Some old Photos for your enjoyment

[Bret4207]

How the world changes. Below is the crash fire rescue truck from the local airport when I first went into the fire service. It was one built for running on the deck of aircraft carriers in WW2. Next to it is a 1954 Diamond T truck chassis with a 1936 pump and body built by the firemen.
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Next is the next crash fire rescue truck to be delivered next month, cost $1.1 million. One diesel engine and everything else is hydraulic and electric.
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When I was growing up down in the Adirondacks, there were Forest Rangers barns all over the place. Seemed like they were in every little hamlet. In the barn would be a WW2/Korea era CJ Jeep fire truck and usually a Dodge Power Wagon fire truck and a Deuce and a half tanker. I don't know whatever happened to the truck, all the old Indian Pumps, gasoline water pumps, etc. No doubt sold off as surplus 40 years back.

 

[L Ross]

Ric,
I stand corrected.

There were a lot of spiffy looking cars, in the '50s and 60s, then the feds got involved. Now, they all look the monochromic and charmless same. No small wonder the chrome-bumpered Ford F-150 remains the largest selling vehicle.

Then the Feds got involved. PRNDL for example.

 

[462]

PRNDL for example.

And then they made it worse, by mandating that we are required to step on the brake pedal before putting the transmission in gear.

I'll say it again: I was born 100-years to late.

 

[JWFilips]

Another old one from shorpy .com

1955. A rainbow over the campus of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, seems to end on a row of classic 50s cars. The two-tone '53 Olds is nice, but I wish it wasn't obscuring the red-roofed Merc behind it. Shot by my brother, then a freshman there, on 35mm Kodachrome.

 

[358156 hp]

RB, you and my Dad and the Chryslers. One of my Dad's hobbies was hunting up cherry old cars and driving them for a year or so. In 1968 he found a cherry 1963 300 HT with less than 10,000 miles, cheap from an estate. It was his favorite car until the OPEC gas crises, but by then it was pretty much a rust bucket too. Baby blue with a 383 two barrel and a great 80 MPH cruiser on the freeway.

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I have to admit it Ric, this one really tugs at the old heart strings, and I've never been much of a Mopar kind of guy. Beautiful!

 

[Bret4207]

Kodachrome. I've talked with those who hate Kodachrome because of the vividness it gives colors. That's what I LOVE about it! To my minds eye the extra vivid color makes it more art and less a snapshot of a nano-second of time. The next best thing is the old B+W larger format film from the twin lens cameras. I'm not usre of the size, but they had a sharpness that lacked somehow in other formats. We used to have those cameras at work for mug shots. The old roll style film about 3" in width. A real bear to load if you were still shaking a bit from wrasslin' with the subject of the photo, but boy they took a nice picture.

 

[L Ross]

Kodachrome. I've talked with those who hate Kodachrome because of the vividness it gives colors. That's what I LOVE about it! To my minds eye the extra vivid color makes it more art and less a snapshot of a nano-second of time. The next best thing is the old B+W larger format film from the twin lens cameras. I'm not usre of the size, but they had a sharpness that lacked somehow in other formats. We used to have those cameras at work for mug shots. The old roll style film about 3" in width. A real bear to load if you were still shaking a bit from wrasslin' with the subject of the photo, but boy they took a nice picture.

Ooooooh, wrasslin'. I usta love that wrasslin'. "501 Headquarters," "Go ahead 501", "One to the County with a stop at St. Vincent's." Click click click click click.

 

[Bret4207]

Not me. The paper work involved, IAB checking out how you "abused" the guy that was trying to choke you to death while his wife was kicking you in the head, the newspaper twisting the report to favor the BG. Nope, no fun at all even if I came out without loose teeffs or really vivid bruises and cuts I had to lie about to my wife. Maybe back years before I came on in the late 80's it was different, but all it took was a little rug burn to initiate a Personnel Complaint and my job seemed to enjoy taking those to extremes when there was nothing there to start with.

 

[Hawk]

 

[462]

Yep. Or ride your bicycle over it.

Drive the car in, the attendant would come, ask how much (dollar amount or number of gallons) of what grade, wash the windows, check tire pressure, oil and coolant level and replenish as needed, and you paid in cash.

After you left, he went back to working on the car that was on the lift.

 

[glassparman]

I don't understand JWs picture, who would leave a perfectly good horse laying around in the gutter like that?

Mike

 

[glassparman]

Jim,
Love that picture of the young man with the single shot and single rabbit. I'm betting from his appearance it was a welcome treat at his families table.

He looks like Bobby Brady from the "Brady Bunch".

 

[Walks]

It was quite a shock to come back from Overseas in June 1974 after a year to see Lines at the Pump and having to fill your own tank.

 

[smokeywolf]

Got a job at Greene's Chevron when I was 16 yo. Two weeks later Mr. Greene handed me the keys to the station (including the floor safe) and said, you open Thursday thru Monday. That summer I learned what it's like to change a fan belt on a very hot engine.

Pump the gas, check the oil, fan belts, power steering fluid level, air in the tires and wiper blades. We were also a AAA rotational towing station.

 

[Bret4207]

I remember the old "Put a tiger in your tank" Esso ad lines. We had an Esso dealer in town and the Esso Tiger was everywhere. We even had the Esso Tiger on our chariot for the Cub Scout races. We also had a Texaco station, "You can trust your car to the man who wears the star, the big red Texaco star!" There was a little rivalry between the 2 brands in town, made for some funny jokes between them. All gone now. The Teaco station was aross the road from our place. 2 bays IIRC, one said "Marfak Lubrication" or something like that. I never had the nerve to ask Mr Sabattis who owned the station what in the heck a "Marfak" was! We also had a IHC/Jeep dealer in town in the old Texaco station (Mr Sabattis built a new one). Our area was well populated with people arguing the merits of the Jeep Wagoneer vs the the International Travelall or the CJ5 vs the Scout. Those there the days!

When I was real little we used to do our "big" shopping in Glens Falls NY. I always had a dim memory of a Brontosaurus painting down there someplace. Wasn't until maybe 12 or 15 years ago that I happened on a picture of a gas station near the intersection of Rt9 and Aviation Rd and there was the Brontosaurus! It was Sinclair gas station!

 

[462]

That Brontosaurus died in Rawlins, Wyoming.

 

[creosote]

That Brontosaurus died in Rawlins, Wyoming

I was going to say from wind burns.

Then looked at a map.
Sinclair is next to Rawlins. Hee hee.

I have a picture of my speedometer. 45 miles per hour.
That's as fast as my truck would go on that stretch of road.
You learn not to open both doors at the same time.

 

[462]

Stopped at a Rawlins gas station on our way to Wisconsin, got out of the car and was blown off balance, and not too gently. The wind was blowing the same way we were traveling, so didn't notice it. Went inside the store, bought a candy bar and asked the cashier, "Does the wind blow like that very often?" "What wind?", he replied.

 

[RicinYakima]

Asked the same question in Bob Dules home town in Kansas. My Dodge Ram was rocking side to side with 24 foot fifth wheel on the back.

 

[JWFilips]

Somebody say Esso: From shorpy.com
July 1937. "Gas station in Washington, D.C." Ott's Esso Service, Medium format negative by John Vachon.