🔎 UNIDENTIFIED Help ID this wooden sled

[yaxthri]

Hello fellow TNeters.
I need help identyfying this for a friend working at a local museum. I know it's not "treasure" in the usual way that get's posted here, but I think someone in here may be able to help (and it's tresured by my friend for sure :-).
This is a large scale vintage or antique wooden sleigh (or sled, what's the difference?) with a heavy duty pump mounted on it and four "Y" shaped wooden "forks" on each corner.
Could this be related to firefighting? I tried my best finding something similar online but no luck so far except for a lo-fi picture on tumblr (link not working?.... )

Any hints will be appreciated
Happy Hunting

 

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[Tpmetal]

Sure looks like a fire fighting sled of some sort, but it seems odd. Those side forks are seen on many 19th century fire fighting wagons to hold the "hose", which wasn't as flexible or one long piece back then. from the photos it seems you already noticed this. The weird part about this pump is the single handle, and the horizontal orientation of the handle. most fire pumps had a system of two connected handles to be operated by two people opposite of each other and usually in the vertical motion. the size of the pump also seems kind of small for fire fighting? It may have been used for other pumping purposes? or if for firefighting it may have belonged to a very small town or some private business. any info on the pump like name plates or stamps or anything? it does have the same hydraulic ram style pump with that balloon looking part on top as most fire fighting wagons used, just looks small for fighting fires.

 

[yaxthri]

Sure looks like a fire fighting sled of some sort, but it seems odd. Those side forks are seen on many 19th century fire fighting wagons to hold the "hose", which wasn't as flexible or one long piece back then. from the photos it seems you already noticed this. The weird part about this pump is the single handle, and the horizontal orientation of the handle. most fire pumps had a system of two connected handles to be operated by two people opposite of each other and usually in the vertical motion. the size of the pump also seems kind of small for fire fighting? It may have been used for other pumping purposes? or if for firefighting it may have belonged to a very small town or some private business. any info on the pump like name plates or stamps or anything? it does have the same hydraulic ram style pump with that balloon looking part on top as most fire fighting wagons used, just looks small for fighting fires.

I agree with all of your comments. All of these characteristica make me think this might be something else... especially the single handle thing. But in the pic I found thesled supposedly sports a steam-pump...
Well I'll keep looking into this.
Thank you for your input!

 

[Tpmetal]

I agree with all of your comments. All of these characteristica make me think this might be something else... especially the single handle thing. But in the pic I found thesled supposedly sports a steam-pump...
Well I'll keep looking into this.
Thank you for your input!

what part of the country was it found in? or did it come from? do we know?