Saturday, March 05, 2011

Pan American Shows #4


Scan13288, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

My dad wrote on the back:

"Great Pan American Shows 1903 (Lemen)
Ladder wagon, used for Capt. Santiago's high dive
into a net"

I studied this picture for quite a while and finally decided
that the ladder rode the flats almost completely in tact.
From this angle it appears to fold upright from left to right
and remain permanently attatched.
Can't believe they didn't pile excess stuff on top.
Maybe Santiago was Lemen's son in law.
Buckles

Posted by Buckles at 3/05/2011 06:00:00 AM

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

A conventional fire fighting extension ladder was the basis of the high diving act. It was probably a leftover from the year when the Lemen property had served as the basis of Capt. Hale's touring fire show.

05 March, 2011 07:59
Hal Guyon said...

There seems to be a lot of wasted space on this flat car. Look at the gap betwen the chariot & the wagons. Also, They could have probably put the chariot on the ladder wagon under the left part of the ladder. I think I have a picture of this wagon with the ladder in the upright position, I`ll look it up & send it to you.

05 March, 2011 09:59
Dick Flint said...

In 1868 fireman Daniel Hayes invented a wagon-mounted extension ladder that was raised by a spring-assist mechanism. There is no wagon bed, just as with center pole wagons, in order to reduce weight given the already considerable weight of the wooden extension ladder. For fire departments, this reduced weight and helped in speeding to the fire and in maneuvering the ladder wagon into position. Given how the Hayes wagon was designed, it might have been difficult and risky to add a floor to carry a few miscellaneous items. Railroad car mileage was still cheap when Pan American toured and doing it the old fashioned way is easier for most people than being inventive.
Years ago when I was director of a fire museum with 50 hand-pulled, horse-drawn, and early motorized vehicles, that has one of the few horse-drawn Hayes trucks in its collection.
Hale, who toured the fire fighting show referenced above, had a dramatic show at the St. Louis World’s Fair and had toured and competed in shows previously. Traditional ladder work using “pompier” ladders was quite an acrobatic feat and Hale employed some former circus acrobats in Kansas City where he was fire chief. He also invented the first water tower and was a leader in the late 19th century fire fighting profession.
Dick Flint
Baltimore

05 March, 2011 13:27

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