At the turn of the century few steam-pump fire engines were self propelled. Horse drawn steam fire engines were the norm, and the roar of the self-propelled engines would certainly have been disruptive to the horses. In 1890, one of the first self-propelled engines was built. This was actually a horse-drawn steamer with a chain drive to the larger rear wheels. It was followed by the W.C.F.Busch self-propelled engine. At the time, Busch specialised in stationary and mobile pumps powered by electricity, steam or petrol. When Busch introduced its self-propelled steam-engine, it had twin rods connecting the front axle to the ashpan of the boiler. A 2-cylinder engine drove the rear wheels with a chain through a differential gearbox. With water tanks, pumping engine, motive power and coal bunker, the 5.3 tonnes steam pump engine had the capacity for a one hour journey. Few steam pump engines were maintained to begin pumping at a moment's notice and in an emergency the pumper would require 10 minutes to reach a working pressure.

Now, the vintage 1905 Busch Self-Propelled Fire Engine is brought to life in a dramatic 1:43 scale die-cast replica from Matchbox Collectibles - "the greatest name in die-cast." This is a replica of the original vehicle still housed in the Feuer Wehr Museum at Basel in Switzerland.

Scale: 1:43