I'll be done with the fire engine stuff after this... LAFD's horse drawn Water Tower (middle 1870's). Ultimately, the tower was mounted on a trailer, which included a tiller, by the LAFD shops. The tractor was a 1937 American LaFrance. It was used only once on an actual fire. The fire was in a five story building in downtown L.A. The fire started on the 2nd floor, and spread quickly to the 5th floor. The water tower put so much water on the 5th floor that the whole shebang collapsed, and pancaked down to the 2nd floor, resulting in fatalities to two fire fighters. It was never used again. After this catastrophe, the LAFD training concentrated on "interior fire fighting tactics", to the extent possible. To this day, the LAFD does not have a single "Tower Ladder" or anything else that is related to a Tower Ladder on their roster. They use a large monitor (a water cannon) mounted on the tip of their 100-foot aerial ladders, meaning that every ladder truck in the city (the LAFD has 43 Truck Companies) is in essence a "water tower".
260 hp dual quad power package from “over the part counter” at Ford/Mercury dealerships... looked like this. 103 kits were made. NASCAR mandated air cleaner.
The Jalopy Journal
