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Maybe we’re just overgrown kids, but we can’t help but stop and stare when we see an old fire truck. This impressive 1938 Mack Model E Type 505 City Service Ladder Truck served the South Plainfield Fire Department in Plainfield, New Jersey, from its delivery from the factory until its retirement in 1970. With no roof and no doors, weather protection was of little concern. The list of comfort features begins and ends with “bucket seats.” It was all about bringing the right equipment to bear and saving lives.
Well cared for during its firefighting career, it spent 16 years languishing in a forest after the South Plainfield Fire Department sold it. Lucky for the truck, Joe Bertino was the third owner. He spent six years restoring it to its former glory and eventually donated it to the AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania, in 2017. A peek underneath shows that even the chassis was treated to a full repaint and rebuild.
The AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania, is dedicated to sharing and preserving “America’s Transportation Experience” by showcasing the motorcycles, cars, trucks, and buses that shaped the daily lives of Americans. It opened in 2003, and this Ladder Truck has been on display there since its donation. Now the museum is making room for more exhibits, and this 38-foot-long beauty has to find a new home. It’s up for bid on Hagerty Marketplace.
The Mack’s flathead, inline-six engine produces 123 horsepower. Later models churned out 161 horses.Brandan Gillogly
The truck still has all of its hardware and comes with fire extinguishers, as it was equipped more than 50 years ago.Brandan Gillogly
Brandan Gillogly
While it’s already spent decades in service and has been a museum piece for nearly 20 years, the restoration and full complement of firefighting accessories make it look ready to step back into action if needed.
The truck was built to transport ladders and 2000 feet of fire hose to a blaze. It was also equipped with an on-board tank and pump to get water to the business end of those hoses, making it a versatile firefighting tool and a rare one at that.
Although it absolutely looks like a 1930s truck, Mack built the Model E into the 1950s and even then it resembled its ‘30s counterparts. So while many fire trucks of the ‘60s had adopted a cabover design, seeing this topless truck in operation 30 years after being commissioned probably wouldn’t have been out of the ordinary.
It takes a special kind of collector with a special kind of garage—a sizable one—to take on a vehicle like this. We hope that its next owner will keep it in the public eye and share its history. We can already picture it leading a parade and stealing the thunder of much pricier cars every time it trundles into a car show.
