March 2008 Photographs

This is the dispatch center for the fire museum with radios that allow the museum to communicate on the fire and trolley museum frequencies and also to communicate with the East Windsor fire departments and Greater Hartford Intercity Radio System. The fire alarm system at the museum is monitored here and the equipment to transmit the signals to the Tolland County Alarm Center is also located in this room.

The large panel is the fire alarm switch board. This unit was built in 1903 and served the Danielson Fire Department (CT) until 1977. That year it was placed in the fire museum on permanent loan. Built by the Gamewell Company it is still functional today supplying 48volts direct current for the alarm system that covers the CTM/CFM Campus.

Photos by Bert Johanson and his new Canon Digital ;-)

Greetings to the firefighters in Mantel, Germany

Click on the photographs for their enlargement

Mantel, Bavaria

Assistant Chief Stepfan Lippik and

Sgt. Carl Childs USAR -

a member of the fire department.

He is originally from Hartford, CT.

1997 Mercedes/Ludwig pumper

To the Firefighters of Mantel Bavaria on their 140th Anniversary - SALUTE

In appreciation of their recent courtesy - Bert Johanson: Curator CFM

bjohanson@ceraweb.org

The 1936 Mack Pumper from West Springfield, MA.

This truck served West Springfield until the late 1950's - with its last

assignment being the Eastern States Exposition fire station.

Dan Kelley - retired - Hartford Fire Department.

He is the last survivor of the HFD who was at the July 1944 circus fire. He is shown

with the museum's 1928 American LaFrance pumper that was also at the circus fire.

Radio Communications

at the Connecticut Trolley Museum et al

Prior to 1985 the telephone was the primary communication method at the Connecticut Trolley Museum, until a local communications supplier donated a base station and some portables to the museum. The museum used a business frequency until 1990 when it was assigned a railroad frequency by the American Association of Railroads. The frequency of 161.145 is also utilized by Northeast Utilities as their nuclear emergency channel.

Base stations are located in the dispatcher�s office in North Road Station, Visitors Center Business Office, Luca Car Shop and the Fire Museum alarm office. The streetcar crews utilize portable radios, only Locomotive #1 has a built in radio. Crews use the car number as their ID when communicating with the North Road dispatcher. The museum uses a repeater system for the dispatch channel to extend the range of the portable radios used by the crews on the cars while operating on the line. This system gives the museum radio system a range of 25 to 30 mile radius of East Windsor. The museum also utilizes 160.050 for maintenance on the line. If you monitor the dispatch channel 161.145 you will hear the call letters WPKZ436 transmitted in Morse code every hour. This is a requirement of the FCC because the repeater is considered an automated radio station.

The Fire Museum radio system dates back to 1973 when the museum was granted a low band VHF license. Radios were installed in all the operational fire apparatus to coordinate operations at parades and exhibitions. In 1995 the museum converted to a high band VHF group of channels that are utilized today. The fire museum also utilizes a repeater located in Glastonbury thus giving their radios a range of 40 to 50 miles from East Windsor. Fire museum vehicle radio assignments:

Car 10 President

Car 11 Alarm & Signal Div.

Car 14 Master Mechanic

Car 15 Inter city radio coordinator

Car 20 Executive Director

Car 22 Engine 2

Car 24 Engine 4

Car 25 Engine 5

Car 27 Engine 7

Car 28 Engine 8

Car 29 Engine 9

Car 31 Ladder 1

Car 41 Crash One

Car 45 Rescue 15

All the fire museum vehicles have multi channel radios that can communicate on both the fire museum and trolley museum frequencies.

The radio coordinator for both museums is Keith B. Victor of East Hartford. A retired Hartford firefighter, Keith is the developer and coordinator for the inter-city fire networks in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. Keith was instrumental in helping both museums to obtain the frequencies used today. Keith also provides the repeater services for the fire museum.

Other radio frequencies for streetcar operations in New England:

Branford Electric Railway 451.9500 and 456.9500

Seashore Trolley Museum 160.500 and 160.470

National Park Service Lowell Streetcar line 166.8750

MBTA Green Line Boston 470.6375

MBTA Car repair 153.7550

MBTA-Boston Fire Department radio tie 153.8900

Article compliments of CFM Curator - Bert Johanson

Catching them in their mid-winters nap - January 20th - 06'