Re: Laws water tank - and replica gallows turntable - at OERM

Max Cox Wrote:
========================================
> When the Laws water tank collapsed, the staves
> took the brunt of the damage. Most were damaged
> beyond salvage. OERM has looked at some of the
> saved ones and found that they weren't suitable.


Hi, Max -

When Steve Forney, Fred Oster and I visited the OERM several weeks ago we were quite lucky to encounter the museum's principal civil engineer and architect Paul Dieges – whom I have known for more than fifty years, as he is the older brother of my classmate Richard Dieges at Nordhoff High School in Ojai, CA*.  Since John Cole was unable to join us and be our guide at the last minute, Paul very kindly gave the three of us a thorough tour of the OERM – including a "behind the scenes" visit to the shops and the "back forty".  One of the highlights of the day was seeing the narrow gauge section of the museum, and the extensive work being done to re-create a portion of the 'Slim Princess'.  The water tank, which has been discussed and pictured on other threads, was still mostly in pieces on the ground, but the replica gallows turntable is complete so we gave it a thorough inspection and 'test run'.

Here's Steve attempting to levitate the turntable, while Fred begins to set it in motion as Paul looks on:


"Blessed are those who travel in circles, for they shall be known as 'Big Wheels'."


Even though John was able to join us for only a few minutes late in the day, we owe him a big Thank You for arranging our visit and a very big Thank You to Paul for taking the time to show us around.

- Russ

* Nordhoff's "new" campus, which dates from the 1960's, recently appeared in the film "Easy A", thinly disguised as Ojai North High School.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/24/2019 05:00PM by Russo Loco.