Nicholas Studer
PCS Elected Director 2022-2025
Perhaps this is an inane detail - but I'm curious.
Washington Mortuary (pre-1963 merger of product lines with Ferno) consistently used a rectangular foot pad mounted onto two metal arms. While it appears burgundy was fairly standard, I have seen blue upholstery instead. Many (Most?) have a metal pull handle attached to the front metal support arms. This is well shown below:
Ferno-Washington cots from 1963 onward, up until the introduction of the Model 35 and 93 in the 1980s/1990s, have the half-ring of aluminum tubing with a foot pad that snaps into the center. As opposed to Washington Mortuary's design - this foot pad served as its own pull-handle if desired. This foot pad was commonly red up, but I have seen orange and white in 1970s units. Like Washington - they'd probably be willing to upholster in the color of your ambulance's interior for a fee. Many (but not all) have a metal pull-handle attached to the top of the foot This is well shown below:
Ferno (pre-1963 merger of product lines with Washington) appears to have used the exact same design. This is well-shown below in a 1959 ad for the new Model 30.
While this may seem straightforward - there's a third design floating out there. This is a half-ring of tube aluminum similar to the standard Ferno/F-W design, but too short for the usual foot-pad. This is present on my Model 54 from 1983 - which I believed was a F-W development corresponding that that timeframe. This is shown below.
Then the following image (below) turned up on Facebook recently after an also-recent eBay auction of historical photographs. It is from 1965, and clearly shows a Model 54 cot (unclear Washington, Ferno, or F-W) with this same pull handle. So, that ruined the above theory.
I am sure anybody would do anything for a few extra dollars. Someone could've surely hated the idea of padding for patients feet and special ordered a short pull handle. Many items were custom built or customized later in life. That's not my point here. I have the 1963 F-W "Full Line" catalog and the 1959 Washington Mortuary "update" and while there's options for wheel size, etc. - I can find no mention of something like this. Jon Van Dermark's Washington Model 52 cot (also pictured below) has the same design - whether it's original or changed later is unknown. A stock photo from the 1970s Kelco catalog shows a Model 54 with this design. So, this isn't a "one-off" or likely to be an aftermarket item.
Maybe the 1970s F-W catalog Kurt Arends has mentions something about this? Just curious if anyone else had noticed this and/or had documentation about it. I suppose it's esoteric enough to be just one of those things we can remain unsure about.
(Thanks to Jeremy Ledford for the photos that I linked to that he upload to this forum in other threads)
Washington Mortuary (pre-1963 merger of product lines with Ferno) consistently used a rectangular foot pad mounted onto two metal arms. While it appears burgundy was fairly standard, I have seen blue upholstery instead. Many (Most?) have a metal pull handle attached to the front metal support arms. This is well shown below:
Ferno-Washington cots from 1963 onward, up until the introduction of the Model 35 and 93 in the 1980s/1990s, have the half-ring of aluminum tubing with a foot pad that snaps into the center. As opposed to Washington Mortuary's design - this foot pad served as its own pull-handle if desired. This foot pad was commonly red up, but I have seen orange and white in 1970s units. Like Washington - they'd probably be willing to upholster in the color of your ambulance's interior for a fee. Many (but not all) have a metal pull-handle attached to the top of the foot This is well shown below:
Ferno (pre-1963 merger of product lines with Washington) appears to have used the exact same design. This is well-shown below in a 1959 ad for the new Model 30.
While this may seem straightforward - there's a third design floating out there. This is a half-ring of tube aluminum similar to the standard Ferno/F-W design, but too short for the usual foot-pad. This is present on my Model 54 from 1983 - which I believed was a F-W development corresponding that that timeframe. This is shown below.
Then the following image (below) turned up on Facebook recently after an also-recent eBay auction of historical photographs. It is from 1965, and clearly shows a Model 54 cot (unclear Washington, Ferno, or F-W) with this same pull handle. So, that ruined the above theory.
I am sure anybody would do anything for a few extra dollars. Someone could've surely hated the idea of padding for patients feet and special ordered a short pull handle. Many items were custom built or customized later in life. That's not my point here. I have the 1963 F-W "Full Line" catalog and the 1959 Washington Mortuary "update" and while there's options for wheel size, etc. - I can find no mention of something like this. Jon Van Dermark's Washington Model 52 cot (also pictured below) has the same design - whether it's original or changed later is unknown. A stock photo from the 1970s Kelco catalog shows a Model 54 with this design. So, this isn't a "one-off" or likely to be an aftermarket item.
Maybe the 1970s F-W catalog Kurt Arends has mentions something about this? Just curious if anyone else had noticed this and/or had documentation about it. I suppose it's esoteric enough to be just one of those things we can remain unsure about.
(Thanks to Jeremy Ledford for the photos that I linked to that he upload to this forum in other threads)