Background
The Ralph J. Scott has some special interest for me. I was born
in Los Angeles and, as a kid,
can remember visiting the Scott.
In 1924 the
citizens of Los Angeles
approved $40,000 to fund the building of Los Angeles
Fireboat #2, the building to house it and the boat's equipment.
According to
LAFIRE.COM "Los Angeles City No. 2,
a state of the art fireboat with many i
nnovations, was built in 1925 at the Los Angeles Shipbuilding and
Drydock Corp. (Todd Shipyard),
San Pedro. Launched October 20, 1925, the $214,000 fire boat, later
renamed Fireboat 2, the
Ralph J. Scott, originally was gasoline-powered and rated at 10,200
gpm". The triple screw,
white-painted fireboat was riveted steel construction. Her length is
99.3", beam 19-feet,
depth of hold 9-feet, 152 gross ton.
She can slide through
the water at 14 knots.
The Scott
could pump
16,688 gallons per minute through some of the biggest water guns
ever using 6 inch tips.
Fire Boat 2 was
commissioned December 2, 1925 and went into service with 14 officers and
crewmen. The Ralph J. Scott along with 1, 3 and 5 were retired
on April 12, 2003. The Scott
had served the Los Angeles Fired Department well for 78 years and was
the oldest piece of
fire active apparatus in the country in service to that day. Plans are
being made to preserve the
boat in a static display, on land, next to Fire Station 112.
The Ralph J. Scott passes command to
the new Fireboat #2 on April 12, 2003
© Glenn Morson
The Ralph J. Scott passes in review
April 12, 2003
© Glenn Morson
Review
This model comes to
you securely packed in Styrofoam. The shipping box is marked
"Los Angeles City Fireboat #2". A photograph of the model is printed
on the box. The model
itself is wrapped in tissue. Included in the box are the model, the
diorama water display with a very nice looking brass name plate,
a serial numbered certificate, and historical information about the
boat. Also included are two
brass stands to display the boat without the water diorama. This is
the second issue of Code 3
Collectibles’ Fireboat series. The first issue of this series is the
FDNY Fireboat Marine
Company #9, Fire Fighter that was issued in the first quarter of
2003.
The Los Angeles City
Fire Department’s (LACFD) Ralph J. Scott is
listed on the National Register
of Historic Places, REF. NO. 89001430, and was designated a National
Historic Landmark on
6/30/89. In July
of 2003, I had the opportunity to visit the boat. Most equipment had
been removed
for safekeeping. However, I was able to get some pretty good photos used
in this review.
The Scott is
a 1:136 scale, hand cast resin model. Please note that the pieces on this model
are very delicate easily break off when
cleaning or handling. I highly recommend you display
the model in a, dust free,
covered display case.
After seeing the
real boat and Code 3 Collectibles’ model, I am astonished at the job
Code 3
Collectibles did depicting the Scott. There is a vast
improvement over the previously released
Fire Fighter. It is easy to understand why this boat is so
accurate. Retired LACFD Pilot
Bill Dahlquist served as a consultant to Code 3 Collectibles on this
project. Mr. Dahlquist
served on the Scott and has written articles about it for The
Grapevine, a monthly
publication published by the
Los Angeles
Firemen's Relief Association.
The model is
presented exactly the way it was just prior to retirement. The model,
like the
real boat, has five large water guns. These guns are located 1 forward,
1 above the wheelhouse,
one on the tower, and two aft. Some of the photos compare the real
boat’s water guns and the
model’s. The model also shows water nozzles that can disperse fire
that may be on the water's surface. These were removed
from the real boat
before
I took the photos.
The accuracy of
the forward part of the boat is amazing! Take a look at the two
comparison
photos. Nothing is missing, including the rope! The colors are an
exact match. This detail
carries on throughout the model. The hose reels and covers are an exact
duplicate of the
original.
The model’s
wheelhouse displays all the deck lighting, port and starboard running
lights, and
the decorative
rope work on the
railing. The
LACFD logo and “Class 1” signs are there.
Inside the wheelhouse
is a reasonable depiction of the boat’s control systems.
Above the
wheelhouse you see the water gun. Behind that, again highly detailed,
you see the exhaust
stacks, radar, and wench with rescue boat. You even see the fabric that
protects the firefighters
from getting burned when around the stacks.
Continuing aft is
the tower with its massive water gun. If you look close you will see
the ladder
and hatch leading to the gun. Under the tower’s “crows nest” additional
deck lighting.
All these details are seen in both the original and model photos.
Notice the rear stacks on
the real boat and compare that to the ones on the model; an accurate
match!
Aft, are the two
water guns, hose reel with cover, and other equipment.
Nit picking
The water
diorama is the better
way to display this model. However the water color looks like it
is better suited floating in the Caribbean rather than the Los Angeles
Port Authority.
With all due respect to Code 3 Collectibles, they are working on this
will have a better water
diorama when San Francisco’s Fireboat is released.
Even though the
boat was manufactured using
rivets, the rivets appear to be protruding more
than they should.
Conclusion
Code 3
Collectibles has done an OUTSTANDING job of depicting this historical
fire apparatus.
This model is one of my top five Code 3 Collectibles releases and would
be a fine addition to any
model fire apparatus or seafarer collector.
The Ralph J. Scott retails
for $90.00 and can be purchased from
Code 3 Collectibles
directly.
You can connect to their web site by clicking on the icon below.
On a WOW factor
of 1 – 5, I give this model 5 WOWs!
A special thanks
to the following individuals:
Frank Borden
– Frank is Director
of Operations for the Los Angeles Fire Department Historical
Society
Glenn Morson – Glenn is an avid fire apparatus model collector who recently moved from the
United Kingdom and now lives in Los Angeles. Glenn is an amateur photographer that
specializes in photographs of Los Angeles fire apparatus. To view Glenn's photos Click Here
Larry Schneider – Larry is a Captain with the Los Angeles Fire Department and webmaster of
LAFIRE.COM , the best LAFD historical site on the web.
Ralph J. Scott at Retirement
© Glenn Morson
