A 1950 Chevrolet 6400 was purchased as the first fire truck for the then Winfield-Foley Rural Fire Department, and it served the department well for decades. By 1975, though, it was joined by a 1965 Dodge, a gasoline tanker filled with water, and a Jeep, reports lincolnnewsnow.com.
Twenty-plus years later and the apparatus was retired and housed in a rental lot. Rumor had it that an IL man could restore the truck, so it was sent on its way to the southern part of the state, according to the report. It was quickly forgotten, though.
Recently, with interests piqued, a current and retired official from the now Winfield-Foley Fire Protection District (WFFPD) began some detective work. After two years of sleuthing, the pair set out for Evansville (IL) to reclaim the apparatus, the report says.
The men found the truck—albeit with a locked back break and some flat tires, but some elbow grease got it onto a trailer.
The vintage truck returned to Winfield on May 31, and it now awaits restoration. The work is being done by Advanced Machine Repair, and the officials say that no tax money will be used for the project. It’s being restored strictly for showings, parades, and social functions.
The report notes that the work could be finished within a couple years. Read more about it here.