1941 Diamond-T City Service Ladder Truck
1942-58
Spare: 1958-63
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| H&L Co. 1 (Highwood) - 1941 Diamond-T City Service Ladder Truck |
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1942 - Hamden's brand new two-tone 1941 Diamond-T city service ladder truck was assigned to Highwood Station 1, at the corner of Dixwell Avenue and Morse Street. This truck replaced the 1926 Maxim that had been struck by a trolley car in March 1941.
The Diamond-T ladder truck remained in service until 1958, when Hamden received its first aerial ladder truck, a 1958 Maxim 75' "Junior" Aerial. The '41 Diamond-T remained as a spare and was housed at Station 5 until April 1963, when it was sold to New Milford. It was eventually sold to a Hamden collector.
In the summer of 1986, the 1941 Diamond-T ladder truck made one more appearance in Hamden, at a career-volunteer fire muster held on the grounds of Quinnipiac College during Hamden's Town Bicentennial.
On October 1, 1951, Engine 1 and the ladder truck joined Engine 2 at the newly-renovated Humphrey fire station at 71 Circular Avenue, and Highwood Station No. 1 was closed.
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Chandler Brainard, an avid fire buff who grew up in Hamden, sent these 1950s photos of Ladder One on the ramp at Station 2. Chan has lots of historical Hamden Fire Department photos and newspaper articles that he has offered to share with the website, including his own remembrances of Hamden Fire Department personnel, emergency incidents and other activites. Many years ago, Chan provided his own copies of the original 1939 pix of Hamden apparatus, that were photographed on the ramp at old Station 3. Thank you, Chan!
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| c. 1953 - Diamond-T ladder truck passes by Headquarters. Photographer Donald Yosua was perched in upstairs bunkroom window. (Photo taken by Donald Yosua, and courtesy of Clark Hurlburt) |
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41 Diamond-T H&L at the Hamden Bicentennial Fire Muster - May 1986
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Mr. Ken Lewis, a longtime member of Company 8 and an enthusiastic collector of old fire apparatus, purchased Hamden's 1941 Diamond-T ladder truck from New Milford. In May 1986, Mr. Lewis generously allowed a department member to drive this iconic former Hamden fire truck to the Hamden Bicentennial Fire Muster. The muster was held on the grounds of Quinnipiac College, where the Quinnipiac University Law School stands today.
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