Believe it or not this apparatus was still being used into the 1960's. It had hard rubber tires (no air in them for the blonds among us---bwahahaha) and brakes operated by steel rods connecting the pedal to the brake shoes. (called mechanical brakes). At 135lbs soaking wet, Dad had to stand on the pedal and pull on the steering wheel in order to generate enough pressure to stop the rig. He said you had to plan your stop almost a block ahead. Thank goodness the top speed was only about 10-15 miles and hour. Hardly worth blowing the siren, but there was one. It's called a "Water Tower", there is a large nozzle at the top of the tower sticking up in the back. It could knock down brick walls at full force and could put out 1500+ gallons of water per minute. It raised and lowered through a gear box powered by the water being pumped into it through hoses.
Quite a piece of engineering for 1910 or so when it was hand built. There were 2 of these and a third one even larger.
Thank you Dad for all you did for me, and God Bless.
Remember those who fought for our freedom and way of life and those still doing so today, may God bless and protect them, always.
Mort.