Ken's Journal
No. 6 - Summer 2007

Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
August 16-20, 2007 - Days 32-36 on the road. Part I.

Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Today I drove from Halifax to Yarmouth, a distance of 186 miles. See a map here. Yarmouth is a major fishing and ferry port located on the Gulf of Maine in southwestern Nova Scotia. Yarmouth is close to the same latitude as Portland, ME - directly across the entrance to the Bay of Fundy. Yarmouth is sometimes referred to as "The Gateway to Nova Scotia" as there are two major ferry routes terminating here - one from Portland, ME and the other from Bar Harbor, ME. In my travels around the area, I ran into a couple who had rented a Harley in Bangor, ME and taken the ferry to Yarmouth from Bar Harbor for a couple days.

The first night here, it rained pretty hard and the fog was thick the next morning. That made it Museum day - and some grocery shopping too. I visited three local museums -

  • The first was the Firefighters Museum, one of the Nova Scotia System of Museums. This museum contains early examples of hand-drawn and operated engines and hose carriages, horse-drawn and hand-operated engines and hose carriages, and early gasoline powered fire trucks.

So here you go - the Firefighters Museum!

This display is supposed to represent the typical "Watch Desk" in a firehouse. Obviously from many years ago!

This is an 1863 Amoskeag Steamer made in Manchester, NH. This one is horse drawn and the steam source on the back drives a single piston water pump designed to deliver 400-500 gallons per minute..

The bulbous copper assembly is an air-chamber used to "smooth" the flow of water - that is, it removes the pulses from single piston pump.

This is a detail from an 1890 Ronald Steamer built in Brussels, Ontario.

Here's a diagram of the pump mechanism. Steam from the boiler drives the rotors on the left, which drive two rods, which drive the pump on the right. Again, the air chambers smooth the flow of the water.

Detail from an 1880 Silsby Steamer made in Seneca Falls, NY. The museum claims this one is still in operating condition.

More of the same. Do you think this kind of craftsmanship still exists anywhere today?

A 1933 Chevrolet Pumper.

I'm not sure what this one is - I apparently forgot to take a picture of the label.

 

 

 

 

 

 
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