This is a great piece of BC history!
An antique painted metal front wheel from a one of the earliest North American Steam Pumpers (Stream Powered Fire Engine). This wheel is off one of the first engines that the Fire Department in Victoria, BC used to fight fires. This would have be roughly circa 1870-1880, and it was removed from service in 1910.
Only 1 of the 8 that Victoria owned is still in tact. The others were eventually scrapped after inevitably breaking down or being rendered obsolete. The Double spoke wheel style suggests that it was one of the largest on the fleet – the fire engine probably weighed over 5 tonnes.
26″ diameter x 4″ deep
