As of: March 26, 2024, 11:00 a.m
By: Tobias Gmach
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Getting the portable pump trailer running again: Aileen Benedikt, Marco Ludwig, David Ludwig, Ferdinand Staudinger, Leopold Frühauf and Tobias Benedikt (from left).
© Andrea Jaksch
It is a unique project for the Perchting youth fire department: they are restoring a portable pump trailer built in 1941.
Monetary and material donations are being sought - so that the classic car can take part in several parades in the district in the summer as close to the original as possible.
Perchting/Unterbrunn – Portable pump trailer, TSA for short, is the name of the bright red vehicle with two wheels and brackets on the roof around which six young people from the Perchting youth fire department have gathered.
A few minutes later, one of them is lying under the trailer, another is kneeling on the tire and a third is inside.
Laughter can be heard, but there is also swearing.
Because the fenders of the TSA are proving to be stubborn, the old screws are either rusty or difficult to grab with tools.
But the trailer has a good excuse: it dates from 1941, making it a real vintage car.
And the youth firefighters are now getting it running again - because there will soon be a big show in all places in the district.
The fact that this fire brigade story on two wheels doesn't continue to rust away in a garage in Landstetten is thanks to the persistence of the Perchtingen volunteers.
For more than five years, they repeatedly spoke to the city of Starnberg, made a lot of phone calls and wrote a few emails, says fire department chairman and youth director Christian Benedikt.
With the dissolution of the Landstetten fire fighting group, the issue became acute and there was concern that the trailer would be sold or auctioned off.
Finally, the people of Perchting were able to purchase the historic device for a symbolic euro.
Fundraising campaign is ongoing
The fire department estimates the restoration to cost 4,000 euros.
This is the fundraising goal of the ongoing campaign on the portal www.gofundme.com.
650 euros have been raised so far.
Benedikt names the tires, the rims and the colors for which money is needed.
“The pump also needs to be overhauled and an oil change is due.” If you happen to have old VW Beetle rims to donate, please get in touch.
They would be a perfect match for the intact Beetle motor of the Ziegler TS-8/8 sprayer with pump.
The chairman has already provided paint for 400 euros alone.
“It wasn’t that easy to get,” he says.
Because it is the old fire department red called Ral 3000 (the new, slightly brighter red is called Ral 3020).
So there is also research in the project.
But above all it's handcrafted: the TSA, which is made of wood on the inside and covered only with sheet metal, is completely dismantled.
Then everything should be sanded down and freshly painted again.
Benedikt's son Tobias is now unscrewing a thin strip.
His father gives the advice: “Be careful, don’t bend.
If a screw doesn't come out, we drill it out." The 15-year-old enjoys tinkering: "I often screw around on my moped anyway," says Tobias Benedikt.
The youth fire brigade project is something different.
And it's nice to keep such a historic vehicle alive.
By the way, the work takes place in Unterbrunn, in Christian Benedikt's sewer cleaning company.
“We have space here.” We still have to find it in Perchting.
Freshly restored, the TSA should definitely not be left outside.
“If you have a free barn or garage, you are welcome to contact us,” says the fire department chairman.
Starnberg firefighter promises original jet pipes
The young people will soon visit the fire brigade museum in Andechs.
There they were promised suitable equipment - such as an underground hydrant - in order to equip the trailer relatively true to the original.
They have already obtained old hoses from that time elsewhere.
The fire whips, which are still used today to fight fires in difficult terrain, were already part of the TSA.
While the six young people are working in his workshop, Christian Benedikt's cell phone rings several times.
After a phone call, he reported happily: “That was a Starnberg fireman.
He has original jet pipes for us.”
Several deployments of the rolling fire brigade museum have already been determined.
Several fire departments in the district are celebrating their 150th anniversary with festive parades this year - and a historical trailer like this fits perfectly into the concept.
The first date is on May 5th in Krailling, others will follow in Hadorf (June 2nd), at our own open day (June 8th), in Wangen (June 9th) and in Erling-Andechs (June 23rd). .
The TSA will probably be pulled by a tractor.
Just like it used to be when a small village fire brigade went out on a large firefighting mission.
Also read:
Mobile fire brigade museum: salvagers reactivate the red van and tell its story