I photographed this little pumper when I was on the road in California for Revell for 18 days. I had discovered the vehicle in Peterbilt's house magazine, which was always sent to me in the 1990s. I was quite surprised to read that Peterbilt also had this small truck, the Model 310, in its range.
Of course I was in San Francisco at the time as well. Since the fire station where E6 was based was on the other side of the bay, I drove over the Golden Gate Bridge to the town of Mill Valley. People there were very friendly and helpful and always positioned the little pumper just the way I wanted it for photographing. Naturally I took the most important measurements of this one-off, which Engine 6 also was.
Drawing: Copyright Klaus Lassen
Van Pelt Inc. was an American manufacturer of fire-fighting equipment in Oakdale, California. Van Pelt built its first fire engine in 1923 for the Oakdale fire department. The fire truck was a success, and other fire departments in the area asked for similar units. Van Pelt founded P.E. Van Pelt Inc. as a separate company in 1925. By the 1940s, Van Pelt was the largest manufacturer of fire-fighting equipment on the US West Coast. Ladder trucks from the Memco Aerial Ladder Company were introduced in 1958 and a custom chassis (the Custom 300) in 1960. The Custom 300 remained in production until 1977. Later, Van Pelt used chassis from Pemfab, Duplex and Hendrickson. Later lift trucks (articulating booms) were built using ladder assemblies from Grove and LTI, platforms from Hi-Ranger, and platforms and Telesqurt booms from the Snorkel Fire Equipment Company. In 1978, Van Pelt was bought by FMC Corporation, but the Van Pelt nameplate continued to appear on fire apparatus built in Oakdale. In 1987, FMC consolidated fire truck production in Florida and the Oakdale plant was closed. The Van Pelt brand name was discontinued.