The Christie

A plastic model of the Christie fire truck from the beginning of the 20th century was made in 1:12 scale. The work was awarded at the 10th Lublin Model Meetings in 2015 in Poland.

The beginning of the 20th century was a period of intensive development of the automotive industry. Horse carts were being replaced by self-propelled vehicles. Such changes also were being took place in fire department. It was too expensive to replace good horse-drawn fire pumps with brand new vehicles. John Christie, an engineer and inventor, built a tractor that allowed to modernize the rolling stock without scrapping good equipment.

John Christie cut off the front of the vehicle where was a seat for the coachman and replaced it with a self-designed single axle tractor powered by a gasoline engine. The drive was transferred to the axle by a chain transmission.

In 1911, John Christie founded the Front Drive Company, in which he produced, among others, cars for fire brigades. Vehicles like the one in the photo served until 1920. They were used in most major cities in the United States.

Interesting for modellers is that John Christie invented the suspension and steering for tracked vehicles, later called Christie's suspension. It was used to build many tanks, including the T-34.

Sources:

• http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/82585-1911-christie-fire-engine-wip/
• https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Christie

2 Jan 2016