Federal FIRE BALL Family History

[dmathieu]

Glad you got it, I'm curious as to why someone would do this, but I wasn't curious enough to buy it,since it isn't a factory alteration.

Please let us know what it does.

 

[mkent]

I sure will..it was relatively cheap and he offered international shipping.

 

[Skip Goulet]

I was just scrolling through this thread and realized that there was a comment I meant to make before and didn't.

Seeing the Fireball on the side of the panel truck reminded me of a couple of things I saw when I lived in Lubbock.  First was a nice 1962 Chevy station wagon ambulance that was operated by a funeral home in the small town of Hale Center, TX, about 35 mi. north of Lubbock.  The car had a red 174 "wig-wag" beacon in the front center flanked by a pair of red Fireballs on the front corners.  The siren, a Federal doubletone, was mounted underhood.   This was also one fast-running Chevy wagon.  One night in 1973 a tornado hit near Plainview causing a number of injuries and a single fatality.  The Hale Center ambulance responded and transported to Lubbock.  A friend of mine who was a truck driver and a member of our REACT team was headed back to Lubbock and had stepped up his speed considerably when he found out what had happened, assuming that our REACT team would mobilize.  He said that he was running a bit more than 70 mph when suddenly the Hale Center ambulance went past him like he was sitting still.

Another interesting ambulance whose history I know nothing about I saw in Plainview, TX in the late '70s.  It was a long-wheel-based 1961 Pontiac ambulance.  It had a roof-mounted Q flanked by two red Fireballs and a red Dietz 211 beacon behind the Q.  Very nice old car at the time.  It was sitting on a car lot, which is why I had no history on the car.  The guy wanted $750 for the car, which was reasonable at the time, and we could've used it in our standby service.  But by the time I had gotten the money together a couple of days later and made the trip back to Plainview, it was gone!   C'est la vie!

 

[nick7542]

Hi Guys:   Picked up this Federal Signal FBFH Flashball off of e-bay the other day for $29.00 dollars.( It was a buy it now auction)   After clean up, not a bad light. I think i did ok with this one.   And a thanks to Dan for all that flashball info about this light.

 

[dmathieu]

I'm jealous!

That's the ONLY one missing from my collection!

Nice grab!

 

[tsquale]

$29?!?! You STOLE that!!

 

[stansdds]

$29.00?!!!!!!  What??????????????

$29 for a halogen Flashball?  Unless one comes up for free, I'll nominate this as the deal of the century!

 

[mkent]

Glad you got it, I'm curious as to why someone would do this, but I wasn't curious enough to buy it,since it isn't a factory alteration.


Please let us know what it does.

Hey,the federal signal fb1 supposed oscillating fireball...


Well,today I was sent this by the guy I have bought it from,although it's still in transit,he sent me a YouTube video of the light I have bought.


Type in ' oscillating fireball ' on YouTube.. Watch the fb1 fireball OSCILLATING..!!!!!!....


What do you think?

 

[dmathieu]

Very interesting!

I wish Federal had thought of that before the MagnaBeam.

NICE grab!

When you get it post it in the following thread!

 

[stansdds]

Interesting.

I had never before noticed the oscillating teardrop light in that scene.

 

[Skip Goulet]

Interesting.

I had never before noticed the oscillating teardrop light in that scene.

I had missed that link firs time around.  Interesting, very interesting!

 

[mkent]

Looking forward to receiving it and seeing just what this added electronics does in the FB1.


If it does oscillate,it must be a very rare example. The movie clip certainly shows a fireball or maybe a yankee teardrop oscillating and back when the film was made in the 80s the only oscillating unit was the Code 3 force 4 stingray electronics unit.


Anyway,we will see.

 

[Windycity411]

Started taking inventory of all the boxes. There's a trio of Firebeams and a trio of Fireballs.

 

[Skip Goulet]

Started taking inventory of all the boxes. There's a trio of Firebeams and a trio of Fireballs.

I've always been a big Fireball fan, but I also like the Firebeams.   I have a nice Firebeam on my rear deck. It has red and blue half-lenses and the mirror setup.

 

[dmathieu]

Multi-colored Fireball lights (not Federal)

 

[Skip Goulet]

Multi-colored Fireball lights (not Federal)

Nice way to light up your life....especially your night life...Dan! :lol:

 

[Windycity411]

Most fun you can have with a fireball.

 

[dmathieu]

 


Found that this FB-1 has a S/N of  2AAI012, and is definitely an older version, based on the screws mounting the guts to the base, hence the Chicago factory marking on the label. 1956-1957?

I have it completely disassembled, and still have not seen anything different that would give a clue on the odd serial number.

This is the second FB-1 that I have with a different number. That Number is 2A12F2 made in the Blue Island plant.

The standard FB-1 Serial Number is 2A12

Pics to follow when clean up is done.

 

[dmathieu]

Here's Chicago and the S/N

 

[stansdds]

Interesting.  I'm still leaning towards my theory that this one was actually assembled in Blue Island, but used a Chicago marked band.

 

[Skip Goulet]

If that's the case, it would've had to have been just after the move to Blue Island.

