News you can use

Museum hosting open house

The Havre Railroad Museum will host an open house on Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. to celebrate the arrival of an 83-year-old antique fire engine.

The American LaFrance engine was moved from the Havre Fire Department on Fifth Avenue to the museum in March.

Using a rotary pump, it was one of the first gasoline-driven pumpers. The driver sat on the right side as opposed to traditional American vehicles.

In addition to its ladders and pumping apparatus, the engine is also one of the first to have the ability to siphon and receive water from fire hydrants. It also has a chemically driven booster tank, which extinguished fires with carbon dioxide.

The engine still runs but has a cracked head.

It was towed to the museum by Havre Muffler & Brake, and was parked in a nearby alley. In order to support the four-ton engine in the museum, a crew of people from the Havre Lions Club, Havre Muffler & Brake, the Havre Fire Department and United Building Centers, installed a 30-foot-long I-beam underneath the floor.

The Havre Railroad Museum is open to the public 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Saturday. Beginning in May, its hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

 

Reader Comments(0)