Blenheim craftsman digs into the details to restore antique fire steam pump
Thanks to a Blenheim restoration company, the Dawson City Fire Department’s 1897 Clapp & Jones steam pump is back in mint condition.
Over the past 18 months Stan Uher, owner of Classic Coachworks in Blenheim, has meticulously restored the steam pump fire apparatus to its former glory, paint and all.
The machine lay derelict in the Yukon city for decades after it was decommissioned — sometime in the 1940s, according to the Dawson City Fire Department. Finally, in 2015, the fire department had raised enough money to have it repaired and the parts were shipped to Blenheim.
When Uher received the remains of the vehicle, much of the paint was worn off. The chrome exterior was rusted, the bell was missing, but the vehicle, for all its wear, was mostly intact.
“In the fire apparatus world this is the ultimate vehicle,” Uher said. “They’re so ornate, and so rare, and showy. I was able to uncover all those details under layers of paint. It was a big archeological project, yeah. And of course it wasn’t that clear, but like most vehicles they’re symmetrical, and when I couldn’t find detail on this side I’d go to the other side.
“For something that’s 120 years old it’s incredible the amount of detail and precision that was used back then.”
From January 2016 until this month, Uher worked tirelessly on the machine. He stripped back the rust and peeling paint. He replaced a few pieces that were beyond repair, like the rotting brake pads. The bell and bracketry had to be redone entirely, based on an old black and white sketch of the vehicle.
The painting was a significant undertaking in itself. First Uher applied a bright red coat. Then he used a special technique to apply a thin layer of 23-karat gold leaf to accent the wheels and body, just like the original model.
The full project took, in Uher’s estimation, approximately 1,400 hours.
“Oh, it’ll work,” he said. “That’s the way I do all of my restorations. They’re cosmetically 100 per cent accurate, you know, to original, and functionally that way as well. Mechanically everything will function like it did brand new.”
Last week, two firefighters from Dawson City visited Classic Coachworks. Buffalo Taylor, deputy chief with the fire department, and Gerry Crayford were instrumental in getting the vehicle shipped to Blenheim, years after they started fundraising for its restoration.
At one meeting of the Dawson City group, Taylor made the push that got them to the finish line.
“I said, ‘We’ve been saving for this thing. Let’s do it.’ And I got excited and I stood up and I said ‘I’ll put in $5,000.’ And then I sat down and thought, ‘What the hell’d I just do?’ ” he recalled.
But it worked. Other members also volunteered additional funding, finally eclipsing the $250,000 needed for transportation and restoration costs. They called Uher in late 2015 to set up a schedule and, days later shipped the old steam pump to Blenheim.
Through the 18-month process Uher sent the fire department videos updating them on his work. His last job will be to package the machine for the long trip back to Dawson City, just in time for its Discovery Day Parade in August.
When the steam pump first arrived in Dawson City in 1898, “it would have been put on a steam ship up the Inside Passage to Skagway, then it would have been loaded onto rail to Whitehorse, and then it would have been put on riverboat from Whitehorse down to Dawson,” Taylor said.
After the parade the old vehicle will be put into the firefighters’ museum in Dawson City. It will join another steamer, two hose wagons — one also restored by Uher — and eight trucks.
For Uher, it means the end of another project. The craftsman said there’s always a bit of remorse when he finishes his work, especially on a project as big as the steam pump.
“I’ve been doing this antique vehicle restoration all day, every day, for 37 years,” Uher said. “It’s kind of a second nature to me. This is all I’ve ever done in my entire adult life, really.”
For something that’s 120 years old it’s incredible the amount of detail and precision that was used back then.