The vintage John Morris fire engine, built by the famous fire engineers - John Morris and Sons Ltd. of Salford, Manchester in 1914. It was bought to India by the seventh and last Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osaman Ali Khan, for the then Nizam State Railways' Lallaguda ‘Carriage and Wagon’ Workshop Fire Station. This sturdy vehical was fitted with an 80 HP engine with a maximum speed of 40mph. It has 4 cylinders, a gear box with 4 forward speeds & 1 reverse gear. It also includes the patented Morris “Ajax” turbine fire pump with a delivery of 500 gallons/minute. The fire engine also has a 12 volt battery, two head lights, one rear light, one search light and two side lamps.

The fire engine was finally retired in January 1960 after a service of nearly four decades, but is kept in working condition till today. In 1981, the John Morris fire engine was brought to National Rail Museum, New Delhi. From then, began the second success story of this vintage fire engine. Apart from this one only two Morris-Belsize fire-engines are known to exist - a 1912 model is preserved by Enfield and District Veteran Vehicle Society, U.K. But the tyres of that vehicle were replaced in 1929. Thus this is the only vehicle in the world still fitted with the original Shrewsbury and Challenger Solid Tyres and still retains all the original parts of its fire equipment. The fire engine graces the precincts of the National Rail Museum. However, it is the SCR’s team of technical personnel from Carriage Workshop, Lallaguda, who undertake its regular maintenance and had taken up the challenge. They restored the vehicle using resources available in-house.