Owned and restored by Will Baker (and a couple of determined friends!) of Peterborough.
289 LTD is a 1960 Bedford TJ5 fire appliance supplied new to Lancashire County Fire Brigade and stationed at Morecambe from 1960 – 1967 then Carnforth from 1967 – 1975. It is bodied by Hampshire Car Bodies and fitted with a Hayward Tyler 500 GPM main pump. It is powered by the Bedford 6 cyl 300 cubic inch Petrol engine.
289 LTD was one of a batch of 10 Bedford’s ordered by Lancashire County Fire Brigade in 1959. In 1975 it was sold to a film company and was used for many films including two Norman Wisdom films and several episodes of David Jason’s own comedy “Good Fella”, and many commercial television adverts of the time. There is only one other of its type surviving today.
In 1977 the owner's father purchased the appliance for preservation and carried out work on the body and the pump which had suffered seizure during its film days. During the next ten years 289 LTD was preserved and rallied all over England by my family and we had many a happy time in it. In the winter of 1978-9 289 LTD was used by the local retained fire crew during the fireman’s strike to maintain cover for Peterborough and the surrounding area. The current owner was born in 1980 and grew up with the Bedford outside his bedroom window. The family sold the engine in 1987, and it eventually fell into severe disrepair before finally being saved by the current owner.
Since coming back into the family a vast amount of work has been undertaken. With typical coachwork of a mahogany timber frame skinned in steel and aluminium. With the timber in poor shape Will and two co-conspirators have done a sterling job with both the timberwork and the metal outer. It is now in a terrific condition and will please and delight the public who will see the little Bedford at shows and other gatherings in the future.