06/19/12 55 W, 3 I - + 2 - 3 Looking Closely at Raleigh's Old Macks
Here are three of Raleigh's old Mack CF pumpers, Engine 4, Engine 7, and Engine 13. Model years 1973, 1971, and 1970, respectively. What differences do you observe? From the Richard Adleman Collection. Learn more about Raleigh's old engines. Or recall our earlier discussion about the Macks and hard suction hose. Click to enlarge:
Did the hard suction just get moved to the other side or removed from the truck?
Mike - 06/19/12 - 11:21
Straight vs. angled axe mounting, Q siren vs. electric siren speaker in nose, Logo on drivers door, Pump panel layout varies, Mike already noted the ladders/hard suction storage.
NotSo - 06/19/12 - 12:01
Mike- they were removed. I remember a couple of differences. E1, E13, and E7, the first three, had rotating lights on top and Q2B sirens when delivered. The had Raleigh Fire Dept. on the panel behind the cab doors, and the engine number on the trimmed out circle on the cab door (FIRE RESCUE lettering came way later). The newer Macks (E3, E4, etc) had an electronic siren and a cheesy strobe light on the cab roof.
DJ - 06/19/12 - 12:02
I think its important to point out too that when RFD received these beauties they were considered “cadillacs”. Similiar to how we view many of our newly purchased Pierces nowadays. The Macks replaced much older and some convertible engines, so they were somewhat of a dream to have. That is at least what I was told by one of my Captains who was a driver at the time.
AP - 06/20/12 - 07:17
You are correct, AP. Before the Macks, all of the city’s engines were open cabs, ALF 900s, four 1950s ALF 700s, two 1950s FWDs, and a 1950 Mack B.
Legeros - 06/20/12 - 07:56
Was recently reading about Raleigh around 1940. There were plans to greatly expand the fire department. They were planning to add more men, more modern apparatus, and build two stations (Station 6, new Station1).
They already had land for the latter. That’s where the alarm house was erected in 1942. Then Pearl Harbor was attacked, the country was plunged deeper into war, and new vehicles and new buildings and other resources became scarce.
The city didn’t end up building a new Station 1, for example, for another decade. And the only pumper purchased was a 1919 ALF, purchased used from Farmville. (An auxiliary truck— mini-pumper, sort of— was added during the 1940s, however.)
Raleigh also lost firefighters, as they left to take higher-paying jobs for the war effort, or were drafted and entered the service.
As a result, RFD had a developmental lag, of sorts, during the 1940s. And that’s why they were still operating some 1920s pumpers at the start of the 1950s.
Legeros - 06/20/12 - 08:46