 

[dmathieu]

This is the first Chicago Fire Ball band that I've seen.

I'm thinking that those made in Chicago may have had individual manufacturing lot numbers.

After the move to Blue Island, they all had the same Serial Number, except for special customer requests.

Just a theory.

 

[stansdds]

This is the first Chicago Fire Ball band that I've seen.

I'm thinking that those made in Chicago may have had individual manufacturing lot numbers.

After the move to Blue Island, they all had the same Serial Number, except for special customer requests.

Just a theory.

And your theory is just as good as mine.  I doubt we will ever know the truth.

 

[dmathieu]

We need to find an 80+ year old former Federal employee to ask.

 

[stansdds]

We need to find an 80+ year old former Federal employee to ask.

Yep.

 

[dmathieu]

Another Chicago Label with standard 2A12 S/N

 

[Skip Goulet]

We need to find an 80+ year old former Federal employee to ask.

The two people in Federal mgt. that I knew as a kid are both gone: Folger Smith, who was the long-time general manager, and Art Johannes who was an ass't manager who taught me a lot about Federal.

 

[Windycity411]

I just got this Chicago Fireball in the mail yesterday. I was surprised that there's no sticker and the label is printed directly onto the metal band. Anyone care to approximate the value of this item???

 

[dmathieu]

That's the same band that I posted 2 posts up, from the ebay picture.

Probably under $100, all based on condition and how hungry a buyer might be.

 

[Windycity411]

Did FS ever print label directly on metal band at Blue Island, or was it always sticker/decal from then on?

 

[dmathieu]

Yes, they also printed at Blue Island, including all of my black labeled rebadged Fire Balls, (Sirac, Paris version 2, and J.W.Speaker Version 1).

There are even some of my newer second version Fire Balls with printed on labels. 

It looks like they had and retained 2 label systems through Fire Ball teardrop production.

The easiest way to tell printed from sticker labels, especially in pictures, (can't feel the label edges), is the squared off corner labels are printed on the band, and the rounded corner labels are stickers.

I also have one printed labeled second version Fire Ball from each of the following Federal locations:

Park Forest South, IL   and

University Park, IL

Add these addresses to:

Chicago, IL   and 

Blue Island, IL

 

[Windycity411]

Encyclopedia Of Chicago says Park Forest South was a new community development that began construction in 1961. In 1967 PFS was officially incorporated. In 1969, Governors State University was opened there. I'm guessing that's about the time PFS changed its name to Univ. Pk.

 

[Skip Goulet]

University Park is their current location. They moved there after Blue Island.   First time I've ever seen Park Forest South mentioned.

They moved from Blue Island to U.P. around '77 or '78, about the time they discontinued so many of their motor-driven sirens, leaving only the Q and some of the smaller ones that they were still selling for export.

 

[Windycity411]

Yes, they also printed at Blue Island, including all of my black labeled rebadged Fire Balls, (Sirac, Paris version 2, and J.W.Speaker Version 1).

There are even some of my newer second version Fire Balls with printed on labels. 

It looks like they had and retained 2 label systems through Fire Ball teardrop production.

The easiest way to tell printed from sticker labels, especially in pictures, (can't feel the label edges), is the squared off corner labels are printed on the band, and the rounded corner labels are stickers.

I also have one printed labeled second version Fire Ball from each of the following Federal locations:

Park Forest South, IL   and

University Park, IL

Add these addresses to:

Chicago, IL   and 

Blue Island, IL

Let's see a picture of that Park Forest South Fireball. :yes:

 

[stansdds]

Encyclopedia Of Chicago says Park Forest South was a new community development that began construction in 1961. In 1967 PFS was officially incorporated. In 1969, Governors State University was opened there. I'm guessing that's about the time PFS changed its name to Univ. Pk.

Federal information:

Name changes:

Federal Electric Company, Inc. -1948

Federal Enterprises, Inc. 1948-1955

Federal Signal Sign & Signal Corp. 1956-1975

Federal Signal Corp. 1976-present

Location changes:

Federal Signal moved from Chicago to Blue Island in 1958, then moved to University Park late in 1978.

 

[Windycity411]

Picked up a new addition for my Fireball collection. F7 dome is a little rough. It could use a wet sanding.  A clear dome model FB13W Series A2 seems like a good find for under $100. Now I have a Fireball rainbow! I knew someone here would enlighten me as to what FB13W was.

 

[dmathieu]

Different mounting. I have one pictured earlier in this thread.

 

[stansdds]

So two examples of the FB13W have been posted, both with clear domes.  Does the "W" indicated clear dome and if so, does that mean there were FB13R, FB13B, FB13A, and FB13G models?  The FB13 does not appear in my 1985-86 Federal Signal Service Parts Index, so it is either a super rare version or produced in the 1986-1991 time frame.

 

[dmathieu]

Just bought another rare Fire Ball.

This is a rebadged Federal Fire Ball FB-1

Model 340 Signal Stat.

This would have been Signal Stat's first entry into the teardrop light market!!

Thanks for the lead Ken!

More pics after it is received and refurbed.

 

[stansdds]

I've some some Federal Signal products rebadged for Signal-Stat on eBay, usually at scalper's prices.