until maybe 1971? When they moved into their new Quarters they then had a rearmount. The Tiller at the Old House 111st with Engine 91 and the 25 Battalion was the fastest in the City lol. It would roar down 2ND Avenue and everybody got the Hell outta the way.
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Wow Thanks 68JK Just like I said at the Open screaming down second avenue to what looks like the Franklin or Jefferson Houses at the Open. Don't know if you remember this but the Projects back then had a type of Acetone paint in the Staircases back then to guard against Graffiti, Trouble was that stuff would ignite if the Fire got into the Hallway., and incinerate the Staircase . Thanks Again 68JK.
 
All this tiller talk...couple of the tillers seeing jobs today and yesterday: 147, 118, 175, 39 (although they might be in a spare RM)
 
The former paint that had been originally used was often ignited by a rubbish Fire in the stairway when the currents in the stair were just right depending on what doors were open above & below......the time shortly after Christmas was especially problematic as Christmas trees were sometime lit in a stairway providing an intense start & the paint took over.....after awhile there was a citywide remediation of the old paint.
 
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