It's A Small World After All: Empire Pumper Truck - Red HP

This is the last Empire fire truck we'll look at before moving on to a different toy company. This pumper represents a mash-up of technologies from the early 20th century. Fire apparatus manufacturer's were taking the upright steam boiler's from horse drawn carriages and mounting them on motorized chassis'. Empire's diminutive pumper is a somewhat later version in the evolution of pumper trucks. Enjoy! Opa Fritz

Here's a couple of toy example's which shows the marriage between upright boiler and motorized chassis in better detail

Road Champs: 1912 Christie Front Drive Steamer (my collection)

Auburn #500 Fire Truck with Tall Boiler (my collection).

I believe this to be a 1930's (maybe very early 1940s) iteration of the upright boiler pumper, however, I can't find any photos on-line of upright boiler trucks from that era.

The somewhat later version as represented by Empire and is similar to the Auburn truck above.